Don't want to do surgery...will braces suffice?

[wildroses4u]

I am 50 years old and have a severe overbite of roughly 12mm. I've consulted 2 orthodontists who both agree that in my case, I would have to undergo jaw surgery to re-position my lower jaw, as well as wear braces. I am looking into lingual braces, as I am self-conscious about wearing braces at my age (as a teacher I have to interact with people of all ages on a daily basis). My orthodontist has said that the braces alone should correct about 6mm, and I might be happy with that alone. I have various fears regarding surgery - from pain, numbness, not liking the change to my face/profile, to my bone not fusing well due to my age.

Has anyone been in a similar dilemma? I would very much appreciate knowing what you decided to do and how happy you are with the decision and results. Also, any advice is welcome. Thanks in advance.

[sirwired]

Assuming you are otherwise-healthy, I would think the surgery would be no more risky than for somebody younger, even if they might want to leave you on soft-chew a little longer.

As far as being self-conscious of "regular" braces goes: I don't recall a single person here, from all sorts of professions, getting hassled about the braces by customers, friends, coworkers, etc. I cannot imagine a teacher (many of whose students will be in braces themselves) getting too much flak. You'd probably want to stay away from rainbow-colored ligs, but other than that, I don't see an issue.

But if a 6mm overjet sounds good enough to you, then by all means don't get the surgery; it certainly isn't risk (or cost) free.

[Anna5]

Hello!

I think it all depends on how you feel about your overbite, but as sirwired said, if an 6 mm overbite sounds ok to you, then I should avoid the surgery. I remember an ortho saying that a 6 mm overbite is within normal ranges, and there is no need for treatment unless you want perfection of course. I think it is great if braces alone can reduce your overbite by half!
I wish you very good luck with your decision!

Greetings from Anna

[Alicia110613]

I remember seeing some posts from surgery patients in their 50s on http://www.jawsurgeryblog.com/forums/ It may be helpful for you to look at their experiences.

I remember my doctor saying the recovery time increases as you get older. That may include nerve recovery as well, i.e. possibly higher chance of numbness. However, I personally know a 50 year old who is as energetic and a 35 yr old -- so it definitely depends whether you are in good physical shape/health!

[mollycat]

In my early 40's, and also a teacher, I went with clear brackets on the top front teeth and metal on the rest. My students didn't notice until the end of class, when I said something. It's really not a big deal. I do like having the clear front brackets, however, so it's not immediately obvious when I first see someone. Someone else may be able to answer this, but I'd suggest finding out if lingual braces would impact your speaking more.

I'm planning on surgery next year and none of the surgeons even mentioned my age.

We all need to make the decisions that are right for us. All the best,
Molly

[macve004]

As others have said, it depends on your personal feelings. From what I've gathered, you've gone quite a while with your bite now. You mentioned you are afraid of not liking the resulting aesthetic changes surgery might bring (which I assume means you're at least content with how you look now), and you're not very comfortable with the risks associated with the surgery. So... why do it?

I think most anyone who's had the surgery can attest to the emotional, physical and psychological labor that goes into the recovery time. It's not easy, and you won't be hard-pressed to find those who went through it and ultimately weren't happy with the results. Of course, you'll find a lot of people who were happy. Those people, though, seem to me to be the ones most ready for the surgery, accepting of the risks (even content with permanent numbness--a fairly common thing for a lot of jaw surgeries!), and most optimistic but realistic about the results. Ask yourself if you can become those things; if you can, you'll do fine whether you're age 50 or not!

If not, well, at least you have your answer there too!

Hope this helps!

[bmueller]

It all depends on the reason for getting orthodontics to begin with. Are you trying to get straighter teeth or are you trying to change your bite? If your main goal is straighter teeth, I would just go with the braces. If your goal is to change your bite characterstics, then maybe consider surgery. 6 mm overjet would be fine in my opinion, especially if you don't want to deal with the risks of surgery and the nusance of metal braces.

Linguals are nice but if you do have bite issues, you'll end up with "visible" parts of your braces anyways. Check out my blog and do some research on your own before making any major decisions.

As always, never go into any procedure without complete trust in your doctor/surgeon/ortho.