Getting braces & surgery, but scared

[annepanne]

I am scheduled for a Le fort 1 and having Linguals put on tomorrow. Suddenly I am hesitating the whole thing! I just got a boyfriend that thinks I am the most beautiful ever, no one of my friends understand why I should do it. My corrections are very small, my teeth are straight, my profile is good. I dont have a gunmy smile. But I grind my teeth at night. But I think the whole process didn't start because of functional problems, just low self esteem and finding everything that is wrong with me. Thinking that would fix everything. But now I feel like these small errors is what makes me special..I like how I look and I'm so scared of the changes!! Can somebody relate to this?!! Even the Ortho at the dental school in LA asked what I was dissatisfied with, because he couldn't see it. Is this worth it?! The good news is that I get everything covered by my homecountry, which is not US, so I won't pay anything..( i was not sure where i should post this)

[CaliforniaKid]

are you in pain? sleep apnea? trouble eating/chewing? one of the benefits of orthognathic surgery is improved appearance, but it is not cosmetic surgery. plenty of people with strong features get jaw surgery to correct mechanical/functional problems. the objective is then to maintain your existing features. for example, some jaw surgeons aren't able to control the nose. lefort 1 can lead to a widening of the nose, though a competent surgeon should be able to prevent that from happening. you could wait until you are older, but the recovery process is much longer and chances of permanent numbness/nerve damage is much greater. orthos are not oral surgeons - did you meet with a resident in LA? UCLA or USC?

[annepanne]

Thats the thing. I am not in pain at all. The only thing my orthodontist say is that I will get problems in the lung run because of the grinding. My upper and lower jaw doesn't "fit" together. I just feel like i wanted to do this in s period i was really depressed. Now im not, and worried - as you say, not only with the nose, but also getting a thinner upper lip. I wish I could send a picture of me to you and you see. I'm not that fan of posting it here.... Btw, I've been at one of the best surgeons here, dr Relle. And he told me we should do as little as possible to keep my "youthful" looks..

[CaliforniaKid]

Thats the thing. I am not in pain at all. The only thing my orthodontist say is that I will get problems in the lung run because of the grinding. My upper and lower jaw doesn't "fit" together. I just feel like i wanted to do this in s period i was really depressed. Now im not, and worried - as you say, not only with the nose, but also getting a thinner upper lip. I wish I could send a picture of me to you and you see. I'm not that fan of posting it here.... Btw, I've been at one of the best surgeons here, dr Relle. And he told me we should do as little as possible to keep my "youthful" looks..

dr. relle is a solid doctor and definitely known for his performance. Arnett/Gunson are also pretty famous in aesthetics, but their rates might be too much for you. id really put some thought into this, do your research, meet with more surgeons - hopefully the same caliber as relle -and then do more research. it's a big surgery and long-term recovery is 6 months to a year. definitely don't make a decision under stress or emotion, or what someone else thinks of you. not sure why your upper lip would thin out, did relle say that?

[annepanne]

Thank you for your replies. I've been to three surgeons in Norway, they don't think I should do anything. But they rarely want to do anything unless its inbearable. I trust dr. Relle, I think I will email him more about my worries. I got the Linguals today. Can't believe how I can have this in my mouth for a year!! But I guess it's the first day, so I should be patient. I'm just stressed - as you say it is a big operation. Not a quick fix! The only thing I really want is to have my lips closed. They don't close while I rest. But that's also because a big overjet.

[annepanne]

I'm def. not doing this because someone else think I should because no one understands why I should!! But I have researched so much and been thinking of this for 10 years probably...

[CaliforniaKid]

Thank you for your replies. I've been to three surgeons in Norway, they don't think I should do anything. But they rarely want to do anything unless its inbearable. I trust dr. Relle, I think I will email him more about my worries. I got the Linguals today. Can't believe how I can have this in my mouth for a year!! But I guess it's the first day, so I should be patient. I'm just stressed - as you say it is a big operation. Not a quick fix! The only thing I really want is to have my lips closed. They don't close while I rest. But that's also because a big overjet.

for orthognathic surgery, your braces treatment will be directed by the surgeon and handled by the ortho. so for clarity your treatment is currently being coordinated with orthognathic surgeon(s) since you scheduled for surgery? most mainstream surgeons i believe won't do surgery without traditional braces placed on the teeth so you might be fitted with those before surgery.

[annepanne]

Correct, my ortho dr Mario Paz is collaborating with dr. Relle that is good. One day with braces!! And I am so hungry..I still don't know if I can handle this or if it's worth doing. I thought the recovery for this procedure is one mOnth, I can't be gone from school more than that. I mean I understand that things maybe take time to get back to normal. But a year?

[CaliforniaKid]

Correct, my ortho dr Mario Paz is collaborating with dr. Relle that is good. One day with braces!! And I am so hungry..I still don't know if I can handle this or if it's worth doing. I thought the recovery for this procedure is one mOnth, I can't be gone from school more than that. I mean I understand that things maybe take time to get back to normal. But a year?

if you're just having a lefort 1, i believe - and this is just what i read on the forums - recovery is much shorter than double jaw. and if you aren't getting any augmentations in addition to the upper jaw surgery, then recovery shouldn't be too terrible. surgeons will tell you 100% recovery takes a maximum of 1 year - but you are only having a lefort 1. of course i don't know your predicted advancement. relle is a very well known surgeon and definitely one of the best in california. the only problem with upper jaw surgery is that the nose can widen, so id bring that up with relle and get his thoughts. he is a very competent surgeon and i doubt it will but it is a possible complication.

[annepanne]

Ok, good to hear. I am not doing any augmentation. But he is going to also widen the jaw two places. So I think it's called a Le fort 1 osteotomy. I have emailed him about my fear of the nose change and everything. I now feel that, I can handle a surgery (I have had a lot of them before for other reasons) BUT, I feel I'm already sliding into a depression because of the braces.. I can just feel that I'm starting to get all the symptoms of my earlier depressions. I just want to stay at home and isolate.

[CaliforniaKid]

Ok, good to hear. I am not doing any augmentation. But he is going to also widen the jaw two places. So I think it's called a Le fort 1 osteotomy. I have emailed him about my fear of the nose change and everything. I now feel that, I can handle a surgery (I have had a lot of them before for other reasons) BUT, I feel I'm already sliding into a depression because of the braces.. I can just feel that I'm starting to get all the symptoms of my earlier depressions. I just want to stay at home and isolate.

i think you'll be fine, aren't your braces invisible or just a wire or are there brackets? don't know a lot of surgery patients with linguals.

[annepanne]

They are behind my teeth, brackets and wire, and I can't "bite" like I used to. I am lisping and can't eat! If it doesn't get better I'm not sure what to do. We'll see. thank you for all support. Dr. Relle said we can have the surgery already in January maybe, but I dought it. It's only 4 months...

[CaliforniaKid]

Ok, good to hear. I am not doing any augmentation. But he is going to also widen the jaw two places. So I think it's called a Le fort 1 osteotomy. I have emailed him about my fear of the nose change and everything. I now feel that, I can handle a surgery (I have had a lot of them before for other reasons) BUT, I feel I'm already sliding into a depression because of the braces.. I can just feel that I'm starting to get all the symptoms of my earlier depressions. I just want to stay at home and isolate.

i think you'll be fine, aren't your braces invisible or just a wire or are there brackets? don't know a lot of surgery patients with linguals.

i had a weird lisp and it hurt a lot to eat when i first got my braces on. you will adjust soon, trust me.