Hi,
I've been told I need upper and lower jaw surgery to fix my underbite and crossbite. I have a narrow upper jaw and the right side of my jaw is shorter than the left. I told my orthodontist I didn't want to go through the surgery, due to the cost and process. They gave me the option to have a tooth extracted from my lower jaw and then move the teeth around to make my bite fit better. They are also going to try and expand my upper jaw with a pallet expander. I went into the Maxillofacial surgeon yesterday to do a consult for my tooth removal and they told me I needed the surgery and that the option my orthodontist presented isn't sufficient.
I am wondering if anyone else has had a similar diagnosis to mine and opted for the nonsurgical route?
I don't mind my smile today my upper teeth are straight, it is narrow but doesn't look unpleasant.
My lower teeth are a little crooked on the bottom but you don't see it.
I do grind my back teeth due to my bite and if I don't correct this I will end up destroying them.
My jaw is shorter on one side but really I am the only person that notices this. I want to make sure that this wont become worse as I get older though. I had the extra to see if I had degeneration in the joint and I do not. So I'm guessing this means it wont get worse. However I will contemplate jaw surgery if they tell me that my jaw line will get worse as I age. No one has said anything about this though.
Please provide me your advice if you've been through this.
Opting for tooth extraction vs. jaw surgery
Moderator: bbsadmin
Re: Opting for tooth extraction vs. jaw surgery
I had a 3d iCat scan that showed that I have joint degeneration. However, the 2d XRay that they made looks like I don't really have much degeneration. So, you still might have some degeneration that the 2D XRay isn't showing. And, just because you don't have any degeneration now, doesn't mean you won't get some in the future.
It seems like orthodontists/surgeons are reluctant to say what kinds of effects you will experience as you age. For some people, nothing bad ever happens. But for others, problems can become extreme.
In general, it seems like going with a 'compromise' treatment when people actually need surgery can lead to worse problems than you started with, and the treatment often leads to relapse.
I would get a second, third, and even fourth opinion from other orthodontists and surgeons. Surgery is scary, but having just been through SARPE, I know it isn't that bad. Not a picnic, but not hell on earth either. I would take some time to think about your options before refusing surgery. You don't want to revisit the same problem in five years after spending thousands of dollars and losing a tooth over a treatment that didn't work. I'm not saying that the compromise treatment won't work. But it is something to think about.
It seems like orthodontists/surgeons are reluctant to say what kinds of effects you will experience as you age. For some people, nothing bad ever happens. But for others, problems can become extreme.
In general, it seems like going with a 'compromise' treatment when people actually need surgery can lead to worse problems than you started with, and the treatment often leads to relapse.
I would get a second, third, and even fourth opinion from other orthodontists and surgeons. Surgery is scary, but having just been through SARPE, I know it isn't that bad. Not a picnic, but not hell on earth either. I would take some time to think about your options before refusing surgery. You don't want to revisit the same problem in five years after spending thousands of dollars and losing a tooth over a treatment that didn't work. I'm not saying that the compromise treatment won't work. But it is something to think about.
Treatment-
- Braces: In-Ovation L (lingual) on top, and In-Ovation R (metal) on bottom
- SARPE
- BSSO advancement
- estimated 18-22 months
- Expander installed Jan 14th 2013
- Surgery Feb 18th 2013
- Turn 26 days to 13mm. Gap between teeth maxed out at 12-13mm.
- Gap down to 7mm Apr 18
- Gap Closed Aug 6
- Expander out Sep 19
- Insurance approved, surgery scheduled for Dec 18!
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spacejanitor
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2013 5:49 pm
Re: Opting for tooth extraction vs. jaw surgery
My 2c.
Having gone that route and having the orthodontist convince me against my better judgment that a tooth extraction (lower bicuspid) would be sufficient, and now 2.5 years later I'm not happy with the result and looking for a jaw surgeon and implanted tooth... well, just from my perspective, I would tell you don't compromise.
Take that with as much grain of salt as you wish, because maybe if I had had jaw surgery and something had gone wrong I would be singing a different tune.
Of course, I look better. But the underlying skeletal assymetry still bothers me enough that I am looking to essentially reverse the procedure and find a surgeon who will do what I originally assumed I needed. It's not easy to find an orthodontist now who is willing to put his reputation on the line and "mess up" what looks like a very good bite, assume the risk of implanting, jaw surgery, etc, when they aren't even sure if that will help me. I've heard many times, "Well, you look good... maybe the issue is with yourself or something else." It makes me doubt even my own resolve in wanting to do what I want to do.
