Metal Mouth Message Board

Hello,

I am having corrective jaw surgery at some stage to fix my underbite (next year I presume the way my braces are going) and I thought to myself... heck why not post here and join in with everyone else going through the same thing. (I found the site a while back when doing some related research).

My story so far... LOOONG READ so if you're not up to it hit the back button on your web browser

As a teenager I always felt there was something wrong with my appearance. At the age of 16 I went to get my braces on but was delayed due to the dentist refusing to refer me to an orthodontist until I cleaned my teeth properly (which was partially true, I admit).

Years later (20 years old), I finally got around to going to the orthodontist who asked me a simple question that I never asked myself - what don't you like about your smile/teeth? I thought about it, quite suprised of the question which I did not expect, and concluded that I didn't like how my upper teeth were always hidden from sight - that my smile was very "thin" looking because only a small amount of my upper teeth ever showed themselves.

The orthodontist recognized my jaw problem which I was completely unaware of (because I could never quite figure out what "it" was that made my face look "different" and kind of ugly). Luckily for me, I was mature enough to make sure I had all the information even if it seemed ridiculous at the time.

When I explained to my parents I wanted to have jaw surgery, they looked at me like I was trying to have cosmetic surgery and did not understand it at all. For my parents, they look at me and see me as "fine" looking and the "way god made me".

I let the idea go for a while, but after a few months I realized that I was very unhappy... especially now that I had a solution to my problem. I argued with them heaps but, they finally decided to take me to get a second opinion. They wanted a second opinion to "verify" that I really needed jaw surgery and that I wasn't being "conned" into some sort of plastic surgery time operation. To cut this part of the story short... yes, in the end they realized it was a REAL solution to a REAL problem.

If you're wondering how it is possible I did not realize I had an underbite then let me explain... basically it is because my upper teeth are VERY MUCH tilted forward so that they actually went over my bottom teeth. My mid-face still looked very flat, my nose down-turned, my upper teeth nearly completely hidden, yet no "obvious" signs of what the problem was (the upper jaw too far back). It is very frustrating to think that I had an underbite of this kind.

I now have two surgeons who are going to perform the surgery on me to correct my underbite, and from what I understand it is the movement of the upper jaw forward only.

Think I made the right decision? I KNOW I did... here are my options in life:

Scenario A:

- Have braces for 4+ years to correct my bite without surgery - the catch is that my gums would likely receed a lot and my teeth would not look all that great in the end result.

- Have a large financial bill (for the braces alone) and work to pay it off over a year.

- Keep all the psychological problems and confidence issues that come with having a poorly grown upper jaw. I never wanted people outside of my family to look me in the face directly. I never smiled because I couldn't quite "smile" in a normal way. I was never able to express my emotions properly as my facial expressions can never match what I am trying to express - especially when trying to appear friendly (because as we know, a smile is friendly).

- Enjoy a life as a person inside of a face I don't want which leads to self abuse, hatred and even the abuse of others.

- Have to deal with people mocking me at times. In my life, a lot of people have outright called me "ugly" but often only the ones who weren't scared to do so (because I always looked quite unfriendly - not that I could help that).

- Never be able to smile, at least not the way I think a smile is. eg. a few times in my life people have told me to "smile" and I had to tell them "I am smiling"... those people always go quiet when they realize.

Scenario B (my choice):

- Have braces for 2 years and have orthognathic surgery, which has some risks but is a very common and reasonably safe procedure these days.

- Incur a rather insane financial bill and work to pay it off over the next few years.

- No longer have any psychological issues with my appearance (well, at least less than I currently have). Most likely, I will be enjoying positive thoughts, confidence and self-acceptance.

- Truly enjoy a life as a person inside of a face which looks normal (if not attractive).

- Sure... I'd deal with people mocking me, but no where near as much as now. In fact, I doubt that'd happen anymore and I bet I can expect compliments of all sorts.

- Smile to my hearts content and express myself the way I want to!

Joe,

I'm in the similar situation as you. I was recommended surgery at age 18 with a mild case, but my parent's didn't want that so I let it go....5 years later. I now have a full time job and just got my braces on 3 days ago in preparation for a lower jaw surgery. Insurance has been a pain and I'm paying 5.5k out of pocket for braces along with some costs associated to the surgery. The way I look at it is this will be the best 10-20k can buy me. No car, electronics, clothes up to 20k can buy me a lifetime of stress-free and hurt-free than a normal bite can bring me. Good luck, I'm estimated to have surgery by December if not early spring 11.

Andy

Hi Andy,

The lesson here is that, our parents can be bias on some very important things. They aren't going to tell us we need "work" done on us, however minor or major. They inadvertently mocked me just like many others did, so I realized I live in a reality where its not enough to just "accept" the way you are because then you're living in an illusion. My older brother has an underbite and did not go for surgery. He's 30 years old now, has had braces but he can't bite his teeth together. It looks pretty minor but i'm sure it affects his looks a bit.

You're right, people spend money on their appearance all the time. For me its the best $16,000+ I'm spending as well.

Feeling good about yourself - you can't put a price tag on that. It affects your entire life in a positive way when you love the way you look and are confident about everything you do.

I feel unfortunate that my genetics let me down while I was growing, and that my parents never thought to get me check when I was young (because they can stretch the jaw without surgery when you're little, like 10 years old). Haha, my orthodontist was kind of angry at my parents for not getting me check but his excuse was that he has had 7 children and works non-stop all his life.

How long are your braces on for Andy?

I have to wait until about 1.5 years into my 2 years of braces until they could possibly do the surgery. I then have 2 years of "retention"after the first 2 years of braces. Although, I don't really think thats a big deal... the glad its done factor will far outweigh the annoyance factor of retainers, lack of feeling in face, etc.

Good point! My genetics have also let me down through 3 surgeries and counting (ganglion cysts x2, another cyst) and now underbite. I just got my braces on last Thursday and they aren't much fun. I'm a bit more self conscious now, but i'll get over it haha. Orthodontist told me I'll be ready by December since my insurance certificate expires after that. However, good thing is I work for the Dept of Defense so I can upgrade my insurance for better coverage in 2011. I had low end coverage because I was cutting back on costs (stupid I know) and didn't plan on getting surgery. I've been talking myself through living with this but the past 9 months, my bite is shifting left which makes the bite look worse. Your treatment sounds much longer than mine, but who knows how mine can take since we all adapt/heal differently. I'm excited and anxious for the process at the same time. Keep in touch.

Andy

Every time I've had a cyst in the past (as a teenager) I kinda just left it and it went away. That's unforunate you needed surgery for them.

Well, everyone has some kind of genetic problem... very few look beatiful without putting in some effort... I admit I wish I had "something" for "nothing" but at least we get the benefit of knowing we had to work towards being who we want to be and maybe then we can keep up our positive mindsets.

I need braces first because my teeth have made it so they can bite together even though my jaw is so far back. When he's done, my bite will be natural for my jaws positions (a big underbite). From what my orthodontist tells me, my face is going to start looking a lot worse right before surgery and then it'll look a lot better after. I will be glad to have the surgery for this reason.

I agree, it is going to get worse up until the point of the surgery. My bite is not adapting to the braces very well after 5 days, the teeth are sore and the bite is awkward...sigh I hope it gets better. With the expander up top, talking for a long periods is rough.

Ha I can only feel the few very back teeth touch in my mouth unless I hold my mouth in an awkward position. Hoping I can get done soon and hope you find closure joebraces!