Unsure on what to do regarding jaw surgery, braces, TMJ

[conflictedduck]

Hello to anyone reading this. I'm a 22 year old female who had braces at age 11/12. I had one tooth removed that time. My jaw grew a bit more and I stopped wearing my retainers 4 years ago because they stopped fitting when my wisdom teeth came out. When I was 18, I went to 4 ortho's and 3/4 of them suggested jaw surgery. I did not like the idea of jaw surgery so I decided to wait until I graduated college to find an orthodontist for some other opinions. But now at the age of 22, I am open to the idea of jaw surgery. A few days ago I went to an ortho and he told me he can make my bite look normal using braces, but if I get braces then I won't be able to get jaw surgery in the future. He also said if I am not happy with my profile then I can go for jaw surgery as braces won't fix my profile. My profile looks "normal" at some angles but my lower jaw is a bit stronger than my upper jaw so the ortho said I have a minor class III and a minor crossbite. They are both very borderline. Btw, there are days I like my profile and there are days where I hate it. I have a lot of tmj problems and he referred me to someone who I will go to for a consultation regarding my tmj. The ortho said braces and jaw surgery might make TMJ worse, and I was really bummed to hear that because I thought jaw surgery could help it as it's supposed to put your bite in the place it's supposed to be. Now I feel like I might have to live with TMJ forever, and after four years of trying to mentally accept the fact that I will get jaw surgery, I now probably have to accept that I won't get the surgery. Please any advice and help would do. Thanks!! Also, when I put my bite in the middle, this weird headache I have near my ear instantly goes away.

[amberkennon]

Weird! I'm 22 as well and I just got braced back in October for the first time in preparation for jaw surgery. I have a class III bite as well as a slight open bite that seemed pretty insignificant before braces, but that ended up being because my teeth had tipped to compensate for eating. My x-ray showed otherwise. And now 6 months into braces my under bite is DEFINITELY noticeable and there. But I'm holding out on the fact that it has to get worse before it gets better
I too have had TMJ issues since I was about 15 years old and I've been told I needed double jaw surgery since I was 13. I am just now starting my journey, but hey better late than never, right?

My question is why does the doctor seem to think surgery could not fix the TMJ issues and/or make it worse? That's what I'm hoping for is finally some relief after almost 8 years of dealing with the jaw clicking and pain so that's pretty disheartening to read.
My advice would be to get another opinion, preferably from a maxio-facial surgeon if you haven't seen one yet and have only consulted with orthodontists. See what they have to say since they are a little more experienced and knowledgeable in TMJ disorders.

[conflictedduck]

Hii !!! My orthodontist also said my teeth tipped to compensate! And wow, my tmj issues also started when I was 15. XD Were you hesitant before you made the decision for jaw surgery?

Yes, better late than never. One less thing to worry about in the future.

Yea I was very confused and still am when the doctor said surgery might not fix TMJ issues. When he said it might make it worse I was worried as well. Sorry for making you worry. Yes I still have not went to a jaw surgeon yet but I will be setting an apt. soon. I'll ask him about what the ortho said.

How long is your whole braces + jaw surgery process going to take?

[amberkennon]

How funny! We're twins

I was told my journey will take about 24 months. 2 years in braces and jaw surgery halfway through, so hopefully we're looking at jaw surgery at the end of this year!

And YES! I was hesitant and scared but I also got pregnant when I was 15 years old (like a month or two after seeing the maxiofacial surgeon actually) and that most definitely delayed me taking care of myself. My wisdom teeth surgery was already set and I was getting things prepared for braces when i found out I was pregnant. It definitely would of made it a lot easier to take care of this when I was a teenager, but life happens!

So 7 years later and 2 kids and a marriage later, I finally told myself this was my year that I take care of me I'm worried about the recovery time and having 2 small children but I have a wonderful husband and family that are supporting me 100% in this and they've all said they will help me.

I have noticed in the past 2 years my jaw has definitely become more prominent and the pain has gotten worse. I think that's when I finally stopped growing I guess. Has this happened with you? I've noticed in a lot of people's stories they said the same thing. In their early 20's is when it really started bothering them. I've always hated my profile, even though to other people they said it didn't seem that noticeable. But when you see a picture of yourself at that angle it can be devastating.

What do you think has taken you so long to start this? Have you been hesitant as well? It is definitely a scary and a life changing decision. But from what I've seen mostly everyone always says they would do it all over again if they had to because the results we're so amazing for them!

[conflictedduck]

yes twins!!!

Wow! Yes life happens, and it's nice that you're getting full support from your family!

For me, I think the delay in getting jaw surgery was because of an autoimmune disease, which I still have, but I feel much better now. That + college made things very difficult, so I just decided to wait until after I graduated. I am still super hesitant though!

I also noticed that my jaw kept growing, and I know how you feel. People don't notice my profile but I do :p My family and friends don't think I need it, but really I just hate the tmj and that's the main thing I want to get rid offfff.

Good luck with your jaw surgery and your recovery!

[conflictedduck]

Btw, are you getting surgery on both jaws or just one?

[amberkennon]

See this is where it get's even weirder for us. I too suffer from autoimmune disease! Which makes this whole thing even scarier!! I have Hashimoto's hypothyroidism and a couple of other smaller autoimmune problems. I'm currently actually being tested for other autoimmune diseases as well When I had my wisdom teeth removed I went hypothermic on the table coming out of anesthesia. I have a problem regulating my body temp because of my thyroid issues and that was the first time I had ever been under anesthesia so my body reacted badly. So that's another worry of mine going into jaw surgery which is obviously a way bigger surgery! Make sure your surgeon knows about you autoimmune disease!!

I am having double jaw surgery. I have an under developed upper jaw and an overdeveloped lower jaw. Is that what they're suggesting for you?

[conflictedduck]

I'm so sorry for replying so late. Been so busy.
But wow, I also have a thyroid disease! It's crazy that we seem to have a lot of weird things in common. I have the opposite of what you have, Grave's hyperthyroidism. I hope all your tests for other autoimmune diseases went/are going well though. It would suck to have multiple autoimmune diseases because having one is already hard enough. So is there any update about your health regarding that?
I really hope your surgeon is well aware of your thyroid issue! Hypothermia is serious! Really hope that doesn't happen to you again.

And yes, they're suggesting something similar to yours for me, I think, since I have an underbite and crossbite. I went to a different orthodontist today and he suggested I get two teeth pulled out on the top (bicuspids I believe) and lower jaw surgery. He needs to see my x-rays first before deciding on the extractions. I also haven't seen a jaw surgeon yet, so I still don't know what exactly they want to do with my jaws. Did you get any teeth pulled out? Sorry if I already asked before :p Honestly I'm afraid of not looking like myself anymore after surgery... D;

[Metalmouth33]

I never had TMJ until after jaw surgery. There's definitely a risk it will make it worse.

[conflictedduck]

Hi metalmouth, I decided to go with jaw surgery :I I haven't had my braces on yet because I still need to extract two teeth on the top. My TMJ is pretty bad but when I put my bite in the middle, the ache I have around my ear goes away. So I'm hoping that surgery will help with that so I don't have to keep consciously adjusting my bite.