considering orthognathic surgery (photos included)

[animalcroc]

hello fellow forum users. i'm new here and this is my first post about myself.
for the past 3 years i have been waiting to do something about my teeth. i have an open bite (about 2mm) and cross bite. only one or two molars touch in the back and i've started wearing one of them down for stress-related reason. I also have trouble speaking. i do not like my speech impediment.

three years ago I was told by two orthodontists that i would need surgery to fix my bite but never proceeded as it's an invasive procedure. I was then told by a third one that he can fix it by orthodontics, but i didn't feel comfortable with him and and didn't trust him.
now, i've recently seen two more othodontists, one which says i need surgery, and another
guy which says he thinks he can fix it. The latter said surgery is "dramatic" and is hard to get covered, and perhaps that's partly why he wanted
to treat me without surgery.

I also just saw two oral surgeons . The first said i'm a borderline case and thinks I can be treated with orthodontics but there's chance for relapse, and surgery is the more stable method. he also mentioned that based upon what he saw he would probably move my lower jaw forward. the second guy said from his experience i would need surgery on top and bottom.

also, during the past 3 years my teeth have become crowded in the front for some reason.

I've read many stories on this board about relapse and regretting not doing surgery, and that has pushed me towards the surgery route. i'm 26 years of age
and i realize that it's best to do surgery when you're relatively young. Come monday I will like to make some phone calls and get something started.
i attached some photos for you guys to see and provide feedback.

thanks,
animalcroc

[overbiter]

I've just joined the board and can't see your photos yet. How long do you have to wait before you have permission to see pictures?

[mrpickles]

Hi guys, i am completely new to this forum. I will be having three teeth extracted in around a couples of months, those being two top premolars and what is now a crowned lower molar. Exactly 12 days after, my Orthodontist will be fitting me my braces. I have been informed on the do's and dont's regarding my braces and given an overview of what to expect. I am excited about the whole thing even though it will be a lengthy procedure. Any way, i will keep those of you interested filled in.

[troubledpatient0115]

Hi, I am 5 months post op orthognathic surgery. I had a 10 mm overbite and I was extremely self conscious about it. I had braces at the age of 14 and relapsed. I am in the middle of complications (infection & lose plates, infected salivary gland, and root canal) all as a result of the surgery. I have had 2 additional surgeries since my orthognathic in September. You can see my post on here; I am new as well.
I would base your decision solely upon how self conscious you feel and how much trouble you have now. Orthognathic is extremely invasive, and can cause many complications. Trouble like mine is NOT uncommon (and I have another stopped up salivary gland)...
I have had moments where I wished I hadn't done surgery (and my bite was 8 mm worse than yours). Overall I am glad that I did, but that is slipping a little bit these days.
My understanding is that past a certain age, orthodontics cannot fix an overbite permanently because your jaw is done growing. I could be wrong about that, but I'm fairly sure I'm not. Now is the time to decide what you want to do, as healing gets worse as we get older.
Ask yourself: can you live with your bite the way it is now, for the rest of your life? And are you prepared to handle possible complications and an abnormal appearance for months? If the answer to the first is no and the second is yes, I would do the orthognathic.

[animalcroc]

Hi, I am 5 months post op orthognathic surgery. I had a 10 mm overbite and I was extremely self conscious about it. I had braces at the age of 14 and relapsed. I am in the middle of complications (infection & lose plates, infected salivary gland, and root canal) all as a result of the surgery. I have had 2 additional surgeries since my orthognathic in September. You can see my post on here; I am new as well.
I would base your decision solely upon how self conscious you feel and how much trouble you have now. Orthognathic is extremely invasive, and can cause many complications. Trouble like mine is NOT uncommon (and I have another stopped up salivary gland)...
I have had moments where I wished I hadn't done surgery (and my bite was 8 mm worse than yours). Overall I am glad that I did, but that is slipping a little bit these days.
My understanding is that past a certain age, orthodontics cannot fix an overbite permanently because your jaw is done growing. I could be wrong about that, but I'm fairly sure I'm not. Now is the time to decide what you want to do, as healing gets worse as we get older.
Ask yourself: can you live with your bite the way it is now, for the rest of your life? And are you prepared to handle possible complications and an abnormal appearance for months? If the answer to the first is no and the second is yes, I would do the orthognathic.

thanks for replying, and i hope your post-surgery symptoms wear off in time and leave you in nothing but excitement!
by overbite, do you mean overjet? how is the numbness? do you mind going into more detail about your surgery, e.g. le fort I, bsso? i have have openbite, overjet, and crossbite, and a back molar is being worn down and i have trouble speaking due to my jaw configuration. I"m 26 years of age, and over the past 5 years or so my mandible has shifted to one side. I'm worried that the longer I put this off, the worse it will get...

i'm going to get molds on wednesday and see what the next steps are, such as insurance approval.

