Oral Surgery - Tell us your results.

[Metalmouth33]

I think it would be a very good idea if everyone who gets Orthognathic Surgery gives a brief summary of their results.

The goal is to have a more accurate understanding of how many people are happy with their results vs how many are not. And to provide an easy way to find someone who had the same issues, if you have any.

Let only the truth stand!

I think this Forum is less active than it was in the past, but here's hoping this catches on with all the newcomers and ends up becoming a valuable resource.


Only post once, and focus simply on telling us your results. No more, no less.



Not exactly the best start, but not the worst either. Here's my results:

Sarpe Surgery - Mixed results, but mostly negative so I would go back in time and reverse it all if I could.
My teeth are 'nicer', less crowded. And occlusion improved somewhat.. But that's the only positives.
Facial appearance didn't improve. Side profile changed, but doesn't look better to me. Some asymmetry, gum loss, tooth discoloration, and nerve pain (still trying to figure out why). TMJ pain/clicks on my left side. And tinnitus (I can make the ringing louder just by moving my lower jaw). Some depression and increased anxiety as well.

[snapdresser]

LeFort I 1-piece, BSSO, SG - I LOVE my results! I look completely different in a good way.

Appearance Impact: I had counterclockwise rotation so my face is now "shorter" and my chin is more pronounced. My profile is much better now. I used to have a gummy smile but now show about 0-1mm of gum when smiling. Changes in the soft tissues in my cheeks now make my cheekbones look a little more defined.

Psychosocial Impact: It's been a boon for my self-confidence which has helped me just be happier on a personal level, in addition to (IMO) helping me land a new job, and helping my relationship too. That sounds like a stretch, I know, but I truly believe it. People treat you differently when you're a 7 versus when you're a 4, from strangers on the street who are now more inclined to ask for directions or initiate small talk to my own mother (though I'm not going to get into how superficial she may or may not be ).

Bite Impact: My bite was good before the surgery and it didn't change. I used to get a pop in one of my TMJs before the surgery and that's gone now. I've found myself clenching my teeth more post-op. I'm considering getting a night guard.

Negatives: To be sure, not everything is perfect. I now show 0-1mm of gum when smiling, though the ideal is 1-2mm, so my maxilla was over-impacted a little. That's been incredibly hard to get used to, especially considering I previously had a gummy smile that I didn't think looked bad. I still have some extra fat under my chin by my neck, which is in line with my father and brother, but still makes me think I don't look perfect. I know some people get neck lipo at the same time as they get the orthognathic surgery. I had one front tooth loosen after the surgery due to my archbars being wrongly attached. The attachment around that tooth was redone and it went back to normal. Also, I can feel the plates and they're super annoying. I'm considering getting them taken out. I need to make a call on that soon because the bone will grow over them if I let it go. All in all, I don't regret a thing and would do it all over again in a flash. The psychological part regarding the slight over-impaction has been the hardest part to deal with but input from others telling me I look good and a concerted effort to not be so hard on myself has helped a lot.

[DroolQueen]

when is the best time to reply to this post and truly know what your results are? Seeing as i'm 2 weeks post op and don't know when i'll see my final results. anyone have any idea..? 4 months, 6, 8, a year..?

[Konbawa076]

Usually 6 months. I had Sarpe 2 months and a half ago my swelling is I think pretty much down. But my teeth have still a big 6mm gap on the right. My Ortho is going to close it starting this week. I really can’t wait.

Psychologically, it has been very difficult. When I was turning I cryed almost every day because of the stress and also because my front teeth (one of them) began to move in front until it looked like I had only one tooth. I looked like a pirate or an evil witch or something. I was relieved though because my Ortho corrected that very quickly. She said that she couldn’t close the gap yet but moving my front tooth in the back was okay.

Now I have to deal with the gap and every time I speck I feel like people are looking at me like there is something wrong about me. Needless to say, I feel ugly and don’t want to go outside. I wish I had someone who was going through the same thing.

