The benefits of surgery?

[danz23]

I got my top braces on in December last year and during my last appointment I was told that they will be off before xmas. They look really good (as in they are straight) but I still have my open bite. My bottom teeth will probably need to stay braced another 6 months after the top ones come off. At first I was very anti the idea of even having braces and was all for trying the use of an expander alone (I wore two over the course of about 10 months). Having found wearing braces to be much easier than I had anticipated and because I worry a lot about my teeth going back to the way they were (my problems are skeletal and I have a class III malloclussion) I am now (I cant believe it!!) considering surgery. I haven't told my orthodontist, dont know why but I just haven't! Maybe because he probably assumes I dont want it and he mentioned doing stuff like shaving my bottom teeth to make more room etc. I dont have any serious problems caused my my bite. My speech could be a bit clearer and I seem to have developed a bit of a clicky jaw during orthodontic treatment (is this possible, I dont think I had it before??). Would surgery be beneficial for me? Maybe it is a bit pointless if it'd mainly be for cosmetic reasons? I'm hoping my profile would look better (I have a long narrow face, maybe it'd help round out the bottom of it or something). I dont know anything about the different types of surgery and stuff so I was hoping you guys could help me. After the surgery do you usually need to keep wearing braces for a while?

[indecisive1]

Hi Danz
I too have an open bite. I am 38 now however had braces as a teenager to try and correct this. My orthodontist also tried to shave my back teeth in order to try and bring my upper and lower teeth together. Although this did happen to a point, my open bite was never completely corrected. Over the years of course there has been some relapse and here I am today waiting to have braces put back on (for a second time) in order to have surgery later down the track. You write that you are now considering surgery after nearly completing orthodontic treatment. By no means am I an expert on the subject nor do I have any orthodontic background, however I was told that I would pretty much have to "undo" what was previously done when I had braces. My teeth are now perfectly straight however I was told that I will need braces to get them to a position where they will be ok after surgery...not sure if this will apply to you..best to discuss it with your orthodontist sooner rather than later. Hope this info helps somewhat.

[suetemi]

H You write that you are now considering surgery after nearly completing orthodontic treatment. By no means am I an expert on the subject nor do I have any orthodontic background, however I was told that I would pretty much have to "undo" what was previously done when I had braces. My teeth are now perfectly straight however I was told that I will need braces to get them to a position where they will be ok after surgery...not sure if this will apply to you..best to discuss it with your orthodontist sooner rather than later.

I strongly agree. Danz, if you're seriously considering surgery, the better you tell your orthodontist about this the better. I am in braces now and will be getting surgery for an open bite. My orthodontist is following specific instructions from my oral surgeon on how to move my teeth -- it's much more than just about being straight.

[danz23]

I asked my dentist (who was doing my orthodontic treatment) if it was too late to consider surgery. He seemed to think he'd done about as much as he could unless he extracted some teeth. He said he'd send me to an orthodontist to see what he thought. I went for a consultation and the orthodontist thought he could treat me and that surgery wouldnt be necessary if I get four teeth out as well. I asked if there was a chance my teeth would go back to the way they were because my problems are skeletal and open bites are more difficult to fix. He said he'd need to get my original xrays off my dentist too be sure and hes done that and he hasnt changed his mind. So it looks like I wont need surgery! I have an appointment to get my new braces on on the 25th of Feb (the new guy uses a different brand!). Before that I need four teeth out (wisdoms I guess) and the old braces off!!!! Bit worried about the extractions because my wisdom teeth haven't come thru properly (cant see em, only on xrays). Will I need time off work etc? Will I need my old braces off first? Wonder if they'll do em all in one go? 'm on holiday so unfortunatly I havent been able to read my ortho's report he would have posted me.

[changes09]

before you get your wisdom teeth taken out htey will most likley take your braces off. Then since your wisdom teeth aren't errupted they will have to put you under to take the wisdom teeth out. I had my wisdom teeth taken out on a friday ate chicken and rice that night and i was up and good for school by monday. So try to have it done on a friday and follow the oral surgeons directions...you'd hate to have dry socket.


I'm a dental assistant

[blindboarder2008]

glad to hear you talked it over with your dentist and such! that awesome that you don't have to gt surgery! I'm not sure if you will have to get your old braces off before you have to get your 4 teeth extracted. probably best to ask your new orthodontist about that one. As far as wisdom teeth go i had to get all 4 of mine taken out. 2 of mine were impacted and hadn't even really come through the gum line. And they may just do it all in one shot (take all of our wisdom teeth out). The surgery to get them out isn't to bad really. I was really scared to get them out but it really wasnt to bad. i'd maybe take a few days off just in case. It really just depends on the person and if you have any complication (hopefully you wont get any complications). Hope this helps and if you have any questions about wisdom teeth surgery don't be afraid to ask or check it up on the search thing. keep us updated!

[SherwoodForest]

I had open bites on both sides of my mouth, although the right side was worse. My braces and elastics almost completely closed the bites, but my ortho told me that they will almost certainly open up to some degree. I was not willing to consider surgery, and I still don’t know if my open bite is skeletal or not. I just had my braces removed a few days ago, so now I get to watch my open bites appear again!

[SherwoodForest]

I had open bites on both sides of my mouth, although the right side was worse. My braces and elastics almost completely closed the bites, but my ortho told me that they will almost certainly open up to some degree. I was not willing to consider surgery, and I still don’t know if my open bite is skeletal or not. I just had my braces removed a few days ago, so now I get to watch my open bites appear again!

[danz23]

Yep it's always going to worry me too, the open bite issue! I'm back from holidays and I've got the report. Looks like I'm not having my wisdom teeth out after all! I'm having both upper second pre-molars out and my lower first pre-molars. Are these common ones to have extracted? Bit worried about looking like a gappy little kid lol even tho I know the top ones at least arent that close to the front! . Hehe that stresses me out more than the idea of pain! Will I need a general anasthetic still or would that just be if it was my wisdom teeth? Its going to be a busy (and very expensive!!) month for me. Think I'll have to ring up my dentist tomorrow and make an appointmant for debanding then after thats done make another one asap for a hygiene appointment (will be good to have that done with naked teeth!), then extractions. Braces are to go on 1-2 weeks after that! They should be on for 18 months with the aim being to fix my bite (my lower jaw is fowards of the upper). Its going to be so weird, I'll have no braces for a few weeks! Everyones going to be like yay u got them off and I'll say hmmm I'll have new ones soon shut up lol. Looking foward to getting an idea as to how theyre progressing tho and what I'll eventually look like! I'm pretty lucky I guess, most people dont get that opportunity half way thru

[almost50]

I can't comment on the surgery issue, but regarding the wisdom teeth...

Just had all four impacted wisdom teeth removed last Friday, been braced for 3 months. I didn't find the braces a factor (and even my last molars are braced top and bottom). Might be easier to clean the back teeth without them, but otherwise no big deal.

Good luck with your decision.