Metal Mouth Message Board

So my surgeon thinks that my surgery shouldn’t have to take a year like my orthodontist say, but he of course won’t do it until he gets the okay. I’m 5 months in and they’re telling me they’re waiting a year, because they like to give it extra time. This is really stressful to me since I’m in school, and a year from now counting the 5 months is gonna be when I’m starting my new school year, and also I can’t funtion anymore since getting braces. My bite has gotten significantly worst I can’t chew properly or open things with my teeth, and even speaking is becoming difficult. Am I just gonna have to suck it up and wait or do I have the right to negotiate with them on timing... I feel like I would be being a pest doing so. Did any of you have any day on your surgery time?

You can't rush something as major as surgery. If your orthodontist thinks your teeth are not ready, then you should wait. You could ask your ortho to explain why they want to give it more time and if there are any risks of going ahead earlier than what your ortho prefers based on his or her clinical judgement.

Jaw surgery is a major surgery, you want to make sure that things are done right and that you get the best possible outcome. I'd follow what the orthodontist recommends if I were you. In the grand scheme of things, a couple of years of inconvenience is nothing compared to a lifetime of a better bite and smile after that.

Also, now is probably the best time to kick the bad habit of opening things with your teeth. I also noticed I could no longer do that or bite my lips anymore since getting braces.

Your orthodontist knows your bite and where it should be far more than your oral surgeon will. The surgeon's job is to move the jaws to a place where the orthodontist will then fine tune the bite again. My oral surgeon was very honest, and he is the chief of oral surgery here at the Nebraska Med Center, that my orthodontist has to be the one to get the teeth into right position and that's not his job. I was scheduled for surgery in May and my orthodontist told me my bite was not ready because my teeth weren't quite aligned enough and the surgeon wouldn't quite know where to put the bite. I would definitely listen to the advice of your orthodontist. If you find that you simply cannot wait, maybe get a 2nd or 3rd opinion from other orthodontists.

I was told a year, so one year counting for me.