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#1 Post by **tomk** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:47 pm

Anyone had a relapse or read about someone who has?

I would hate to get jaw surgery only for the jaw to move back!

#2 Post by **TheUnk311** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 6:33 pm

Here is a good thread where Meryaten posts a lot of info about relapse.

viewtopic.php?t=19622

Lots of posts here from people getting ready for surgery or have had surgery and side-effects they have experienced. The success rate must be pretty high cause I wasn't able to find any posts from people who had a relapse, but my search skills aren't that great =p

#3 Post by **HighandLo** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:40 am

tomk,

I have read in a few places that a 10% relapse is quite common and surgeons compensate for this. I don't know exactly how they do this - I will ask my OS on Thursday. I don't see how the jaw bones could actually move, though. I have seen the plates and screws on my x-rays!

I am 2 weeks post-op and using elastics to guide my bite. I have to learn how to eat differently now that my teeth meet together. My bite is still not perfect and I think this has to do with the powerful facial muscles pulling one way or another.

Lo

#4 Post by **phil** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 9:53 am

LO (and all),

I will attest to the power of the facial muscles in throwing one's bite out of whack. Check my thread to read the epic saga.

#5 Post by **HighandLo** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 1:22 pm

I wonder how long it takes them to settle down? My OS says I will be in elastics for 5-6 weeks. They're not too bad, but still enough of a pain!!

Lo

#6 Post by **tomk** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:46 pm

Phil can you post the link to the thread. I see 14 pages of your posts. Not sure which one you describe your experience.

#7 Post by **phil** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 3:02 pm

tom,

Here's the link:

viewtopic.php?t=20003&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

July 5th is the day things started to go haywire. No coincidence that it was a couple of days after my tight banding came off. Had I known that I would have had this problem, I might have suggested being tightly banded for another week.

Good luck!

#8 Post by **tbarr15** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 3:03 pm

Back to the original question--When I talked to my surgeon about relapse he said that in all his surgeries performed he had only seen two cases where the jaw moved back. HOWEVER both cases were so small that the orthodontist was able to compensate. I think both cases were in younger people who had not finished growing.

#9 Post by **HighandLo** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 3:17 pm

I asked My OS about this today and he said that doctors don't know why some people relapse. It's so individual and every case is different. But, doctors don't expect it or plan for it in most cases. He also said there wasn't really a chance of it in my case.

Lo