Going crazy!!! Were you sure you wanted surgery?

[keeponsmiling]

Please can someone give me some perspective? I have an open bite and was scheduled for Lefort 1 and BSSO later this year. However, we just moved house and I had to transfer my treatment. The new surgeon wants my wisdom teeth out and then suggests genio to reduce my chin at the same time as the Lefort and BSSO. The genio I'm fine about because I always hated my chin, and I thought I was ok about the wisdom teeth too because I was really surprised when the first surgeon said he was leaving them in place. But now I have two issues.

First, I already had four premolars out as a kid, so after losing the wisdom teeth I won't have many left! Since one of the reasons for my surgery is that the open bite was causing wear and tear on my back teeth, surely removing the wisdom teeth will put even more wear and tear on the ones that are left?

Second, I'm freaking out about the whole issue. Having my wisdoms out in two days makes the 'big' surgery feel more inevitable and I feel like I'm running out of any chance to escape from major surgery. When I made the decision to go ahead with treatment and had the braces fitted, the surgery seemed like such a distant issue I just ignored it. I got good at putting it out of my mind and just concentrating on getting adjustments and feeling my teeth gradually get closer together. Now that the reality's drawing nearer there's a huge part of me that just wants to pull out. My teeth are straight now, the bite is a bit better though I still have a 3mm gap and crossbite and I think maybe the lip incompetence will improve once I don't have to stretch my lips over two rows of metal. Then I catch sight of my hideous reflection and see the sunken cheeks, the constant 'sad' expression because my face is dragged down with excess vertical height, the droopy gormless mouth and big puckered chin and think that I'm just wimping out of surgery when I should be ecstatic that there is a way to fix my problems. But it seems as though all the pro-surgery thoughts are based on aesthetics, because even though my bite is still open I could easily live with it if I thought my appearance was attractive.

My husband says I'm trying to counter my fear of a couple of weeks of pain against a lifetime of misery about my looks and the functionality of my teeth has become a side issue. He's completely right, and I also worry about whether I will suffer TMJ, headaches etc in the future if I don't go ahead, but right now I'm totally stressed out and confused. Does everyone else have this ongoing fight in their heads about what to do, or did you all just know you wanted surgery and got on with it. I'm going so mad thinking about this and obsessing about it I really need some opinions from people who've gone through it. Thank you all so much!

[DRG]

I spent at least ten years considering it before I finally got fed up and pulled the trigger. I went through a handful of consultations in 1999, but eventually talked myself out of it. A year or so later, I discussed it with my dentist who set me up with a different OS to speak to. I let that fizzle out again.

Smash cut to more recent times when I was discussing this with my new dentist (I had moved in the meantime). He gave me a card for an ortho and then taunted me by saying to the hygenist, right in front of me, "He's not going to do it, I'll bet you that he doesn't call".

It may have taken me another four or five months, but I just couldn't let that go. I made the call and received the same opinion from this ortho (now "my" ortho) that my case required surgery. During my first visit to my OS he told me that he hears this same tale frequently. He'll have a patient decline surgery at age 19 only to see them again at age 29 or even still again at 39. Sure, that may have been just to put me at ease, but I appreciated that I wasn't alone on this path.

Good luck, keeponsmiling, you'll be fine and it will be worth it.
DRG

[double jawbreaker]

Hi Keeponsmiling. Like DRG I went years contemplating the surgery. After grinding down my back molars to the point that my back teeth are meeting only at certain points, I finally decided to get the surgery at age thirty-five. It didn't help that my dentist who has been urging me to fix my bite for ten years, told me my under-bite makes me look older. Nice right?

[I love my teeth]

Same here!! Was told at 22 braces and surgery--I let that go, fast forward to age 38, we moved, new dentist---encouraged me to see an OS and OD--his rational, was I hadn't had any consults in so long, maybe things had changed, maybe I had other non surgical options, ect.....no, same story, braces and surgery! Now I am 2 weeks from turning 4-0!!

I am now 10weeks postop, and 22 months in braces---kicking myself for not doing it sooner, but happy I am doing it now!

good luck!

