I regret having jaw surgery 3 years ago (AMA)
Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 1:47 pm
I had jaw surgery 3 years ago to correct my very large open bite and mobility issues with my jaw. I hated my open bite and the way it made me eat and talk, and how it affected my appearance. The open bite happened to me suddenly in my early 20s, still no one knows why.
I got a bunch of opinions from different doctors before during the surgery, since it made me very nervous. I settled on Arnett & Gunson as they were the best.
They were very professional and eased my concerns. They seemed confident that I would have a good outcome. However, 3 years later, my open bite has relapsed (though it's not nearly as bad as before) and I have so much numbness in my face around my mouth, that I still have trouble speaking and fully moving my lips. I have so many strange, distracting sensations around the dead nerves. However, at this point the numbness has not really changed and so Dr. Gunson feels that there is very little likelihood I will get any more feeling back.
The numbness and relapsed open bite are what disappoint me the most, but I also regret the enormous expense, and the way my face has changed. Dr. Gunson did warn me that I would have to get used to a new face, but I just find that that's been a lot more difficult than I anticipated, even 3 years later. My new face does not look bad, but it just doesn't look like myself.
I wish there was more Dr. Gunson or my orthodontist could do about my bite relapsing, but no one seems to be able to give me a good solution. They've started talking a lot about how I'm doing it myself with my tongue positioning, and I try all the time to make sure I'm doing the "correct" positioning, but honestly I just don't know what more I can do; I can't change what my tongue does while I'm sleeping.
This is a really upsetting topic for me and it's difficult for me to talk about, but I wanted to share my experience for everyone else. If anyone has any constructive advice it would be appreciated. Also feel free to ask me anything.
I got a bunch of opinions from different doctors before during the surgery, since it made me very nervous. I settled on Arnett & Gunson as they were the best.
They were very professional and eased my concerns. They seemed confident that I would have a good outcome. However, 3 years later, my open bite has relapsed (though it's not nearly as bad as before) and I have so much numbness in my face around my mouth, that I still have trouble speaking and fully moving my lips. I have so many strange, distracting sensations around the dead nerves. However, at this point the numbness has not really changed and so Dr. Gunson feels that there is very little likelihood I will get any more feeling back.
The numbness and relapsed open bite are what disappoint me the most, but I also regret the enormous expense, and the way my face has changed. Dr. Gunson did warn me that I would have to get used to a new face, but I just find that that's been a lot more difficult than I anticipated, even 3 years later. My new face does not look bad, but it just doesn't look like myself.
I wish there was more Dr. Gunson or my orthodontist could do about my bite relapsing, but no one seems to be able to give me a good solution. They've started talking a lot about how I'm doing it myself with my tongue positioning, and I try all the time to make sure I'm doing the "correct" positioning, but honestly I just don't know what more I can do; I can't change what my tongue does while I'm sleeping.
This is a really upsetting topic for me and it's difficult for me to talk about, but I wanted to share my experience for everyone else. If anyone has any constructive advice it would be appreciated. Also feel free to ask me anything.