I definitely don't want to minimize other people's bad experiences but as someone currently prepping for surgery (with a consultation later today!), I would definitely like to hear some positive results of jaw surgery! I think it would be great to bring up the positivity and make us all at least a little bit more optimistic about our situation.
So if anyone is willing, please share what differences in your face post surgery that you enjoyed and how the surgery has positively impacted your life whether it be cosmetic or medical? Please also include what you had done so we can all get an idea of the facial impacts of that particular procedure. Thank you!
Good idea! Sometimes it's too easy to focus on the negatives of surgery.
For me, I love the way I look now. My nose looks smaller and I have a chin now. I also had almost no pain in my ears when I flew on 2 planes in August. I used to get awful pain in my Eustachian tubes.
Eating so far is harder but I'm sure it'll get easier soon.
Also a bonus: I live in a small town so I bump into people all the time. No one recognizes me anymore unless I tell them who I am. Much less annoying small talk for me now.
SARPE: December 19, 2013
Expander out/TPA in: May 13th, 2014
Upper and lower braces: May 21, 2014
Lefort I + BSSO + sliding genioplasty: June 11, 2015
Braces off: November 28th, 2016!!!
Braces on again, upper and lower: September 3, 2024
I had double jaw surgery and a genioplasty about 4 weeks ago, and so far am very happy with how things are going. I had asymmetry in my mandible - no idea what caused it, maybe it was genetic or maybe I fell off my bike as a child, maybe from early orthodontic treatment. So for me, in addition to the surgery making my profile much nicer (same as Jamie, my nose looks smaller, chin more defined), it's made my whole face more symmetrical. Things aren't perfect, and I'm still swollen, but cosmetically I think I look better. Also, I have SO much more room in my mouth now, as well as my airway. I used to snore and struggle with sleep, but that seems to be gone.
I had a forward sliding sagittal split osteotomy (lower jaw cut and extended) naturally it was painful for a while but it settled down and eating became easier. I'm far happier with my appearance now as I was always very self concious.
I echo the sentiment of the others: I love my new look! I got a 1-piece Lefort 1 with only a few mm change forward and up (my bite was already good) and a cant correction, a BSSO that brought my lower jaw forward about 5mm and to the side to match the cant correction, and a sliding genio that brough my chin forward another few mm for a total 1cm forward movement of my chin. It's a very different look, but I love my results! Don't go into it expecting perfection tho. I think all of us could pick out things here and there that aren't perfect, but if you look at the general improvement, it's been huge for me! It's greatly reduced my snoring, too! 10/10, would do again!
No braces
1-piece LeFort I + BSSO + Sliding Genio on 10 JUNE 2015!
Partial hardware removal 14 SEP 2018
So glad to hear all these positive experiences from jaw surgery. I'll most likely be having surgery sometime next year and I'm very nervous but i know it'll be worth it down the line
I am more confident in my smile - I used to refuse to show my teeth as much as possible. My upper face doesn't have that "sunken" look it had before.
And my favourite things:
1. I can bite into things properly and eat them properly now rather than having to tear it into pieces. Eating sandwiches used to be awful because my teeth didn't meet together so I couldn't cut through.
2. I can breathe properly and smell things better too now! My sense of smell used to be nonexistent and I used to struggle to breathe if lying on my back because of how my underbite affected my airways.
My 2-piece LeFort, combined with some work a year before on my schnozz, meant I can freely breathe through my nose. It also stopped the gum recession which was the whole point of the braces and surgery.
Cosmetically, it was a non-event. My mid-face is not as slender as it was, so I look a little different, but in my case the surgery was not done for cosmetic reasons, and was not designed to fix any aesthetic defects. (Actually, it de-centered my upper mid-line somewhat... it doesn't bother me any, and I knew about it going in.)
I had a Leforte 1, BSSO, and sliding genio. Total movement of my chin was close to 13-14mm forward. Upper and lowers moved forward 10mm.
Better breathing, better bite. Not off CPAP yet, but I'm still working with my ortho gaining width; the forward movement wasn't enough.
I have a thinner lower face and no longer have a double chin; both from weight lose after surgery and the lengthening.
Overall I'm pleased with it, but it's been a long road for recovery. Still a bit numb in some spots but that's slowly coming back.
Round 3 (lifetime) Damon stainless applied 3/16/20 (after 4 weeks attempting invisalign) On for about 18 months
Night time elastics with invisalign retainers; still...
Double jaw surgery was 6/18/15...
Orthodontics never really ends...
I'm emphatically against extraction orthodontics!