[Lc1987]

I'm 24 next month...I've just had my brace on the top fixed and the bottom is to follow soon. As far as i know i'm getting top and bottom moved forward and my chin moved back to match the new jaw position.

I've been thinking about it for a long time, I was picked on as a child for my chin...Its not big as such, just kinda pointed. I still manage to get alot of attention from guys so It doesnt seem to stop me...but I worry that my new jaw will spoil me. Even though I know deep down that I will probs look great and restore the confidence that i lost from the bullying.

The reason I'm having this done it because of my overbite (or overjet...i'm not sure about the names of it all at the moment) I get headaches and jaw ache and was told it needed sorting. I accepted my dodgy jaw as myself but I feel quite lucky that I've been given the option to correct my bite & jaw problems...whilst getting straight teeth and a new jaw line in the process.

Your naturally going to feel unsure about it...but at the end of the day there are proberly people out there that wish they could have the chance to correct something about themselves. You now have that chance.

I think forums like this help, as you can talk to others in a similar situation. I am yet to come across someone who is unhappy afterwards with the way that they look. Just imagine how much confidence you could gain from this

Good luck with it all!

[Bullfighter]

Please can someone give me some perspective? I have an open bite and was scheduled for Lefort 1 and BSSO later this year. However, we just moved house and I had to transfer my treatment. The new surgeon wants my wisdom teeth out and then suggests genio to reduce my chin at the same time as the Lefort and BSSO. The genio I'm fine about because I always hated my chin, and I thought I was ok about the wisdom teeth too because I was really surprised when the first surgeon said he was leaving them in place. But now I have two issues.

First, I already had four premolars out as a kid, so after losing the wisdom teeth I won't have many left! Since one of the reasons for my surgery is that the open bite was causing wear and tear on my back teeth, surely removing the wisdom teeth will put even more wear and tear on the ones that are left?

Second, I'm freaking out about the whole issue. Having my wisdoms out in two days makes the 'big' surgery feel more inevitable and I feel like I'm running out of any chance to escape from major surgery. When I made the decision to go ahead with treatment and had the braces fitted, the surgery seemed like such a distant issue I just ignored it. I got good at putting it out of my mind and just concentrating on getting adjustments and feeling my teeth gradually get closer together. Now that the reality's drawing nearer there's a huge part of me that just wants to pull out. My teeth are straight now, the bite is a bit better though I still have a 3mm gap and crossbite and I think maybe the lip incompetence will improve once I don't have to stretch my lips over two rows of metal. Then I catch sight of my hideous reflection and see the sunken cheeks, the constant 'sad' expression because my face is dragged down with excess vertical height, the droopy gormless mouth and big puckered chin and think that I'm just wimping out of surgery when I should be ecstatic that there is a way to fix my problems. But it seems as though all the pro-surgery thoughts are based on aesthetics, because even though my bite is still open I could easily live with it if I thought my appearance was attractive.

My husband says I'm trying to counter my fear of a couple of weeks of pain against a lifetime of misery about my looks and the functionality of my teeth has become a side issue. He's completely right, and I also worry about whether I will suffer TMJ, headaches etc in the future if I don't go ahead, but right now I'm totally stressed out and confused. Does everyone else have this ongoing fight in their heads about what to do, or did you all just know you wanted surgery and got on with it. I'm going so mad thinking about this and obsessing about it I really need some opinions from people who've gone through it. Thank you all so much!

A few thoughts:

1. An open bite leads to problems later in life. I had a BSSO in Feb not for cosmetic reasons but because I was wearing out my back molars too quickly. Your bite needs to be pretty much spot on if you're planning to have teeth when you're older.

2. Not sure how old you are, but I'm over 40 and in hindsight I wish I would have had this surgery 10 or 15 years ago. My teeth would have been preserved better, and recovery time probably would have been shorter (although 8 weeks after surgery I'm starting to feel some semblance of normal again... just some lingering numbness in my chin and a reduced range of jaw motion, which is improving very slowly.) So, unless you're 12 years old, there's no advantage to putting this off.

