Hello everyone, Im going to get lower jaw surgery and a possible chin reduction sometime this year to correct my overbite. Im worried that my jaw or chin will be permanently numb. I understand that having the chin reduction increases the change of permanent nerve damage, but i dont know if its a high risk or not. If I end up with permanent numbness, will I get used to it? or could I always have trouble like drooling or biting my lip?
Also, does the amount my jaw is moved forward increase the chance of permanent numbness? Because I think I need it to be advanced ablout 10-12mm
thanks
numbness???
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Hey 
I had a 13mm advancement about 11 weeks ago. Ive still got a patch of numbness on the left side in my lip and chin area, but its very very slowly returning to normal. It can take months to fully return, and yes there is some people who have numbness remain. But usually this is a very small area, and only effects a small number of people.
I did have some drooling problems in the 1st days and it was a few weeks before i could drink out of a wide glass without a shower, but you adapt to it. Know no one else but me would even know that some numbness remained.
My surgeon assured me that the nerve was not severed during the surgery and that full feeling will return eventually tho.
I had a 13mm advancement about 11 weeks ago. Ive still got a patch of numbness on the left side in my lip and chin area, but its very very slowly returning to normal. It can take months to fully return, and yes there is some people who have numbness remain. But usually this is a very small area, and only effects a small number of people.
I did have some drooling problems in the 1st days and it was a few weeks before i could drink out of a wide glass without a shower, but you adapt to it. Know no one else but me would even know that some numbness remained.
My surgeon assured me that the nerve was not severed during the surgery and that full feeling will return eventually tho.
Braces on 11th June 2006,~ BSSO and Wisdom tooth removal 11th February 2008,~ Plate Removal 14th May 2008,~ Braces off 28th August 2008.
http://adultwithbraces.blogspot.com/
hi Kayshal19!
I had my jaw moved foward somewhere between 6-8mm, 7 months ago to the day, today. I still have what I would call a large swath of numbness in all of my lower lip and in my whole chin area. It goes from really worrying me, to aching, to burning, to not hurting at all - which will tell you that much of my preception of the annoyance/pain is mental.
I hope it will get better everyday, and somehow, i think it is actually getting better. However I think it's so slow I can hardly tell. It's not at all like that "puddle shrinking" many people have described on here for me personally. It's more just like a general lessening of the numbness all over in teeny tiny incremental amounts so it is barely perceptable. Kissing sucks. I do not drool - see even at my most numb, like right after the surgery where I could feel absolutely NOTHING, I was not really "drooling" per se, I mean you do drip occasionally ifyou're not paying attention, but it's not like a teething baby or anything.
I do wish, however, my surgeon would have talked with me more indepth about the numbness and that I would have been more prepared for it. Would I have still gone though with the surgery knowing what I know now? Yes. But I just wish I would have been more well prepared for the long haul of numbness, because I can live with it, the benefits still probably outweigh the consequences, but I wish I would have thought about it more. Still, even at worse case scenario, and if I do end up numb on my lip and chin for the rest of my life, I can live with it resonably well.
I had my jaw moved foward somewhere between 6-8mm, 7 months ago to the day, today. I still have what I would call a large swath of numbness in all of my lower lip and in my whole chin area. It goes from really worrying me, to aching, to burning, to not hurting at all - which will tell you that much of my preception of the annoyance/pain is mental.
I hope it will get better everyday, and somehow, i think it is actually getting better. However I think it's so slow I can hardly tell. It's not at all like that "puddle shrinking" many people have described on here for me personally. It's more just like a general lessening of the numbness all over in teeny tiny incremental amounts so it is barely perceptable. Kissing sucks. I do not drool - see even at my most numb, like right after the surgery where I could feel absolutely NOTHING, I was not really "drooling" per se, I mean you do drip occasionally ifyou're not paying attention, but it's not like a teething baby or anything.
I do wish, however, my surgeon would have talked with me more indepth about the numbness and that I would have been more prepared for it. Would I have still gone though with the surgery knowing what I know now? Yes. But I just wish I would have been more well prepared for the long haul of numbness, because I can live with it, the benefits still probably outweigh the consequences, but I wish I would have thought about it more. Still, even at worse case scenario, and if I do end up numb on my lip and chin for the rest of my life, I can live with it resonably well.
Very good point jjames, i also feel as tho my surgeon skimmed over the possible side effects/bad results of the operation, as they were unlikely to happen. Dont feel as tho i was given enough warning about what may happen.
Braces on 11th June 2006,~ BSSO and Wisdom tooth removal 11th February 2008,~ Plate Removal 14th May 2008,~ Braces off 28th August 2008.
http://adultwithbraces.blogspot.com/
I had mine moved forward about 8mm 8 months ago now and my experience is similar. I have just lessened feeling all around my bottom lip and chin. It don't get aches or pains at all though, just the very odd time I get a little tingling.jjames wrote:hi Kayshal19!
I had my jaw moved foward somewhere between 6-8mm, 7 months ago to the day, today. I still have what I would call a large swath of numbness in all of my lower lip and in my whole chin area. It goes from really worrying me, to aching, to burning, to not hurting at all - which will tell you that much of my preception of the annoyance/pain is mental.
