Underbite Surgery, to do or not to do???

[dusty foot philosopher]

In about 3 months I will be getting surgery on my lower jaw to bring it forward. The surgery where the surgeon makes two incisions, and cuts some bone away to extend the jaw. Im still unsure as to get it or not but my dillema is that if I don't get it now, I will have to pay thousands in the future. I am getting it now for free in Australia because I was accepted into the dental program when I was 14.

Im still worried about possbile nerve damage, and recovering properly. I wanna feel the same as I always have, I'm scared it will feel weird and I'll regret going through with it. My doctor has given me until November to make the decision. If I don't go through with it I will get rubber bands to extend my jaw by a couple of milimeters instead.

I will greatly appreciate any advice or personal experiences that will help me make up my decision, I could go either way at this point, but I'm definatly leaning towards not going through with it, seems like a big risk.

I'm looking forward to responses, thanks.

[Rodney008]

I haven't had my surgery yet, but I do know that as with any surgery it does have it's risks. Most likely everything will turn out as you want, but you just have to ask yourself "is it worth it?" For me the answer is yes, because my teeth only touch at my very back left teeth. I do not want to be an old man one day and choke on something. This is not something I'm doing for cosmetic reasons but for a better quality of life.

Not sure if any of this helps. I hope it does and I wish you the best of luck!

[matty63]

I'm 16 days post op after having Genioplasty (i believe this is the procedure you have described). Like Rodney has said it comes down to "is it worth it?". Will you regret not having it done later on in life?

For me it was purely cosmetic reasons. Knowing i had a weak chin really knocked my confidence and put me in plenty of awkward social situations. I'm glad ive went through with it though, a couple months of discomfort for me is totally worth it in the long run.

[Laundraholic]

When I was 13 I was told that I could start the process for underbite surgery when I was 18, as then was when my jaw would stop growing.
I was actually told that there would be no point getting braces at all unless I went through with the surgery.

My parents were absolutely dead set against it at the time -- they felt the surgery was not necessary, blah blah blah.
As I was a student and under their roof and their insurance policy, I just shrugged my shoulders and said okay at the time.


Years passed and I would always think about the surgery... my dentist would bring it up every once in a while and I would always contemplate it and then decide against it because the timing wasn't right (just got married and already had lots of time off for that, pregnant and on mat leave, changed jobs and didn't want to ask for more time off, got pregnant and on mat leave again) and I would think, "well it's not a NECESSITY. I won't DIE if if I don't have this surgery done".

But I never stopped thinking about it.
And finally just after I turned 32, after thinking about it again for 6 months I finally went ahead with it.
BUT because I'm older my teeth took longer to shift (I was told that if I had done this when I was 18 I would have only been in braces for approx a year before the surgery. As it stands the original estimate for me at my age was 18 months but I'm coming up on 2 1/2 years and the surgery is in 6 months).
And because I'm older my healing apparently will not be as quick.
As well as the fact that I'm older I have to worry about taking time off work (If I was 18 I would have done the surgery on summer break), as well as dealing with 2 small children during my healing period.

Do I regret making this choice? HEEELLLLL NO.

But do I secretly wish that I started this when I was 18? YES.

[yvonner1991]

When I was 13 I was told that I could start the process for underbite surgery when I was 18, as then was when my jaw would stop growing.
I was actually told that there would be no point getting braces at all unless I went through with the surgery.

My parents were absolutely dead set against it at the time -- they felt the surgery was not necessary, blah blah blah.
As I was a student and under their roof and their insurance policy, I just shrugged my shoulders and said okay at the time.


Years passed and I would always think about the surgery... my dentist would bring it up every once in a while and I would always contemplate it and then decide against it because the timing wasn't right (just got married and already had lots of time off for that, pregnant and on mat leave, changed jobs and didn't want to ask for more time off, got pregnant and on mat leave again) and I would think, "well it's not a NECESSITY. I won't DIE if if I don't have this surgery done".

But I never stopped thinking about it.
And finally just after I turned 32, after thinking about it again for 6 months I finally went ahead with it.
BUT because I'm older my teeth took longer to shift (I was told that if I had done this when I was 18 I would have only been in braces for approx a year before the surgery. As it stands the original estimate for me at my age was 18 months but I'm coming up on 2 1/2 years and the surgery is in 6 months).
And because I'm older my healing apparently will not be as quick.
As well as the fact that I'm older I have to worry about taking time off work (If I was 18 I would have done the surgery on summer break), as well as dealing with 2 small children during my healing period.

Do I regret making this choice? HEEELLLLL NO.

But do I secretly wish that I started this when I was 18? YES.

This makes me want to get it done now that I'm 18. If I onlly had the money right now..it will take me 2 years to save up from my taco bell job, but it will be worth it!