3. I had genio with my BSSO. I'm extremely happy with the result, and that I did it all at once. Add a LeFort and it won't be comfortable for you (OK you'll be miserable for a week...), but you probably will be really pleased with how you look as a result. If you back out now, you may spend the rest of your life in a "what if" mode. I stared into a lot of mirrors before my surgery, and I realized my face was "wrong" due to "retrognathism" and an overjet. It's not a subjective thing. Add that to the medical necessity of having a proper bite and think about it.

I was nervous as hell the night before surgery, but I had total confidence in my surgeon, and he explained the surgical plan in way that made complete sense. It's a precision procedure, and he does 150 of these every year, and has been doing it for close to 30 years.

As an Officially Accredited Anonymous Guy on the Internet, my recommendation -- if you're satisfied that you have found the right surgeon -- is to go forward with this.

[keeponsmiling]

Thankyou all so much for your words of wisdom. For the record, I'm 32 and have known I need surgery for almost a decade, but life and kids got in the way and then one morning I decided to do something for myself and made the appointment... In total I've seen 2 NHS dentists, a private dentist, a private ortho, two NHS orthos and two NHS surgeons. They've all said I need surgery! So I know there's no denying it, but now the wisdom teeth are coming out there's a kind of 'finality' to the decision and I tend to be one of those really indecisive people that likes to have complete control over everything and allow myself heaps of space to change my mind - it's not a good combination! And then stupidly I started searching online for info about the longterm stability of Lefort 1, figuring that if the great results everyone gets only last afew years then there's not much point bothering. I didn't come across much info - any ideas on that subject anyone? Thanks again.

[bracedfaced]

I'm in the same boat too! I am 32 years old and have known about this for years. Unfortunately it was always presented to me as something I could do to improve my appearance. I never hated my looks enough to have major surgery so I always politely declined.

All throughout my 20's I had horrible face pain. Regular medical doctors dismissed it as "stress" and I ended up feeling like a hypochondriac so I just shut up about it.

Fast forward to 30... My teeth are worn down, my smile looks like crap, and I wake up every single day with awful face and jaw pain and headaches that can last for weeks. So I started on a journey to get relief only to find out that the same surgery I had been told would make me "more attractive" is the same one that will give me relief from this pain.

I am a little frustrated that orthognathic surgery was always presented to me in a cosmetic way. "Hey young lady...aren't you sick of your gummy smile? Want to hear more about a face breaking surgery that will make you more attractive?" Uh...no. Had I known my jaw problem was the cause to all my discomfort over the years, I would have likely thought otherwise. Sure I would have probably waited...it is a major surgery. But perhaps I wouldn't have waited until my 30's!

In any case, there is no turning back for me. My surgery is scheduled for May 11th. I cannot wait to be on the other side. I am still terrified, anxious, nervous. But I know I have to do this. If I don't I will be extremely upset with myself. I do wish I had done this 10 years ago though! We all do...

[Bullfighter]

... So I started on a journey to get relief only to find out that the same surgery I had been told would make me "more attractive" is the same one that will give me relief from this pain...

This is exactly right. And the cosmetic benefits make it far easier to tolerate the discomfort post-surgery when you start to see your new face emerge as the swelling subsides.

Now that I'm healing and have some perspective, I can say it was the right decision.

(If you'd asked me two days after when I was sucking water out of a syringe and smearing my puffy and numb bottom lip with cortisone cream, I might not have been so positive about things...)

[keeponsmiling]

Thanks again. 3 hours to go... and I haven't backed out so I guess I'm going with it. I think part of the problem is that I don't have the TMJ issues that other people have, so at this point it's easy to convince myself I might never have them and so this is all cosmetic. But then again, the NHS don't do major ops just for the sake of it, so there must be a real underlying problem looming and I don't want to be 'forced' into having this done in my forties or fifties. And like my mum said, even if it is 'just' cosmetic, so what - you have a problem, you get it fixed, you don't sit around wondering 'what if' like I have for the past decade, get started on fixing it and then drop out. Wish me luck...!