I hope it will get better everyday, and somehow, i think it is actually getting better. However I think it's so slow I can hardly tell. It's not at all like that "puddle shrinking" many people have described on here for me personally. It's more just like a general lessening of the numbness all over in teeny tiny incremental amounts so it is barely perceptable. Kissing sucks. I do not drool - see even at my most numb, like right after the surgery where I could feel absolutely NOTHING, I was not really "drooling" per se, I mean you do drip occasionally ifyou're not paying attention, but it's not like a teething baby or anything.
I do wish, however, my surgeon would have talked with me more indepth about the numbness and that I would have been more prepared for it. Would I have still gone though with the surgery knowing what I know now? Yes. But I just wish I would have been more well prepared for the long haul of numbness, because I can live with it, the benefits still probably outweigh the consequences, but I wish I would have thought about it more. Still, even at worse case scenario, and if I do end up numb on my lip and chin for the rest of my life, I can live with it resonably well.
I'm fairly annoyed about it, it has taken away from the happiness I should be feeling. Kissing is quite awkward, and I'm a young single male so that's not good! I sometimes don't notice stuff on my chin.
I was never told anything about this, I only read that it was a risk online. I was never even told there would be temporary numbness.
i had my jaw moved 5 years ago and unfortunately never got the whole feeling back in my chin. Its a funny sensation, when someone touches it it tickles so I can feel when things touch it but it takes longer to register (only a few secs longer!) After you've had surgery, you don't stay numb for long at all, i was really impressed by hw quickly i had most of my feeling back so do't worry bout that-gives you something to laugh about too if you are dribbling as my family took great delight in doing!
Hi kaysha19,
I had upper and lower jaw surgery and genioplasty nearly 20 months ago.
I had 4mm up and out on my top jaw, 9mm on my bottom jaw and 6mm on my chin. Part of my chin and lower lip area are still numb, but they are still gradually improving, even this far out from surgery.
I have to agree with jjames here - it is such a slow process that it is barely perceptive. I woke up the other morning with the realization that the point of my chin is barely numb now, and the patch of numbness seems to be lessening all the time.
I am still positive that I will get almost all feeling back. My surgeon said that the nerve was not entrapped at all during surgery so I'm hopeful that things will continue to improve. If they don't, I can live with the minor inconvieniences.
My children are always quick to point out if I have food on my lip or chin that I can't feel, and we laugh about it. It is a small price to pay for the benefits of the surgery. These have included better self esteem, better dental health, a greatly improved profile and look (No more long face or gummy smile), being able to bite into food properly such as apples, corn on the cob and sandwiches, and being able to chew food better. (I once ended up in hospital with meat stuck in my throat because of my bad chewing motion - only half of my molars met).
My top teeth still have a tight numb feeling too, but I feel that this is also still improving. My dentist told me that the neurons recover at the rate of 1/2mm every 6 months, so I'm only half way there in terms of recovery of feeling in my top teeth.
Btw, I am in my early 40's so I am sure that this also has an influence on recovery of feeling. My one regret is that I didn't have the surgery earlier.
I had upper and lower jaw surgery and genioplasty nearly 20 months ago.
I had 4mm up and out on my top jaw, 9mm on my bottom jaw and 6mm on my chin. Part of my chin and lower lip area are still numb, but they are still gradually improving, even this far out from surgery.
I have to agree with jjames here - it is such a slow process that it is barely perceptive. I woke up the other morning with the realization that the point of my chin is barely numb now, and the patch of numbness seems to be lessening all the time.
I am still positive that I will get almost all feeling back. My surgeon said that the nerve was not entrapped at all during surgery so I'm hopeful that things will continue to improve. If they don't, I can live with the minor inconvieniences.
My children are always quick to point out if I have food on my lip or chin that I can't feel, and we laugh about it. It is a small price to pay for the benefits of the surgery. These have included better self esteem, better dental health, a greatly improved profile and look (No more long face or gummy smile), being able to bite into food properly such as apples, corn on the cob and sandwiches, and being able to chew food better. (I once ended up in hospital with meat stuck in my throat because of my bad chewing motion - only half of my molars met).
My top teeth still have a tight numb feeling too, but I feel that this is also still improving. My dentist told me that the neurons recover at the rate of 1/2mm every 6 months, so I'm only half way there in terms of recovery of feeling in my top teeth.
Btw, I am in my early 40's so I am sure that this also has an influence on recovery of feeling. My one regret is that I didn't have the surgery earlier.
That's another thing that I wish I could say, that I'm now happy with my smile. Unfortunately, for some reason, half of my bottom lip doesn't go down fully when I smile now, a problem I never had before.
It's a bit like Milo Ventimiglia's smile, which I think was caused by dead nerves as a result of some accident he had. He apparantly doesn't smile very often and I am also feeling self conscious about it.
I hope I'll suddenly realise how great everything is now when I get my braces off at the end of the month.
It's a bit like Milo Ventimiglia's smile, which I think was caused by dead nerves as a result of some accident he had. He apparantly doesn't smile very often and I am also feeling self conscious about it.
I hope I'll suddenly realise how great everything is now when I get my braces off at the end of the month.