Metal Mouth Message Board

For those of you who haven't had it yet, why do you want surgery and why do need it?
What do you personally think that you would benefit from it?

For those of you who've had it, what DID you benefit from it?

i want it because im sick of people saying things like "why do you look weird". i need it because i feel that my speech is not as clear, i often have to repeat myself. some difficulties eating as well (ie. noodles).

I need it to (hopefully) fix my TMJ issues, my horrible cross/slanted bite and chronic headaches. I want it for all of those same reasons in addition to improving my appearance (my lower jaws are asymmetrical).

Growing up I had severe allergies and sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, etc. I was never able to breath through my nose but instead always breathed through my mouth. My 3rd gradeteacher asked me, "Why is your mouth always hanging open?" I simply answered, "Because I can't breathe." I was horrified. Years went on like this. Then, when I was 26, I finally put my foot down and went to see an ENT who diagnosed me as having nasal concha 30 times the size of normal. No WONDER I couldn't breathe. It makes me wonder why no one ever looked up my nose. It was clear when I tilted back my head that my nose is deviated. I could see it, but no one else had noticed it. And because I noticed, I took the initiative and went to a specialist. Now I can breathe!!! Thank God I noticed, for myself.

I think that breathing through my mouth impacted how my jaw grew. I had a huge overbite, which was corrected with braces and head gear. My bite is normal now. However, I remember the day the braces came off. The doctor was doing x-rays of the finished product. Afterward, he reached over and touched my chin and said, "One day you may want to consider having a chin implant." I didn't think much about it at the time. However, I started noticing what made pretty people "pretty" and the common characteristics they shared, and what made other people look kind of "off."

At about the same time my nose was fixed so I could breathe, I began to take some serious interest in why I perceived myself to be "off." It was my chin. I had always hated my profile, even after the braces came off. I just looked weak in the face. It's kind of weird, like. I have a good jawline, it's just that in my profile, the chin is flat. There's a bit too much nose, and not enough chin. It's throwing everything off, and I KNOW that my face is something I can be happy with, "if" this one thing were fixed. So, I'm doing it because I need it for myself emotionally. How much time have I wasted? I'm 34 for crying out loud. It has taken me 20 years to decide I am good enough to do this for myself. If I don't do it for me, no one else will, and that has already been proven numerous times. Heck, of all the doctors I visited for 100's of episodes of sinusitis, not one of them bothered looking up my nose for deviation until "I" brought this to their awareness as a possibility. Until I was in 8th grade, my parents never noticed that my spine was crooked and that I have scoliosis and needed an orthotic. I could feel something was off, but no one took note. I'm just one of those people who takes note, and since I have to be the one to look at my face every day and live with it, I want this surgery done. I'm going to bat for myself.

What a good question!!! Thanks for giving me the opportunity to express myself.

Because Insurance might consider a procedure "cosmetic" with there being underlying medical necessity behind it, the term "cosmetic" can be somewhat broad. So for those doing it for cosmetic reasons, will you be paying for it without the aid of medical insurance or what is the case for you personally?

@thenumber12: if you want any cosmetic procedure covered by insurance, you have to have a medical reason for it as well. This means, don't emphasize the aesthetic aspect of your issue when seeing the doc, (despite aesthetics being the number one issue) but enhance the problems associated with your jaw. This may mean really listening to your body and feeling for any wierd little pains, or odd sensations, problems, etc. Then be sure to bring these issues up with your doc.

Good point peskywabbit.

It's been 4+ long years since the pain was initially triggered that the pain has almost become a part of me. Aesthetically, things have changed so much and unnaturally in 4 short years. It's hard not to mention or notice but since I now have copies of my orthodontic records (pictures) I won't need to do any mentioning of aesthetics. Going back and reading my Archwired posts from 4 years ago really refreshed my memory. It's unbelievable that I still suffer from the same exact symptoms but now much more severe... I think also partially due to having tossed my retainers since it was giving my jaws so much pain.

I've decided to copy and paste my posts of symptoms I listed from my 2007 AW threads, make a journal out of it, draw some diagrams of what I personally think went wrong and let my ortho and ENT read it since it's difficult retelling the story accurately word for word multiple times to 3 different physicians.

I felt I needed surgery because I was waking it pain daily due to grinding of my teeth. I had already ground down some teeth and was headed towards a really unhealthy smile later in life. I also had difficultly eating as my teeth did not come together at all, much less properly. While the surgery did make some cosmetic improvements, I never actually wanted them. I just wanted a healthy bite that didn't cause me pain. I feel like I have gotten that, although there is still some work to be done orthodontically before I can consider this venture complete.

For me, surgery provided modest benefits at a modest cost. The benefits were a better bite, it's easier to bite off food like pizza or noodles, it will reduce wear on my teeth, and it looks better. The costs were the stress of spending a day in the hospital and the difficulty of the recovery. For me, clearly my life expectancy was unaffected by the surgery, so it wasn't a need, but the benefits add up, and the costs weren't that great, so I would do it again without hesitation.

I'm so happy for all of you that you got the relief you deserve!

Currently I need other major surgeries all in the craniofacial region which seems to be aggravating the pre-existing facial and neurological pain but now also thoracic spine pain, so I'll need to consult with a maxillofacial surgeon anyway. I doubt I can even be splinted until this is treated first since it's giving the roots of my teeth nerve pain. Physically, I feel like an 80 year old.

I thought I could avoid surgery with reversal orthodontia + implants and regain my life back but at this point, I think that's far too unrealistic and my condition has deteriorated beyond simple repair.

But what I NEED right now as to my bite condition is first and foremost an official diagnosis.

Anyways, I'm glad all of you are pain free and able to eat noodles again.
I just found out today that I ground off a huge chunk of my back molar.

Because after 40 years of living with a mouth that did not close without assistance and having to fear a mirror catching me at that "bad" angle, I just wanted it fixed. My ortho didn't think I needed it, told me it was a lot to go through for minimal gain. Unless your one of us that have lip incompetence, weak chin, I just don't think people understand.

I am still only 3 months post op and still seeing changes. But, I don't have to worry about how I am going to position my face when I look in the mirror. For that alone, it was worth it.