So, consider this only from my perspective... everybody is different, every case is different, and this is from my personal perspective having had 3 wisdom teeth and a tooth extracted instead of undergoing jaw surgery. Do your homework. Think about it, and draw your own conclusions.
Having gone that route and having the orthodontist convince me against my better judgment that a tooth extraction (lower bicuspid) would be sufficient, and now 2.5 years later I'm not happy with the result and looking for a jaw surgeon and implanted tooth... well, just from my perspective, I would tell you don't compromise.
Take that with as much grain of salt as you wish, because maybe if I had had jaw surgery and something had gone wrong I would be singing a different tune.
Of course, I look better. But the underlying skeletal assymetry still bothers me enough that I am looking to essentially reverse the procedure and find a surgeon who will do what I originally assumed I needed. It's not easy to find an orthodontist now who is willing to put his reputation on the line and "mess up" what looks like a very good bite, assume the risk of implanting, jaw surgery, etc, when they aren't even sure if that will help me. I've heard many times, "Well, you look good... maybe the issue is with yourself or something else." It makes me doubt even my own resolve in wanting to do what I want to do.
So, consider this only from my perspective... everybody is different, every case is different, and this is from my personal perspective having had 3 wisdom teeth and a tooth extracted instead of undergoing jaw surgery. Do your homework. Think about it, and draw your own conclusions.
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Stargirlxx
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2013 9:07 am
Re: Opting for tooth extraction vs. jaw surgery
I posted my deeply regretted bicuspid extraction story here: http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... =9&t=44396
The negative impact on my appearance, health and comfort has been pretty devastating. I can't speak for your circumstances, but I wish I had never extracted any healthy teeth, and instead sought expansive treatments.
The negative impact on my appearance, health and comfort has been pretty devastating. I can't speak for your circumstances, but I wish I had never extracted any healthy teeth, and instead sought expansive treatments.
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spacejanitor
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2013 5:49 pm
Re: Opting for tooth extraction vs. jaw surgery
[quote="spacejanitor"]My 2c.
Having gone that route and having the orthodontist convince me against my better judgment that a tooth extraction (lower bicuspid) would be sufficient, and now 2.5 years later I'm not happy with the result and looking for a jaw surgeon and implanted tooth... well, just from my perspective, I would tell you don't compromise.
Take that with as much grain of salt as you wish, because maybe if I had had jaw surgery and something had gone wrong I would be singing a different tune.
Of course, I look better. But the underlying skeletal assymetry still bothers me enough that I am looking to essentially reverse the procedure and find a surgeon who will do what I originally assumed I needed. It's not easy to find an orthodontist now who is willing to put his reputation on the line and "mess up" what looks like a very good bite, assume the risk of implanting, jaw surgery, etc, when they aren't even sure if that will help me. I've heard many times, "Well, you look good... maybe the issue is with yourself or something else." It makes me doubt even my own resolve in wanting to do what I want to do.
So, consider this only from my perspective... everybody is different, every case is different, and this is from my personal perspective having had 3 wisdom teeth and a tooth extracted instead of undergoing jaw surgery. Do your homework. Think about it, and draw your own conclusions.[/quote]
FYI - I'd like to withdraw this opinion for now. I will update you all with my results in the future but for now, I no longer necessarily feel the above accurately represents my opinion.
Having gone that route and having the orthodontist convince me against my better judgment that a tooth extraction (lower bicuspid) would be sufficient, and now 2.5 years later I'm not happy with the result and looking for a jaw surgeon and implanted tooth... well, just from my perspective, I would tell you don't compromise.
Take that with as much grain of salt as you wish, because maybe if I had had jaw surgery and something had gone wrong I would be singing a different tune.
Of course, I look better. But the underlying skeletal assymetry still bothers me enough that I am looking to essentially reverse the procedure and find a surgeon who will do what I originally assumed I needed. It's not easy to find an orthodontist now who is willing to put his reputation on the line and "mess up" what looks like a very good bite, assume the risk of implanting, jaw surgery, etc, when they aren't even sure if that will help me. I've heard many times, "Well, you look good... maybe the issue is with yourself or something else." It makes me doubt even my own resolve in wanting to do what I want to do.
So, consider this only from my perspective... everybody is different, every case is different, and this is from my personal perspective having had 3 wisdom teeth and a tooth extracted instead of undergoing jaw surgery. Do your homework. Think about it, and draw your own conclusions.[/quote]
FYI - I'd like to withdraw this opinion for now. I will update you all with my results in the future but for now, I no longer necessarily feel the above accurately represents my opinion.