Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey, everyone. This is my first post on this board, and I was hoping that somebody here could answer a question for me. I've done some reading on the board, but I don't think I found anything addressing the type of situation I'm in.

Back in September, I noticed that one of my bottom left molars would feel a little bit loose if I were to jiggle it with my tongue (I don't actively irritate with my tongue, though, don't worry.). I went to my dentist to talk about it, and he told me that I had a crossbite with my back teeth. He recommended I talk to an orthodontist, who in turn suggested getting rapid palate expansion. I've talked to two oral surgeons since then, and one of them mentioned having two surgeries instead of one. The idea of two surgeries kinda spooked me out, and I think I'll be waiting a while before doing surgery, if I decide to actually do it.

I could probably use some dental work. I've had braces twice, and I last had them when I was 15. I had a nighttime retainer that I was supposed to continue to wear. Last year, I misplaced it, but I figured that I had stopped growing so I didn't need anymore. This was stupid of me, and my bite has changed because of it. One of my front incisors has definitely moved backward over the past year (about 1 mm), and my dentist told me that it might continue to move in that direction since there is nothing to prevent from moving. Also, my top incisors don't cover the bottom incisors at all, so there's a gap there. You could probably slide a piece of paper in the gap between my top and bottom front teeth. Finally, the premolars next to my loose molar have begun to feel a bit loose, too, and my dentist says that the looseness is most likely caused by my poor alignment. He really wants me to get surgery, in order to prevent my teeth from getting looser and to prevent my molars from getting worn down.

The costs and risks of surgery are really holding my back with getting these problems fixed.

Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is this: Does anyone know if it is possible to correct a crossbite with SARPE and braces alone? I'm guessing that I have a 4 mm crossbite as of now. I don't particularly want to go through one surgery, let alone two.

Thank you!

Hi there!

I had SARPE done back in Feb of this year, and have braces on right now. I will be having another surgery sometime next year hopefully to get all my bite issues fixed up! I had an open bite and a cross bite and a tiny underbite along with a narrow upper jaw. My plan was made to be like this:

- SARPE to expand my upper jaw in width (to help with the next set of surgeries)
- Braces (to help get my teeth in the right place for the next set of surgeries)
- LeForte I to move my upper jaw forward (to fix my underbite) and impact it a tiny bit (to fix my openbite)
- BSSO to move my bottom jaw in a bit (to fix my underbite)
- Genioplasty to just balance my profile out

I was quite scared for my first surgery, but it comes and goes! Don't let fear hold you back as chances are you'll regret not getting it fixed in the later years! Plus, the younger you are, the easier it is to recover. That's not to say 30, 40, or 50 year olds can't get it done - there's many on here that are not in their teens/twenties and have gotten it done and are SO HAPPY! I'm just saying it's better to get it now rather than later.

There are some very informative videos on this YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/MolenOrthodontics

Also, if you search YouTube or Blogger you'll see there's lots of vlogs and blogs on people and their surgery adventure!

I suppose you could correct it with SARPE and braces if it was *just* the positioning of the teeth, but chances are the jaws are not symmetrical which is the reason I assume the surgeon is suggesting two surgeries.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask

It sounds like you do, indeed, need the surgery. Your previous rounds have simply not left you with a stable result, and it sounds like that this is due to facial deformity. If your upper arch is too narrow, nothing but a lifetime of retainer use is going to hold your teeth in place, and even then, I imagine there are some compromises.

SARPE is actually pretty "mild" compared to a LeFort or BSSO. If I were you, I'd go ahead and go through it.

I'd stick with the oral surgeon that your orthodontist referred you to (if indeed he/she did refer you.) Orthognathic surgery requires close collaboration between the ortho and surgeon; all else being equal, I'd pick one he/she has sent patients to before.

Crossbites are usually fixed with SARPE and braces alone. Rarely do you need actual jaw surgery for the purpose of fixing a crossbite.

That being said, I've had a SARPE and it is nothing to fear. When I was first told I needed it, I was like, "No, no I don't want surgery." I'm glad I was convinced otherwise because my bite looks so much better now.

It's literally nothing worse than wisdom teeth removal. I only took pain killers (mostly Aspirin although I had Vicodin) the first 4 days.
The only thing that's really painful are the cuts but they heal quickly. I felt perfectly normal after about 2 weeks, except maybe for a little swelling.

So if fear is the issue, I say don't worry and go for it.

I'd say exactly the same thing as sarpevictim. The surgery is not that bad! I had all four wisdom teeth out at the same time as sarpe, it wasnt that painful, the worst thing for me was nausea. Just over a year later and I am so pleased I had it done!

Thanks for your responses, everyone. It's good to hear that surgery went so well for some of you.

Cost is probably the biggest thing that's holding me back right now (along with the annoyance of getting braces again). I'm pretty sure that my insurance won't cover any of it - surgery, hospital fees, anesthesia. I just don't have the means right now to do any surgery at all. I think I'm going to wait it out for now.

If my crossbite gets worse, I'll probably have to get the surgery, but I guess we'll see what happens. I'll probably go back to my orthodontist and oral surgeon later in the year for another consult.

Thanks again!