Lower jar surgery compared to wisdom teeth extraction..

[metal mouth fairy]

Hi,
I am 28 years old and currently have top and bottom fixed braces straightening my teeth out ready for surgery next year to move my lower jaw forward and correct my overbite. My teeth already look alot better and I am unsure whether to go ahead with surgery as I am scared!

I have previosuly had all my wisdom teeth extracted at the same time, my face was hideously swollen and brusied for weeks, i had complications and spent 3 days in hospital when it should have been a day case!
My orthodontist said that people that have had both wisdomt teeth extraction and jaw surgery say the jaw surgery isnt that much worse as you dont have too much pain afterwards due to numbness? has anyone had both and can tell me about their experiences and how they compare?

I am also really scared about the surgery and potential risks of lasting numbness etc, again my orthodontist and surgeon say the people they have treated that have had lasting nerve damage are still glad they had surgery. But I am still worried? Has anyone had long term damage, and whats your view?

I read that if you dont have surgery overbites can get worse over time, is this true? given that i stopped growing a long time ago?

I have been on a waiting list for 6 years to get this treatment free on the NHS (I know I am very lucky to have this option). I had 2 teeth out last year and got dry socket in both which was horrible, I have had my braces on for 7 months now so I feel i have come this far and I want to see treatment through and get my bite corrected and have a lovely smile I have laways dreamed of, but I am having a lot of doubts over the last few weeks and feel so unsure.

Would love to hear about your experinces and your views after treatment, whether you would do it again?

Look forwrad to hearing from you!

[annafaith]

Sounds like you were quite unlucky with your wisdom teeth experience. I think the difference between wisdom/jaw surgeries is completely personal, but I'll tell you my experience (so far).

I've had four molar teeth out at the same time under local anaesthetic. No pain, just numbess from injections. No swelling, and no bruising. Also had two wisdom teeth out under general anaesthetic. Had a very smooth experience, no nausea, absolutely no swelling, and no pain at all at any point. I was in and out within a few hours, and was as normal the next day. However, jaw surgery was a different story. I'm 6 days post op, and the first 3 days were very hard for me. The swelling was massive and spread to around my neck and throat quite badly, I had nausea solidly for a day and was sick with a lot of blood. I still have a lot of bruising and the swelling started subsiding after about day 3/4.

So in my experience, the two surgeries couldn't have been more different, and having such a smooth wisdom tooth extraction gave me a false sense of security about having jaw surgery I think, as I wasn't prepared for the amount of swelling that occured.

[Bullfighter]

Hi,
I am 28 years old and currently have top and bottom fixed braces straightening my teeth out ready for surgery next year to move my lower jaw forward and correct my overbite. My teeth already look alot better and I am unsure whether to go ahead with surgery as I am scared!

... I am also really scared about the surgery and potential risks of lasting numbness etc, again my orthodontist and surgeon say the people they have treated that have had lasting nerve damage are still glad they had surgery. But I am still worried? Has anyone had long term damage, and whats your view?

I read that if you dont have surgery overbites can get worse over time, is this true? given that i stopped growing a long time ago?

I have been on a waiting list for 6 years to get this treatment free on the NHS (I know I am very lucky to have this option). I had 2 teeth out last year and got dry socket in both which was horrible, I have had my braces on for 7 months now so I feel i have come this far and I want to see treatment through and get my bite corrected and have a lovely smile I have laways dreamed of, but I am having a lot of doubts over the last few weeks and feel so unsure.

Would love to hear about your experinces and your views after treatment, whether you would do it again?

Look forwrad to hearing from you!

If you've already been in braces, you really do need to proceed. Your bite is almost certainly much worse now, because the orthodontist is moving the teeth into the proper position in anticipation of your jaw being changed. The visible straightening is a nice bonus, but the real movement isn't just lining up the teeth to look nice.

If you don't do anything and your case is anything like mine, you will wear your teeth unevenly and eventually lose the back molars, and then develop jaw joint problems. I'm in my 40s, and my teeth are already quite worn in back.

The idea of the surgery is scary. They're cutting your jaw, which sounds like something out of a horror film, and there is a lot of swelling the first few days, so you will look awful. So, that all sounds bad, but...

My experience was that there was no real pain involved, and the visible swelling subsided within a week. I guess it depends on the skill of your surgeon as to how well it goes -- mine had done 3,000+ of these over the years, so lower jaw surgery is not something experimental or unusual. I don't remember anything from the anesthesiologist telling me I would be falling asleep till waking up the next morning. My lower lip was really swollen, so it was hard to drink, but I kind of expected that. The liquid diet immediately after isn't all that satisfying, but your mouth won't open terribly wide, so you'll be glad for what you can get.

On the downside, I do have some lingering numbness in the left side of my chin and a bit on my left lower lip. It feels like a band of tightness in my chin. Hopefully it comes back -- the surgeon said it probably would, and it is a lot better than it was initially. However, my bite is vastly improved, and my profile looks much better, so if I had to do it again I'd say yes, absolutely. I'm actually finding the braces to be a bigger annoyance right now than the remaining numbness.

The numbness doesn't change the way you look, smile or eat, by the way, and I'm not totally numb anywhere -- just have decreased sensitivity right near my chin when I shave, and a spot on my lower lip.

[metal mouth fairy]

Thanks for your messages.. really helpful to hear your honest accounts, good luck with your recoverys!

[annafaith]

I just wanted to add that, even though the first few days after surgery weren't smooth sailing, it was manageable. I feel like I've made it out to be horrific, but it really wasn't that bad! If I could go back I would still do it all over again too.
x

[metal mouth fairy]

No dont worry not horrific just realistic which is what I want to hear! Just read your blog Anna, your new pics look brilliant, I cant believe how much your swelling has gone down after less than 2 weeks. Was so sorry to hear you have to go back in for surgery, wishing you lots of good luck with it and hope you have an easier time with this!