Metal Mouth Message Board

So how long do you have to wear braces before and after surgery? Also I keep seeing a word on this board I don't recgonizie, what is SARPE?

SARPE=Surgically Assisted Rapid Palatial Expansion. In essence expanding the upper palate.

Time in braces varies greatly. All depends on what your issues are. A very rough guess for someone who has never had braces before, would be 1-2 years before and 6 months to 1 year after. It could be a lot less if you have had braces before. Few folks are more than this although it does happen.

Thanks for the reply. So could it be less if a person has had braces?

Why is it necessary to have braces before?

I'm currently in braces for the second time, and I've seen several on these boards that are in them for the third time (some even more).

It's not necessary to have had braces before...it's just that we had them (often when younger), and the problem was skeletal, not just teeth, so the problems (whether it's open bite, overbite, overjet, underbite, etc) are masked with braces but can come back after braces are removed, or the underlying jaw issue causes problems (such as TMJ pain, arthritis, clenching/grinding, etc.) that lead a person to get braces and surgery.

So if the teeth are fairly straight before braces go on, whether it's due to having braces before or just being lucky that way, the time is generally less before you are deemed ready for surgery. I've been in braces over a year despite having had braces in the past, but that's because I had to have four premolars extracted and had to wait for those gaps to close before I was ready for surgery.

Hope this helps!

charlsie142 wrote:I'm currently in braces for the second time, and I've seen several on these boards that are in them for the third time (some even more).

It's not necessary to have had braces before...it's just that we had them (often when younger), and the problem was skeletal, not just teeth, so the problems (whether it's open bite, overbite, overjet, underbite, etc) are masked with braces but can come back after braces are removed, or the underlying jaw issue causes problems (such as TMJ pain, arthritis, clenching/grinding, etc.) that lead a person to get braces and surgery.

So if the teeth are fairly straight before braces go on, whether it's due to having braces before or just being lucky that way, the time is generally less before you are deemed ready for surgery. I've been in braces over a year despite having had braces in the past, but that's because I had to have four premolars extracted and had to wait for those gaps to close before I was ready for surgery.

Hope this helps!

Thanks. Did you have to have those teeth extracted just for surgery?

Well, not specifically for surgery, but to achieve the optimum results, I did have to have them extracted. I think most people don't have extractions before surgery, although I've seen several people on here that have had them. It just varies by how small your mouth is and the extent of crowding. By having the teeth extracted, my orthodontist was able to give me a much wider arch in closing my gaps, so now I have a lot wider smile. Now it's up to my surgeon to get the teeth to meet properly.

As Charlsie142 pointed out. You don't need to have braces before. Some of us have because orthdontists that have treated us in the past tried to correct problems with just braces. If the issues are skeletal, braces can't correct them.

rosy22 wrote:As Charlsie142 pointed out. You don't need to have braces before. Some of us have because orthdontists that have treated us in the past tried to correct problems with just braces. If the issues are skeletal, braces can't correct them.

So are you saying if you've had braces in the past to try to correct the problem, you do have to have them again before surgery?

Also how long do you have to wear them after surgery?

Currently slated for double jaw surgery to correct an underbite. My ortho estimated 9-12 months of braces until I'm ready for surgery, then another 9-12 months afterwards. Just finished week 1

It's not so bad really. Just remember, the sooner you start, the sooner you finish. I wish I had started this years ago, because I'd already be done now!

Most of the time, surgeons want you to have braces before you have surgery, even if your teeth are fairly straight. I have a colleague who had her surgery without having to get braces first, but it's uncommon and you're more likely to get the best result (i.e., bite) if you have braces before/during/after. Plus, I remember her telling me how awful the arch bars were...and I think I've seen others post about them here, if I remember correctly.

Why do people wear braces for different lengths of time afterwards?

Oh, and does everyone have to have extractions before surgery to create space? I was reading somebody's blog and was led to believe that.

24braceface wrote:Why do people wear braces for different lengths of time afterwards?

Because no 2 cases are exactly alike. Because everyone's needs are different. Because what works well for Patient A may not be suitable for Patient B. Because (fill in the blank).

See my timeline below, but I wore braces for roughly 6 months before surgery and 3.5 months after!

As my post above stated, most people don't have extractions before surgery. I know a lot of times extractions may be offered as an alternative to surgery by some orthodontists, but I would say that's in rare cases as well.

The more you learn about orthognathic surgery, the more you'll see that every case is quite different, as are the treatment plans of everyone's orthodontists and surgeons, just as Lisette was saying.