28 year old female, need braces 2+ years, and orthognathic surgery. Terrified.

[demx]

Hi everyone,

I decided to reach out to others who may have had or are having a similar orthodontic experience as I am. I am completely torn, terrified, and really don't know what to do! I am a 28 year old female, and I have needed braces my entire life. My teeth are not horrible, it is more so the combination of slightly crooked teeth with a multitude of bone/jaw issues. When I went for my orthodontic consult at 12 years old, I nearly ran out of the office hysterical as they detailed the plan for me involving braces and "breaking my jaw" (Wonderful way to describe jaw surgery to a kid, btw!) Of course, as a kid, I said NO WAY and wanted nothing to do with it. My parents knew how upset it made me and did not even remotely push it on me, which I don't blame them. Over the next 16 years, I would occasionally wonder if I should venture down that path again... How nice would it be to have a perfect smile and mouth?? The thought seemed to sound increasingly better the older I became.

In October, I decided to try the orthodontist again, and was concluded to have:

-Under developed upper jaw, over developed lower jaw
-Facial asymmetry-Back teeth do not fit together properly
-Front teeth do not touch (openbite)
-Lower front teeth are left of center
-Moderate upper and lower crowding
-Crossbite present on left and right
-Gum tissue recession on bottom lower teeth

The plan would be:

-Braces for roughly 2 years
-Gum grafting procedure prior to braces to fix gum recession
-Lower wisdom teeth removed with two upper teeth removed
-Jaw surgery... Possibly starting with a SARPE and coming back for a second procedure?... The exact procedure is still being discussed between my jaw surgeon and orthodontist. My jaw surgeon really preferred not to have me have a double jaw surgery at the end, and would instead like me to have two "smaller" surgeries (still painful and still intense)

I already had the gum graft procedure done (as I figured I would need this anyway, whether I continue or not!), and have seen my consults. The decision of what to do is bothering me so much that I was actually up all night last night worrying. The cost for everything will be about $10,000 over the span of 2 years, as braces are $7000 out of pocket, and I will need to pay out of pocket for a few of the other procedures due to reaching my dental insurance limit. Thank God for payment plans!.. But still, that is SO much money to spend on my mouth! I just can't figure out in my head if it will be worth it or not. All the pain, the money, the time, the discomfort, etc... All of it. Sometimes, though, I just cant stand my smile and how I look in pictures. It's not AWFUL, I don't consider myself obviously deformed. But if I'm caught at the wrong angle in a photo, my jaw looks too big and if my smile is too big, you can visibly notice my bottom teeth are wider than my upper. My mouth never stopped me from doing anything, but sometimes I wondered if I would have been a more confident teenager and person in general had I had a more suitable mouth/jaw. I have a good job and life, I'm married, and so this clearly is not for any other reason than I want to do it for ME. Sometimes, it feels as though my smile/mouth does not represent me or how I feel about myself. And I remember countless times in the past 16 years of feeling this way. I would see certain pictures of me and just cringe, and I would think "thats not how I see myself". So, I am really in quite the pickle here trying to figure out how to rationalize all of this... I have a low pain tolerance and the thought of EVERYTHING I will need to endure just seems daunting, and I don't even know how I would get through it. My husband is supportive either way, as are my friends, but I do still think that deep down they are thinking "she doesn't need to go through all of that!". Someone help. Please share your experiences with me, no matter or big or small, positive or negative, and please help me decide on what to do! Thank you.

[MummaFish48]

Hey.....It sounds to me like all of your thoughts and fears are normal!! If you cruise around this forum there are loads of us having sleepless nights and churning stomachs at the thought of treatment and the cost......HOWEVER...you will see I have commented on a few threads. I am almost twice your age and just about to have braces. I have disliked my teeth all of my adult life, watched my children have braces so they did not have to endure never smiling in photos etc. Finally 4 years ago I "thought" about braces....it took 2 years to pluck up the courage for a consult and I didn't follow it through. If I had done this 4years ago I would have been done by 2 years!! Now 2 years after the consult I am back stressing and worrying....BUT this time I will do it..I can't get another 2 years down the line and feel like I should have done it then!
You are young....go for it now, As I have said before there is a big fat Zero people here who have said that despite the cost, pain, discomfort etc etc wish they had not done it!
Hope this helps you in some way....I feel your worry and stress.... Just go for it...
Good Luck.
I'm sure loads of others will comment too!!

[lemonweeps]

Hey! I kinda understand how you feel, except I am 19 y/o this year

When I was 12+/-, my dentist told me that I had to close my mouth because my lower jaw was slightly overdeveloped. He said I would have to have surgery which freaked me out. Fast forward 6 years and I am wanting this surgery so bad. I have done a lot of research regarding it and prepped for the whole process, but that doesn't stop me from being terrified! Haha. I actually have this phobia of needles... Cried during my blood test because I was so stressed out (urgh), it wasn't even painful ha. and yes, I have a terribly low pain tolerance.

I will be having my surgery on April 1st. Excited and apprehensive. My process is going faster than I had expected, I also thought that I had to wear braces for a year or so before surgery but they said with my teeth, I could get surgery first. So it was so surreal when they told me I could get surgery this year! They will be performing a double jaw surgery to fix my 7mm underbite and asymmetry. Fortunately, I do not have any wisdom tooth. But my braces will be on longer because of this alternative route I am taking.

The cost definitely freaked me out even though my parents are helping out. Where I come from, corrective jaw surgery isn't categorized under cosmetic so we won't have to pay the full cost. The few reasons I am doing this surgery is because my bite annoys me, I can't close my mouth properly and it is really uncomfortable, I am afraid of the problems that might arise in the future and aesthetic reason. Unlike you, the aesthetic part did bother me a lot! I get very sensitive when it comes to my jaw (very not me) and it hinders on my confidence. I am too lazy to elaborate but yeahhhh, hearing nasty comments are not fun. Also, I am super excited to see myself smile w/ teeth! Haha! I actually imagine myself smiling with my teeth on my birthday and that is so exciting

The process will definitely be daunting, like every other major surgery done. The surgery will be done under general anesthesia and when you wake up, your jaws will be too numb to feel much pain. At most there will be discomfort. As long as you have the support of your family I think you will be able to get through this! Also, when your friends think that way, you know they care for you, but they have not gone through the experiences you had so they will never understand wanting to go for surgery. Stay strong, you can do it!

[jaime]

Hey demx,

Your story and issues are extremely similar to mine, except I decided to try again with orthodontics when I was 27.

I thought I was a pretty straightforward case of crooked teeth, but I ended up needing SARPE, double jaw surgery, and sliding genioplasty.

Like MummaFish said, your feelings are completely normal. I was so shocked when I learned just how complex my case was and how much work it would be. I feel like I sort of had to go through a grieving period because things were going to be very different from how I'd always imagined it'd be when I finally got braces.

My first question to you is, have you gone for more than one consultation? I went for five which I think was a good move for how complicated my case ended up being. It sounds like you could benefit from more than one opinion. The orthodontists should be able to give you their honest opinion. I saw one who said, "You do need jaw surgery but if I was you, I wouldn't bother." Others said, "You can still get a decent result without surgery."

I live in Canada so the surgery costs were not a consideration. I think you really need to decide what your priority is, and whether you can get by without doing the surgery) (or surgeries). Then go with an option you can live with.

Personally, I'm really glad I went for the surgeries. Everything has been far less painful than you'd imagine, it's mainly just inconvenient.