Jaw Unwired-Problems

[ThruTheWire43]

Hello everyone, I'm a 22 year old female & unfortunately had my jaw broken in two places. I had surgery to have it wired shut and today they cut the wire out. I still have the screws and hardware in until next week, but when I saw my mouth I was very very upset .. It looks as though my bottom teeth have been moved farther back than they were before any of this happened. I'm scared that this is permanent ! I've been crying all day. If anyone can speak to me and give me some advice that would make me feel so much better ! Please help !

[TMJJill]

It sounds like something you need to discuss with your doctor or orthodontist.

I can't relate with what you've been through, but I will share something my Orthodontist told me today. I got my braces off last month and my bite has been feeling a bit 'off'. He said that it takes time for the body to adjust to having all of the hardware out of it. He said it isn't only the teeth and bite, but that the skull itself that need to 'settle'. He said the jaw area needs to adjust in 4 different directions and that it does take time.

If you are really concerned, call your doctor. Otherwise, you might try letting things settle a bit to see how you are doing.

I wish you well. Sounds like you've gone through an awful lot.

[ThruTheWire43]

Thank you Sooooooo Much ! I was hoping that would be the case, that maybe it just needed to relax and settle. You've made me feel a lot better. I've been crying all day! I'm a bit of a worrier to begin with, but I needed that reassurance . Again, thank you very very much

[Norrie]

Wow, it sounds like you've gone through a lot of trauma, and I'm sorry to hear it.
When is your follow up appointment? Is it soon enough that you feel like you can wait to ask the doctor then? If not, I'd call the office and ask to speak to a nurse. At the very least, they can give you an idea of whether things will settle.

Take really good care! You've been through so much.

[sirwired]

In jaw surgery done on purpose as part of an orthodontic treatment plan, there are careful measurements made as to where each piece of the jaw needs to go, the surgeon performs a "mock surgery" on a set of impressions taken before the operation, and the soft-tissue and bone cuts are made in a careful and controlled fashion. This works so well that wiring shut is quite rare for planned surgery.

Reconstructive surgery as a result of trauma is very different. (Enough so that it's considered a separate sub-specialty of oral surgery vs. "planned" jaw surgery.) There are no "before" x-rays or models to work from, the bone is simply fractured wherever the force happened to be applied, and there may be soft-tissue trauma as well. The surgeon has to make a "best guess" as to where everything is supposed to go, subject to the limits imposed by the usable bone and soft tissue.

I would talk to the oral surgeon that did the work for a referral to an orthodontist who can come up with what needs to be done to get your teeth properly in-line again and then perhaps some follow-up (planned) oral surgery can be done to put the jaw back into it's original position. Alternatively, if you have a dental school within a reasonable distance, I would go with one of the oral surgery professors there (that specializes in orthognathic surgery) for the next surgery, and perhaps have him/her refer you to an orthodontist they regularly work with.

Whatever you do, work quickly. The longer you go without braces, the more your teeth are going to shift around to accommodate your new bite, and that may make pre-surgery prep (if needed) take longer.