[animalcroc]

I've just joined the board and can't see your photos yet. How long do you have to wait before you have permission to see pictures?

you need 7 posts

[troubledpatient0115]

Hi, yes. I had a bilateral sagittal split osteotomy on my lower mandibular as well as genioplasty. By 10mm overbite I mean overjet.
By day 14 post op, half of the feeling on the right side of my lip had returned. From there I slowly regained the feeling in my chin on my right side. At 9 weeks post op, the feeling in the left side of my lip and chin began to return. As of today, the feeling in the left side of my lip and chin is not perfectly normal. I can feel touch, temperature, etc... but the feeling is "muted" if you will. I can scratch if I have an itch, but I have to scratch a lot harder. It's not perfect, but I do not notice it unless I think about it. The only difficulty it ever serves me, is that occasionally I have pain. If I bite my lip I experience a much deeper and more sensitive pain that I did pre op, and if I mess with my gums they are much more tender and sensitive than they were before. I am only 5 months post op, and according to my oral surgeon, you don't lose all hope until 1 year. I still have quite a ways to go. I read online that Super B Complex helps nerve damage, and I take that every morning.
Because you have slightly different issues with your jaw than I did, you may experience different complications. From my personal experience with braces twice and now surgery, I would not think that orthodontics alone could resolve the problem. I experienced 100% relapse after my first set of braces, and I did not have a cross bite, etc...
I started a blog at 7 days post op that you can see here: ajawsurgeryjourneytold. blogspot. com/ It goes into a lot of depth from symptoms, to food, to emotions.

[animalcroc]

thanks for pointing me to your blog. i saw your recent pictures and you look good
btw, tomorrow i'm going to orthodontist to get molds, x rays etc. at this point, if the surgery gets approved, i believe i will need upper and lower
jaw work. really sucks

[troubledpatient0115]

Thank you ...the swelling you see is what I have been obsessing over as of lately, but my dentist thinks its because i've had SO many procedures in such a short amount of time.

You shouldn't have an issue getting insurance approval...mine was approved, it just took longer than i would have liked. keep us posted!! good luck! jaw surgery does suck, but eventually i think you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[oldfart]

I also have a posterior open bite. I was told that surgery was the only 'cure'. I was able to close it about 80% about 12 years ago with braces. But the ending was rushed. I was in the final closed position for only about two months before the braces were removed and it migrated back a bit.

Trying to fix it one more time, with a request that they allow it to sit in its final position a few more months this time before removing them this time.

I have a blog somewhere that shows mine. Just don't have it linked yet I think.

of

[animalcroc]

Thank you ...the swelling you see is what I have been obsessing over as of lately, but my dentist thinks its because i've had SO many procedures in such a short amount of time.

You shouldn't have an issue getting insurance approval...mine was approved, it just took longer than i would have liked. keep us posted!! good luck! jaw surgery does suck, but eventually i think you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

you're welcome... was your surgery done in the us? i have carefirst bluechoice (private) insurance and was told by orthodontists that insurance companies don't like approving these procedures.

[troubledpatient0115]

It was yes; Are you in the states? I was lucky because orthognathic surgery is listed as a covered benefit in my benefit booklet for my insurance company. I just had to go through the process of proving it was medically necessary, which involved sending records from my surgeon, previous orthodontist where braces failed, current orthodontist, and dentist.
I was on blue cross blue shield which is also private and they would not give you a yes or no before surgery, but if you requested a "predetermination" they would send a letter saying they may cover it or they wouldn't cover it. I got the letter saying they may cover it, which was better than a total denial. I then switched insurance companies due to job change and the new company provided a predetermination. They covered all but about $2,000 of it.

[animalcroc]

luckily you didn't have to go through the pain others have in seeking approval

[mrpickles]

luckily the NHS is covering my treatment.

[bellakai]

Hi there! I'm not able to see your posts yet because I've just joined. I also have a slight open bite. It is so frustrating. I sympathize with you a lot. For me, it's confusing and stressful when I get so many differing opinions from orthodontists, etc. I just don't know what to do. I had a night guard, but I think it actually helped to create the open bite... because I didn't always have this problem. Do you wear a night guard? I worry about grinding down the enamel on my back teeth. My current orthodontist told me not to wear the night guard anymore.