I am a coward!

[sunxin8086]

I am 32 and I have been in braces for 3 years already. I have an underbite, and from the beginning I understood this can't be fixed by braces alone, and I was so determined to get it fixed with surgery. Long story short, my surgery was scheduled on April 30th, which is today. But I emailed the doctor yesterday to cancel it, because I was having panic attack every few hours, and I couldn't focus on anything but thinking about this surgery. I don't have any pain with my underbite, and I used to have an bigger gap between my teeth so I had problem eating but now with braces, the gap is very little so I can cut almost any food. My doctor said surgery can prevent loosing teeth early and excessive tears, but I don't feel it now. I always long for a straight teeth and bigger smile, but I couldn't convince myself to go through this, suffering from all the pain and taking the potential risks. So I told my doctor I wanna delay it, but I am not sure if I would really go for surgery. Everyone on this board is so brave. What should I do?

[sunxin8086]

Please see the attached pics for the current state of my teeth. As you can see i still have a slight underbite/open bite, but to say it affects my eating is probably a lie. I also have some misalignment, since the mid line of my face is not the middle of my teeth. The surgeon was gonna perform surgeries on both upper jaw and lower. He was gonna bring upper jaw forward 1mm, and downward 2mm (to make me show more teeth), and lower jaw backward 1mm and rotate it a little bit. I will probably wonder what will happen if i had the surgeries forever now.

[sunxin8086]

This is where it started. As you can see my underbite was worse and there is a bigger gap.

[sunxin8086]

This is the computer simulated profile change. The top is before and bottom is after. The change is very subtle.
by the way, my doctor is Peter Bui at Kaiser in santa clara. Did anyone have surgeries with him? How is he? At this point, I also want to get a few second opinions before I completely give up or go forward with this.

[sirwired]

An unhealthy bite can lead to eventual gum loss and ensuing tooth loss. (Indeed, gum loss was the reason I got surgery, my aesthetics were just fine.) I suspect this is what your ortho is concerned about.

I recommend discussing any concerns you have with your ortho and/or surgeon. It's perfectly natural to get wound up before an operation. You can request a short-term prescription of anti-anxiety meds to help you in the run-up to surgery; a need for them is nothing to be ashamed of. They aren't something you want to take long term, but they can help you get over the "hump" of panic attacks or anxiousness leading up to the big day.

I had two operations in the span of two years, and I know for both of them I was a nervous wreck in the few days leading up to the operation, and practically had a nervous breakdown in the pre-op suite both times. (Both anesthesiolgists gave me a swift kick of tranquilizer in pre-op so I could calmly get to the OR.)

[Hero878]

This is totally understandable. I am considering surgery after deciding not to go the surgery route. I keep changing my mind nearly everyday!
I'm sure your doctor/orthodontist will work this out with you. Atleast you have more time to think it over now that its been cancelled. Best of luck!

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Just read your story! Do what will make you happy! Best of luck!