Having trouble committing to surgery

[balor124]

I was told 15 years ago that I need jaw surgery and I ignored the advice. Now I'm in my mid 30s and am looking at it again. Tooth wear, jaw pain (muscle only, joints fine), and severe sleep apnea (and enamel erosion). My bite isn't too off actually and aesthetically it looks ok right now with the wear however functionally I stand to benefit a lot from surgery. I've met with a few top surgeons and they tell me I'm researching too much - that I should just pick one and take the plunge. The problem is, I come from a medical family and I know the risks and complications that come with surgery well. From what I've read and heard, I'm scared of committing to a surgery like this. Any advice about how to get past my anxiety here? I'm worried about needing repeat surgeries, permanent loss of nerve function (or hyperactive nerves), complications, poor aesthetic result, etc. I'm also concerned about what life will be like in 10+ years if I don't do it given where I was 10 years ago and where I am today.

I'm also struggling picking a surgeon. I've interviewed a few but I'm nervous that I'll pick the wrong one. I feel like there's no real good way to judge them so I've resorted to finding those with the biggest names and throwing a small fortune at them instead. A local surgeon would be easier certainly. The plans they've presented are similar in advancement (10-13mm lower jaw CC, 5-10mm upper jaw). 1-segment vs 3-segment and whether to balance with cheek implants also comes up. My relatives tell me that I don't want more surgery than necessary. It'd be nice to become more attractive afterwards but it's a hard sell to become uglier!

What advice can you offer?

[Nozzelnut]

I can understand your concerns about surgeries. I put off getting more than a few things fixed for far too long; because I didn't want to go under the knife. I finally got them done when I couldn't put up with the aches and pain anymore. I should have had them fixed years ago; things went great. Recovery from some of them hurt quite a bit for the first week or two but; I don't have the daily pain anymore.

My clenching and grinding was putting a lot of stress on my TMJ causing a lot of pain, clicking, popping... My teeth moved, my bite shifted, and I had a headache that wouldn't go away. I had a couple consultations with orthodontists and I ended up getting braces to fix my bite. I was kind of shocked when my orthodontist brought up jaw surgery and recommended it for me. I looked into it and did a lot of research about it. There's a lot more positive outcomes than negative from what I've read. One thing to keep in mind is that you won't hear about all the great outcomes, but you'll probably hear about every bad one.

I'm in the sleep apnea boat too. They rated me moderate to severe as far as AHI goes. Little did I know that my small jaw was limiting my airway. That's another thing jaw surgery would fix for me.

I'm actually looking forward to fixing things next year; no more APAP machine, no more jaw pain and a solid functional bite.

As for surgeons; research and previous patient recommendations. Their reputation usually proceeds them.

[Hostet25]

balor124....I feel like I can relate! I am 29...and ive known since I was little I needed this surgery but really didn't think or care about it back then. For me my teeth touched right on top of each other so the surgery helped my bite..but I also have tmj, tooth wear, joint pops. I researched this surgery for a few months and then made an appt with a Kaiser specialist....I didn't really fight Kaiser on who I wanted to see and my surgeon ended up being great. I've always hated my profile...I had an underbite my whole life and hated it. Honestly im glad I did my research but a lot of it made me more scared. If you google some symptom you have you will freak out thinking you are dying! I decided to take the plunge and do it and im so happy I did. And this is coming from 3 1/2 weeks post op. Still a lil swollen, still a lil numb, and still banded shut! They only moved me 3mm forward on my top jaw to meet my lower jaw and it made all the difference in the world. I actually passed a kidney stone the week before surgery and that was by far worse than any of this jaw surgery experience. So with the movement you said you need will make all the difference for your face. Also, your dr can show you computerized photos of what you will look like after. And honestly, I don't think ive seen anyone whos had these surgeries and looked worse after...even though some of them think they do. We all obviously have jaws that aren't normal...don't look normal or work normal...so making them more symmetrical and function better I feel is worth it! Ill post my before and after profile and how much of a difference it made for me.

[balor124]

I'm a rare case in this respect. The reason for moving the jaws forward so much is simply to correct the sleep apnea. Otherwise, I wouldn't need to move them at all really. I just have a functional problem and it is with the bite plane. I'm expecting to look worse afterwards actually. I showed the side profile simulation to my wife and she said it looked weird. She thought I looked like a movie star with the square jaw. That picture was generated with the cheek implants in mind though.

[Hostet25]

Well I think you should pick 2 or 3 surgeons and have a consultation with each and see what treatment plan they choose. Then you can really sit down and decide what's best for you. Also, my significant other said I looked a little weird to him at first it took a. Few weeks...even though my aesthetics look 100 times better. Obviously it's a big change to see someone you've been with for a long time all of the sudden change but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. Sleep apnea isn't something small...so I would say ask your surgeons why they believe your issues without surgery outweigh the risk of this surgery. Even though you may have a lot of drs or medical knowledge around you...these are specialists. I definitely didn't know how much they worry about aesthetics when they do this surgery. I mean I understood they try to help most who have jaws that don't match up right but after going thru all of it he planned my treatment plan for a month prior to surgery. He chose the top jaw instead of the bottom because he said my top lip area was a little sunken in. He also liposuctioned my neck because I was self conscious about my lower jaw looking long and he stitched my nose so it wouldn't widen much. Basically im saying your surgeon isn't going to do this and just let u walk out looking weird. And most listen to how you feel about the after appearance and plan it with you.