Metal Mouth Message Board

The first chapter of my journey has started. I am a 20 year old male, about to finish my third year of college. So my journey began when I started getting pain in my TMJ. I went to see an oral surgeon who referred me to an orthodontist across the street. I went in for consultations with both.

What I was told sort have shocked me. I have an open bite, cross bite and overjet. The oral surgeon told me he was going to do SARPE and possibly jaw realignment later on, and sent me to the ortho. The ortho didnt mention SARPE but told me surgery would be necessary to fix everything. So I went in for x-rays, molds and pictures a few days ago, and am going in again soon to discuss the method of attack and work through the paper work and insurance info I suppose.

To be honest I always knew there was something wrong with my midface as I have always had lip incompetence and a slack jaw if I didnt consciousnesses move my lower jaw up and forward. I did not know about it causing TMJ pain and headaches.

So I have an estimated 2 years of orthodontic treatment and possible surgery(s). I am actually hoping that it is the surgical method that I go through, as I want everything to be the way it is supposed to be, in both function and aesthetic and I want to minimize the relapse chance as much as possible. We shall see though as I told me I was a borderline candidate.

Unfortunately this is on my mind all the time. I guess there is nothing left to do except for wait for my next appointment. I look forward to it with both anxiety and excitement.

So today I had brackets placed on my bottom and some spaces placed. I go back in a few days for more brackets. Ill post pics once I get all my gear in.

Still dont know the situation on surgery. Ortho says he thinks he can fix everything without surgery. Not sure yet though, and has kept that possibility open.

The only thing that sucks is eating is annoying. Chewing is a pain as my teeth are sore. At rest my teeth ache a bit but nothing unbearable. Other than that I am happy I have the process begun.

Hi tdawg7669, congratulations on beginning your journey! It sounds like your doctors have a lot of stuff in mind for you. I hope they're able to correct your bite without the surgery. Those spacers can be annoying for a few days, but it means they're doing their jobs. It will be a relief when they take them out, so that's something to look forward to.

Good luck and keep us posted. We love pics!

Congratulations on your decision! You won't regret it, the end result will be so worth it.

What up brodoskis?

I got the brackets on my top branded today, and it is mad awkward. I have a bit of a short upper lip as it is. Having to constantly looking in the mirror to make sure my mouth has a decent level of closure, isnt cool.

That being said things arent as bad as I imagined. My case was semi complicated since I have lumineers on the top. He didnt put the wire in on top yet, so Ill hold off on photos until he does. I want to be economical with this.

update. Wish I took pics on day 1 for comparison

Pictures:
arch:




close up


Smile

sorry about the crappy quality of those pics. They were taken with my acient camera phone. You get the idea though.