Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi there!

I was on the boards about a year ago but since then I haven't posted so my username was deleted!

Let me introduce myself...I'm Katrina (32) and come from Inverness in Scotland. I have been having ortho treatment for just over a year now (all braced up upper and lower) and my ortho dentist changed about 2 months ago...to cut along story short I have been offered a chance to get referred to Glasgow hospital for upper jaw surgery. I have what they call Vertical Maxillary Excess...in other word a gummy smile.

Now I have always hated my gummy smile...hiding it when I laugh etc..BUT I never knew this process exsisted..so its come of abit of a shock...It will be purely cosmetic (cutting the upper jaw so no gum shows) apart from them SLIGHTLY correcting my bite (this has improved loads since getting my brace on)...

I am absolutely terrified, can't make my mind up, it would mean leaving my 2 kids for 4 days at least to get the surgery and believe you me this is very hard for me BUT I have been offered it on a plate....This would cost me absolutely nothing apart from travel costs etc...I know I am very lucky to get the chance (ortho dentist said I would DEFO be accepted)

I really need to hear from people that have had this done and if anyone has had it done in Glasgow...I'm sorry I sound so ungrateful but I can't stop crying about it...keep thinking about it......I have 4 wks to decide if I want referred or not...please someone give me advice..

Thank you so much for reading this! xxxx

By the way I will understand if I get replies telling me to get a grip because its only cosmetic surgery...

thanks again xx

Hi Katrina,

I had upper and lower jaw surgery about a year ago. (I live in Canada). I had a slightly gummy smile, but the main reason for the surgery was to correct my bite. I am happy that I had it done. I think my teeth and face look great.

If your children are young, you will definitely need someone to help you out at home for a while (I would say about two weeks or so) because the surgery just saps your energy.

Good luck with your decision and let me know if I can answer any questions.

Thank you ohmyjaw,

My kids are 3 and 7 so yeah they are pretty young. Will I need someone with me while getting it done or will they just be in the way???? We don't really leave the kids with anyone although friends and family have offered to have them if I decide to do it????
Were you in pain for all that weeks? Was the bruising horrific? I have seen things on youtube and its pretty bad!!!!

You could bring someone to the hospital with you, if you want. It's always nice to see a familiar face when you wake up afterwards. And you'll need someone to help you get you home, anyways.

I haven't watched any of those youtube videos, so I don't know. I didn't really bruise, just turned a bit yellow. I did swell up - my face was just huge. It was a bit uncomfortable, but they do give you meds for the pain, so don't be worried about that.

Hi Katrina

I was really interested to read your post, as I too have vertical maxillary excess!

I understand that this is a huge decision - i've been thinking about treatment (or rather, wondering how I could improve my profile/smile) for around the past ten years. I'm 23 now, and spent the majority of my teens/younger years hating my teeth. I think this has made me realise that although surgery is a massive step, I think it will be worth it for me in the long run if it means I will have a better appearance and not be bothered by my teeth anymore.

I too am doing this mainly for cosmetic reasons. I have 'lip incompetence' which means that unless I force my lips together there's a bit gap between my top and bottom lip. Kind posts on this board have made me realise that it's no crime to do things for your appearance, particularly if it deeply affects your self esteem. I know surgery is nothing to be taken lightly, particularly if you have children and commitments to take into account, but I think it might be important to ask yourself whether you would regret not getting this surgery... I hope i've phrased that okay, I just mean that if you decide not to get surgery will you get 10/15 years down the line and wish you had?

However, maybe braces alone will be enough for you. My ortho told me that just having braces without the surgery won't make much difference in my case, but I know that everyone is different. Maybe your case isn't that severe, and I definitely don't want to give the impression that I think surgery is the 'only option' - I think i've just come to the decision that it's the right option for me as i've been unhappy with my teeth for so long.

Well, maybe i'm getting somewhat ahead of myself as sadly I don't even have the braces yet! My orthodontist is lovely, but slightly scatty as it appears he has forgotten (twice!) to send my letter of referral to the hospital I'm waiting (somewhat impatiently) for things to get moving. I live in Edinburgh btw and am supposed to be getting referred to the dental institute here. In the meantime it's comforting to read other peoples experiences. This board has been a lot of help to me!

Hope this is of some help, good luck with making your decision x x x

smiling pretty wrote:Hi there!

Now I have always hated my gummy smile...hiding it when I laugh etc

Yes, surgery is scary and it is made even more difficult when you have little ones. But if this is something you have always been bothered by then you really should continue to give it some serious thought. Many people on here have posted that the cosmetic benefits of the surgery have helped their self esteem. Don't get sucked into the, 'I shouldn't do this because it is more cosmetic than anyting' arguement with yourself. If it will make you feel better, than don't feel guilty about going for it.

I was offered a chin lipo with my SARPE - I chickend out. I always said I would never ever have a cosmetic surgery....now I am considering finding a plastic surgeon not only for the chin, but to fix a couple of the sags that my children left behind

Don't get me wrong, this surgery is a big deal and I am not trying to push it on you by any means. It just sounds like you would really like to do it, but you are worried because it is more of a cosmetic thing. The bottom line is that as long as it is your decision and you are happy with it, it will be the right one.

