Metal Mouth Message Board

I had my surgery on August 9th, so hopefully this is part of the healing process but my bite still seems very off after double jaw surgery. My molars are still quite a ways off from being able to touch and my lower teeth barely fit in under my top teeth. My canine teeth seems to meet tooth to tooth. My nose is also crooked, not horrible but definitely noticeable. I was not banded shut nor did I need splint, just used elastics. I obviously still have some invisalign treatment to go to finish straightening the teeth but I don't see how this will finish correcting the bite just judging on how my teeth are meeting. When you finished your surgery, how did your bite look? Am I being paranoid or is it a legit concern?

Thank you,
Jeff

Hi Jeff,
My bite looked like crap and felt like crap. I think I was over-corrected before surgery by ortho who assumed oral surgeon was going to advance more than he did. I remember walking after surgery and feeling as though teeth were rattling around in my head (hard to describe0. This is with banded (elastics) for 4 days post-op. My ortho is still fine tuning.

I have traditional braces (ceramic top, metal bottom) but the bite work is done with elastic band configs. I believe (don't quote me) that they can do elastics with invisalign too; see url link i found on subject. https://www.orthodonticslimited.com/inv ... nvisalign/

In regards to your nose, major known complication for surgery is deviated septum. I had a repair of one years ago and ended up with one again after my surgery. Six months post procedure I had a rhino/septo plasty which was partially covered by insurance. Rhino part was out of pocket (~4K) but I did it because ENT plastics guy said he was going to put in donor cartilage to hopefully keep it open further. Kind of like putting a tent over your nose. If you decide to get it formally evaluated, get someone who is ENT and plastic surgeon.
Karla

Thanks for the response, Karla.

I guess the way I view it, if my surgeon was the cause of the deviated septum, which I think I do definitely have just by the shape of my nose and not being able to breathe through my right nostril, it should be covered by insurance fully. It wouldn't have happened on it's own without the jaw surgery. Probably wishful thinking on my part though. I actually do have a septoplasty/turbinate reduction done a few years back, this was the very beginning of my sleep apnea journey, so I do have a great ENT I have worked with before.

I'm one year since SARPE surgery and 9 months on braces top and bottom. My back teeth still do not close completely - the front touch well before they come together. There's a 2mm gap, give or take.

I think it could be another 3-6 months until I can chew with my back teeth...

Hi Jeff,
My septoplasty was completely covered by BCBS insurance with the exception of my deductible. The cost that I incurred was for the rhinoplasty and was surgeon fee only(with discount) as it was a combo procedure. The rationale behind the rhino was because the sides of my nose appeared collapsed. The way the plastics ENT explained it was to provide kind of tent to give it more form. I'd post a pic of it but I can't figure out how to get it to load. Attachments say it's too large.

So I just noticed yesterday that one of the screws used to screw in the brackets for the elastics pierced a part of my tooth next to top front tooth. It's not super bad but definitely not great. Thankfully I don't think it's in the root at all and he should be able to just pull the broken part out but the laundry list of things I am not happy or concerned about is growing daily. Maybe in a year I will feel differently but so far the cons have outweighed the pros.

Well just had my follow up and unfortunately I've enough transverse relapse that i'm most likely heading back in to have that fixed surgically. Nothing like the original double jaw surgery but enough to set me back a few more weeks to a month in my full recovery. Pretty discouraging to say the least but at least that explains why my bite is off. Everything still looks good front to back, but the upper jaw collapsed inward slightly.

I'm so sorry you have to go back and go through it. Keep us posted.
Karla

Saw my orthodontist today and he placed some brackets and a super strong, thick wire in place that will hopefully flex my upper jaw back into place. Should know within a week and half if it works but he felt confident he could fix it. I'm not getting my hopes up but I feel much better about the chances of not needing another surgery now. I truly didn't think he would be able to do anything to help. Everything else is starting to heal nicely, today is exactly 4 weeks post op. I would have been able to start chewing today but with the collapse, I may not be able to until they get that all figured out, annoying but certainly not the end of the world considering it may mean I don't have to have another surgery. I'm so ready to feel normal again though. The constant feeling of numb and tightness gets old quick. The NutriNinja has become my best friend through all of this, I would never suggest anyone go through this surgery without a really nice blender.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Please keep us posted.

Back in for surgery on Tuesday, the jaw moved too much for my orthodontist to be able to fix it before the bone would have healed over. Surgeon tells me this one won't be nearly as bad since I am only 6 weeks post op, basically has to reopen incision to upper jaw, adjust the jaw slightly and the plates and then close back up. We'll see, I feel like I am completely erasing 6 weeks of progress now. Had started chewing some foods, was back in gym every day, so much of the feeling in my cheeks and chin was coming back, range of motion of jaw had improved dramatically and now with the cut of a knife, i'm back to square 1.

Jfullflow10 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 27, 2018 3:04 pm I had my surgery on August 9th, so hopefully this is part of the healing process but my bite still seems very off after double jaw surgery. My molars are still quite a ways off from being able to touch and my lower teeth barely fit in under my top teeth. My canine teeth seems to meet tooth to tooth. My nose is also crooked, not horrible but definitely noticeable. I was not banded shut nor did I need splint, just used elastics. I obviously still have some invisalign treatment to go to finish straightening the teeth but I don't see how this will finish correcting the bite just judging on how my teeth are meeting. When you finished your surgery, how did your bite look? Am I being paranoid or is it a legit concern?

Thank you,
Jeff

Sorry to hear, hope everything works out this time. I'm close to 3 months post op and still have a huge open bite at the back. Hopefully I won't need surgery again...

Jeff- how is your recovery coming along after your revision surgery? Taylor

Been a while since I have posted an updated, I'm 6 months from original double jaw surgery and about 4.5 months from upper revision. I've been in braces since and that's testing my patience but according to my orthodontist I'm down to my last 6 weeks. Truthfully, I am more than ready for this all to be over. I'm still not sure if I'd do it again even with good results. I knew this was going to be a long, difficult recovery but that doesn't really prepare you for what the actual recovery is going to be. My swelling is basically gone completely, still feel very tight in the area just above the upper jaw and going into my lower nose. Surgeon says that is due to scar tissue from having to go in a second time. I'm pretty concerned that I'm this far out from the surgery and I still feel it though. I've pretty much settled on the fact that my face/jaws will never feel like they did pre-surgeries. I do still get the numb/tingly feeling in the lower jaw but nothing that concerns me or bugs me. I do understand though that my jaws were moved a considerable amount which can lead to higher chances of complications and symptoms. In good news, my bite is slowly coming into place and my teeth are straighter than they have ever been, just some slight shifting and moving left.

Thanks for the reply. I’m glad things are coming along nicely for you. I’m 5 weeks post op today & there seems to be a 1% improvement about every 4th day. Sometimes a step back every once in a while, too. I only had upper surgery. My teeth fit together now pretty nicely, but my muscles are lost. It’s like my brain & muscle memory are totally gone as to what feels normal with my bite. I also haven’t been able to chew anything yet so I’m hoping at my 6 weeks I can start a soft diet & exercise those muscles. Even though I didn’t have the lower surgery I still have limited motion. I went into surgery with 3 fingers opening & now I barely have 1 or maybe 1.5. I’m nervous to try & open wide to where you can feel the joint slide down out of fear for damaging something. I have a feeling it could be months for my bite to feel second nature, normal. I had a bad bite for so long that it could prove challenging. Upper lips/gums are really tight too. Feeling is maybe starting to return, but still a long ways to go.