Decisions Decisions

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#1 Post by **RickC** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 5:47 am

Hi Everyone,

I've just been for my appointment with my ortho. Things are going great. I've been in braces for around 4 months now and my overjet has been reduced by 5mm, from 12mm to 7mm, I'm really chuffed.

Now here comes the decision part. She expects that she can reduce my overjet to 2-3mm by Easter so that would be 9 months in braces all in which would be fantastic. But if I want the operation to correct my recessed jaw I'll need to let her know by my next appointment so she can leave an over jet of around 5mm as the surgeon wouldn't do the op to correct 2mm.

To be honest I think I can live with my jaw the way it is as long as I have straight nice teeth.
Also from reading through peoples experiences I wouldn't mind saving myself the trauma of the operation and the weeks of being on a liquid diet.

But I'm still not sure. What do you guys think?

#2 Post by **crazybeautiful** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 6:06 am

Hmm, it's a tough one. If you had a functioning and therefore healthy bite with a 3mm overjet, and there was no problem with wearing or teeth or breathing issues, etc, then not having the surgery would no doubt be the way to go. If your overjet is still going to cause you problems then I'd go with surgery. What does your ortho think is the best option?

I would like to have my problems eliminated rather than reduced, but I don't know how much a problem a 3mm overjet would be. I suppose not much, but comparable to bite function and overall health for the rest of your life, surgery isn't too bad a thing to go through

#3 Post by **j03** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 9:14 am

hmmnn..a very nice advice crazybeautiful.

#4 Post by **Noam** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 12:06 pm

crazybeautiful wrote:Hmm, it's a tough one. If you had a functioning and therefore healthy bite with a 3mm overjet, and there was no problem with wearing or teeth or breathing issues, etc, then not having the surgery would no doubt be the way to go. If your overjet is still going to cause you problems then I'd go with surgery. What does your ortho think is the best option?

I would like to have my problems eliminated rather than reduced, but I don't know how much a problem a 3mm overjet would be. I suppose not much, but comparable to bite function and overall health for the rest of your life, surgery isn't too bad a thing to go through

Well, before I started orthodontic treatment for surgery (double+genio), I had just a 2mm underbite, and there was no problem with wearing or teeth or breathing issues, but I still wanted to go through surgery for aesthetic reasons. I needed to straighten my teeth anyway, and told myself if I'm going to be in braces for 1-1.5 years (whether I choose to go through surgery or just straighten my teeth), I better go through surgery a correct everything from the basis.

Here is how I looked before orthodontic treatment:

You can see that even though the underbite is just 2mm, the lower jaw still protrude quite alot.

#5 Post by **j03** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 4:12 am

owh...i have the same problem as yours.but maybe mine is twice than yours..but i chose to wear braces for 2 yrs now because i thought braces would fix my problem..and because im from philippines and havent heared about jaw surgery there..i just recently discovered jaw surgery when i came here in singapore because my sister told me about it..but yes my braces was able to fix my teeth but not my jaw....my lower teeth is inside now beacuse i have 4 teeth removed,but still got protruding jaw maybe twice than yours or thrice...

#6 Post by **queenofoverbite** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 12:18 pm

Are you a teeth grinder at all?

I had braces for 5 years and the pain from them moving made me so stressed that I ground all my teeth down in my sleep every night without even really realizing it.

If your teeeth shorten, your bitte obviously changes. Therefore, you could need surgery afterall?

#7 Post by **j03** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 11:29 pm

for 5 years of wearing braces, it still pain for you?..yeah my bite changed..but still when i bite something the force of biting is still from my lower teeth..maybe i still need the surgery because its only my teeth that are moved,my jaw didnt..i still have protruding jaw.
what do you think?

#8 Post by **queenofoverbite** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 11:39 pm

Yes, all 5 years sucked for me because my teeth were so bad before.

I would talk to your original docor and ask him to re explain his original quote. The more you understand, the better.

For me, that was exactly the problem the first time. My teeth had moved a lot, but my jaw obviously hadnt. Braces without jaw movement turned out to be a bandaid not a solution.

BUT. Everyone is different.

#9 Post by **queenofoverbite** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 11:43 pm

Crazybeautiful- 4 days???!?! Wooo!

#10 Post by **RickC** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 1:54 am

Well I've decided to go for the operation, thought it best to get everything sorted whilst I can, as I won't get this opportunity later.

Had my powerchains fitted yesterday, ouch!!!
I haven't had any pain or discomfort in the past after adjustments but boy is this different I can't bite into anything, back to the soft foods for me.

Hopefully I'll be having the surgery in September, my teeth are all straight now just need to close the gaps.

#11 Post by **39braces** » Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:40 pm

RickC wrote:Well I've decided to go for the operation, thought it best to get everything sorted whilst I can, as I won't get this opportunity later.

Had my powerchains fitted yesterday, ouch!!!
I haven't had any pain or discomfort in the past after adjustments but boy is this different I can't bite into anything, back to the soft foods for me.

Hopefully I'll be having the surgery in September, my teeth are all straight now just need to close the gaps.

Best of luck to you! I hope you have a successful and as pain-free as possible surgery and recovery.