Now as to the kids. Yup it will be a lot of work and you will be tired. You will need help the first few days. I tend to think that in these situations you are allowed to be a bit of a bad parent. Buy them lots of new videos, let them play on the computer, beg, borrow or steal one of those game cube things if you have to Box mac 'n cheese, frozen pizza and SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM - while not the best diet, it won't kill them for a week or two - and they will probably love it! Tell friends you need help and send the kids off to play for the day with the promise that you will return the favor when you feel up to it. It will be hard, but after the first 5 days or so you will find you are able to manage a game or two of Candyland. Cook ahead as much as you can and stock up on frozen fruit for smoothies.

I know it is a hard decision and I wish you the best of luck. Keep reading and doing your homework. Check out some of the blogs for good firsthand experiences too.

First of all thank you all so much for taking time to reply to me..brilliant advice all round!

Still really scared though.

Has anyones nose gone wider with this surgery???? And did they fix it?

I had what you're thinking of having - though I also had the lower jaw done too. The upper was impacted by 3mm on one side and 5mm on the other to correct assymetry, but also to correct my slightly gummy smile. I'm very pleased with the outcome of this, as I show no gum when I smile now, but did before - much nicer. I also had few complications from the upper surgery, with only a couple of numb spots in the upper part of my face/mouth which came back to life after a couple of week.

I was told that my nose wouldn't change with impaction, and that this tended to happen more with people having the maxilla brought down and/or foward. That said, the base of my nose has widened by 3-4mm. I don't know if this is permanent or due to swelling. Swelling takes 18 months to fully resolve and I'm only halfway there.

I had my biggest problems with the lower jaw surgery, with stiffness and numbness taking a couple of months to resolve (and I still have only about 60% of feeling back at 9 months post-op).

dubnobass wrote:I had what you're thinking of having - though I also had the lower jaw done too. The upper was impacted by 3mm on one side and 5mm on the other to correct assymetry, but also to correct my slightly gummy smile. I'm very pleased with the outcome of this, as I show no gum when I smile now, but did before - much nicer. I also had few complications from the upper surgery, with only a couple of numb spots in the upper part of my face/mouth which came back to life after a couple of week.

I was told that my nose wouldn't change with impaction, and that this tended to happen more with people having the maxilla brought down and/or foward. That said, the base of my nose has widened by 3-4mm. I don't know if this is permanent or due to swelling. Swelling takes 18 months to fully resolve and I'm only halfway there.



I had my biggest problems with the lower jaw surgery, with stiffness and numbness taking a couple of months to resolve (and I still have only about 60% of feeling back at 9 months post-op).

60% I never got told that!!! And as for the nose widening well my nose is wide enough as it is! Mind you hopefully thats just for lower if you know what I mean!

I will upload photos of my mouth when I work out how to do it! Wow I feel abitty sick!!

Right sorry guys hope I don't put you off your food!!...Ortho said that the swollen gums are 100% ok...yip I did check!
Also sorry for the size of photos...I spent ages trying to sort them...I've given up as you can see!!

BEFORE BRACE


THE SMILE THAT I HIDE


ME JUST SMILING TRYING NOT TO SHOW GUMS!

smiling pretty wrote:60% I never got told that!!! And as for the nose widening well my nose is wide enough as it is! Mind you hopefully thats just for lower if you know what I mean!

I'm hoping feeling will return completely in time - even at 60% or so of what it was before, I could live like this quite happily. A small proportion of people have permanent numbness in some areas.. quite a large proportion report some sort of alteration in sensation, but you learn to live with it, if you see what I mean.
And yes, it was lower lip and chin numbness due to the lower jaw surgery, not upper.

The nose widening - that was definitely due to upper jaw surgery. Soft tissue changes are very hard to predict, some peoples' noses will change and some won't. It's less likley with the sort of movement you'd be having.

Thanks dubnobass

I have alot of deciding to do in these next few wks..in saying that I suppose I can go for my consultation and see from there?

Hi Smiling Pretty.

I am in the same boat as you, with an extremely gummy smile.

Here is mine:



I was told I'm going to have an upper maxillary impaction. But I'm afraid that they won't be able to fix it, as it's very extreme. Obviously I need to get my teeth into the proper position before the surgery, hence the braces [also to help hold the jaw together after surgery].

I know how you feel about smiling. I absolutely hate it more than anything, and it has made my life so miserable. It's gotten in the way of relationships, but I'm now with my husband who wants to do anything to make me feel like I'm actually worth looking at, hence the reason this is getting done.

I wish you the best of luck, and keep us updated. You can e-mail me if you'd like, I'd like to keep in touch with someone with the same problem as I. princesspayette at gmail dot com

Jess

dubnobass wrote: I was told that my nose wouldn't change with impaction, and that this tended to happen more with people having the maxilla brought down and/or foward. That said, the base of my nose has widened by 3-4mm.

Cripes, my maxilla will be expanded and also brought down in front. This can't be a good combination for the nose. As Meryaten mentioned, I'm also curious about this mythical alar stitch (also something called a Y stitch tho I dunno if those are the same). I've heard about it but never heard from anyone who had it done so I'm not sure if it works or not.

To smiling pretty... Imagine your life five years from now, how your life might be if 1) you did get the surgery and 2) if you didn't get the surgery. And go with whichever feels right !

once in a lifetime opportunity GO FOR IT make yourself happy and think of the smile you will have after !!!