I want so badly to see the résult. My teeth are moving so slowly it’s killing me.

[Pequod]

Problems: 6mm open bite

Surgery: Lefort I + BSSO

Where & when: NYC region, 3+ years ago

Results: Mixed, bite is closed albeit barely, have about 1mm anterior overlap. Still have 7mm lip incompetence, the final results do not match the forecast. The plan was for my jaw to swing forward more and lips close to touching when at rest. On the plus side. there are no side effects from the surgery.

Complications: had a full revision operation 1 week after the initial surgery

[Peachblossom]

To Pequod: what was your complication that required full revision operation one week post op?

[Pequod]

The bite wasn't how the surgeon left it on the OR table. Midline was worse than before and way off center and I still had a 2mm+ open bite. Apparently I "woke up hard form the anesthesia" and clenched my jaws, paraphrasing what the surgeon told me. The second time they put IMF screws in to avoid this. I was told that this happens about 3 times a year (out of about 100 operations) at that hospital so it's not that rare.

During my consultation I specifically asked how many people eventually needed a second operation. I was thinking more along the lines of is skeletal relapse a concern. The surgeon told me he only had one instance (out of over 1000) where they unbanded a patient and found they needed a revision. Looking back I feel, best case he lied by omission since he didn't mention these immediate revisions which happen a couple times a year.

[Elucidation]

I (29 year old) had double jaw surgery in March 2017 during braces from 2015-2018. A Le Fort I for upper moving forward, Bilateral Sagittal Split Osteotomy (BSSO) for the lower moving backwards for a total movement of 7mm.



Appearance: +2 charisma, my canted upper jaw was fixed, my smile isn't as gummy, and my massive underbite is gone. I was worried about losing my chin, but not only did I not, but I've finally come around to realize how much better my side profile is now. It's subtle but even though I was already an overly confident fellow, I feel so much more confident now with my smile.

Bite: +3 str, +2 dex, I can actually bite through food now. Before I tended to rip with my molars or use my tongue to push food against my incisors to eat. I never knew what I was missing till now after surgery/braces, burgers are magnificent, carrots are a piece of cake, biting through lettuce or pasta is fun and glorious.

Complications: None

Negatives: I'll have to wear removable retainers and a permanent lower retainer wire for the rest of my life, whereas before I was blissfully unaware of my faults.
Perhaps minor annoyances are now that my jaws are actually aligned, my midline is barely off like 0.2 mm, which is only noticeable to me, but irks the perfectionist in me.
Coming up on 11 months since surgery, my numbness is pretty much 99% gone except for a bit of slight loss of sensation in my upper gumline. It's still growing back, and it's almost a benefit at this point as I can still easily feel food and poke sensations, but it's a little bit less sensitive making cleanings less painful.

I have a ton of explanations/pictures of the procedure and my results in my blog linked in my signature for those wanting to know more.

[daycard]

SARPE one year ago

Appearance Impact: fuller mouth and face, wider palate. The expansion was asymmetrical (right side expanded more than left) so my right cheek is fuller, looks a bit swollen. It looks like with time and braces the cheek is becoming less fuller.

Psychosocial Impact: My confidence is gone because my smile is not where I wanted it to be yet and after 1 year I still have a little bit of gap.

Bite Impact: Had a narrow palate and open bite which has been fixed with braces

Negatives: Like I said before, I don't like how my right side cheek looks right now, it looks like I'm the only one who notices it. Everyone else say they don't, and they say my smile looks great. I don't think it does since my left side was not expanding the ortho stopped the expansion and my smile is not as wide as I wanted it to be. My midline is gonna be off due to that by 2mm but I guess I don't care since no one notices that. Since the ortho fixed my open bite now my smile is gonna be way more gummy and I don't like it at all. I should have gone for a LeFort I like my surgeon suggested but I didn't have the guts and my ortho said he would achieve the same results. Well, I guess I'll still trust the process and hope that the braces make a better result.