[Nathaniel]

Thanks again. 3 hours to go... and I haven't backed out so I guess I'm going with it. I think part of the problem is that I don't have the TMJ issues that other people have, so at this point it's easy to convince myself I might never have them and so this is all cosmetic. But then again, the NHS don't do major ops just for the sake of it, so there must be a real underlying problem looming and I don't want to be 'forced' into having this done in my forties or fifties. And like my mum said, even if it is 'just' cosmetic, so what - you have a problem, you get it fixed, you don't sit around wondering 'what if' like I have for the past decade, get started on fixing it and then drop out. Wish me luck...!

Hey keeponsmiling, you're doing the right choice!!! Wishing you luck that everything's good right now, I'm sure it is! You'll be happy for cosmetic reasons even if you don't feel you need a cosmetic change, as a great smile always adds to ones appearance and overall energy. That said, the benefits of a functional jaw is so, so so so so worth it as I'm told by 100% of the people I've spoken with here and in real life from the professionals and patients alike!!!

Cheers

[Bullfighter]

Thanks again. 3 hours to go... and I haven't backed out so I guess I'm going with it. I think part of the problem is that I don't have the TMJ issues that other people have, so at this point it's easy to convince myself I might never have them and so this is all cosmetic. But then again, the NHS don't do major ops just for the sake of it, so there must be a real underlying problem looming and I don't want to be 'forced' into having this done in my forties or fifties. And like my mum said, even if it is 'just' cosmetic, so what - you have a problem, you get it fixed, you don't sit around wondering 'what if' like I have for the past decade, get started on fixing it and then drop out. Wish me luck...!

You're probably in the recovery room right now cursing all of us...

I didn't have TMJ issues either. It's almost a mandatory surgery if your bite is sufficiently bad that your teeth will wear down abnormally. The cosmetic aspect is a nice bonus.

For what it's worth, it sounds like you made the right decision, and now that it's done you can focus your energy on recovery. I'm at two months now, eating pretty much normally (still have some limitation in opening my mouth, partial numbness in my chin -- although it's coming back noticeably). You will feel better -- and feel better about having the surgery -- every day as time goes on.

[sarz]

Nah, You're not crazy. I had an overbite "Fixed by a lefort one", still had an overbite seven months after the operation, "elected" to have it redone, It went wrong: I ended up with an open bite and had it corrected one week later, wasn't told what was being done (OUCH). OS asked the Ortho next morning "What can we do to prevent this from happening again" or words very close to this effect. I went home just a little bit confused. Found out I had more bone removed after I wrote and asked them what went wrong and what happened the third time when I was under.
Asked to have my care/treatment transferred to another NHS Trust which the orthodontist said was possible, but It never happened. Took out a loan went private and complained about the treatment that I had received.
Can't tell you what has happened since then as it is ridiculous.

Happy though with my new orthodontist; but guess what my jaw has started to crack on the right side and is painful. I so aint going through all of this again.

I am now completely Crazy
But at least I am informed about my treatment
Good Luck.

[ramirezmu8]

you have made it this far might as well go through it. it will be worth it in the long run!
i have been told by orthodontists since i was 16 that i would need surgery to correct my under bite and now im 21. im glad i chose to do it now at a young age

[keeponsmiling]

Sarz your story sounds pretty horrific, and I haven't come across anyone else who had the trouble you had. Where did you have your ops? Hope the private treatment put everything right and you're ok now.

As for me, wisdom teeth extraction turned out to be easy! No pain, no bruising, no swelling. I haven't even taken the anti-inflammatory tablets because they give me stomach ache and dizziness so I've just taken ordinary Ibuprofen instead. I've obviously been very lucky and that's given me hope that the 'big op' won't be as horrendous as I imagine. The only pain I've had is that when my mouth was numb I managed to bite my tongue quite severely, and the surgeon somehow made a cut in the roof of my mouth which is a bit annoying. Apart from that, it's strange not having much of a bite again. Before braces my wisdom teeth were the only ones that met, then braces pulled the rest of my molars into a position where they could bite, and now the wisdoms have gone I'm down to almost no bite again. Ce la vie. This must be how bad my bite was pre-treatment - how quickly I'd forgotten what chewing with no bite was like! Thanks for all the pep talks!!