when to get jaw surgery

[girl26]

hi guys ..just wondering if its possible to get braces after braces or in the middle of braces treatment?

the last ortho i went to see was pretty adamanent i get it done before braces..although i've seen youtube vids of people with braces getting the surgery

[Van'braces]

I had my sarpe surgery and wisdom teeth extractions while wearing braces (had them on for 3 months prior) It was no problem for the ortho or the surgeon, that is how they would normally do things for my type of surgery. I'm sure all ortho's and surgeons have their preferences though...

[wiredmouth]

Hey! my process started last year. First I had my top wisdom teeth extracted by my dentist. then i was referred to a oral maxillofacial surgeon in order to get my bottom impacted wisdom teeth removed. it was a bone removal / surgical removal under local anesthesia. I had lost some feeling in my chin and bottom lip for several months because of some nerve damage (which is a risk with the oral surgery).

Next I was referred to an orthodontist. orthodontist then referred me to talk to oral surgeon after I had my molds/impressions / x rays taken. Oral surgeon said that teeth need to be aligned first in order to properly adjust or make the bite correct. So, unless your teeth are perfectly aligned on top and bottom, you will not get the orthognathic surgery first.

check out my blog for more info if you wish. here's the link

http://letstalkaboutteeth.blogspot .com

[amandapanda]

The first thing I had done was that I had an expander placed into the roof of my mouth. I then had my SARPE surgery and the surgeon also removed all my wisdom teeth. A few months later when the expansion was complete, I had braces put on. A whole year later, I had my upper and lower jaw surgery. It's been four weeks since the surgery and I've been wearing elastics ever since. I guess each surgeon and orthodontist will have their own preferences, like Van'braces said, as some people seem to be wired shut for a long time, others wear only elastics and others don't even wear elastics at all. I'm almost certain there was a person on here who had this surgery without having braces... maybe if you look through this sub-forum, you might be able to find the posts detailing their experience.

[suzyscientist]

Everyone has a different jaw and teeth so it's hard to say what is best

In my case, I had braces (top and bottom) for 10 months then had BSSO, lower wisdom teeth removal and genioplasty last month. I have (hopefully) just another 5-6 months in braces, but I know I've been really lucky and my teeth have behaved well... it can take longer!

Like Amanda said there are a few people on the boards who had surgery without braces, so search for those.

Have you had a second opinion? It's always worth getting another consultation if you can, just to make sure you're getting the best possible treatment.

Good luck

Suzy

[girl26]

HI guys

thanks for the replies.

what i meant was is it possble to have them done as two seperate treatments?

as in get the surgery first and THEn get braces after..ie later on..or does it all have to part of the same treatment plan?

[suzyscientist]

I would think they have to be part of the same plan. I was always told that your teeth had to be in the right position so they align correctly after surgery - if your teeth are already in the right position, then you might not need orthodontics at all. But there's no point in having surgery if your teeth don't function afterwards! So if you need braces and surgery, I think they'll have to be done as part of the same plan... In fact I don't know if an OS would perform surgery if s/he had concerns about how the teeth would function afterwards...

But it really is a case-by-case thing. Get a consultation with an orthodontist and/ or surgeon and get a professional opinion.

Good luck!

Suzy