More thoughts on orthognathic surgery

One day I am all for it and the next plagued by doubt. I’m still waiting to her back from my insurance company. Many hours spent on the phone this week. The oral surgeon’s office has been extremely helpful (as you’d expect) and has resubmitted my pre-certification request as an inpatient operation after insurance denied the outpatient procedure. The fees are truly mind boggling.

I am frustrated by the well-intentioned people who tell me I am fine just the way I am. If I felt fine about my teeth, I wouldn’t be spending so much money and volunteering for daily pain. About 99% of them wore braces as children. Their bite is healthy, their teeth are straight, and they don’t get headaches and such. Their lips touch when they close their mouth. I’m struggling to find a good analogy when this topic arises. Orthognathic surgery is different than having my tummy tucked. I asked someone recently to imagine if they were still “wearing” the teeth they were born with. That kind of helped them see my point!

This question woke me up today: if I correct my jaw alignment and our daughters inherit the very same recessed chin and gummy smile, will they grow to think I don’t accept them as they are? They are lovely girls. I hope they won't need to go through all this. As I type, it's 5:30 am and my two year old daughter, who rises early, sings hymns next to me and reads her little children’s Bible. It reminds me what’s really important. I’ll continue to pray about the decision.

First adjustment

It was very anticlimactic. I had been a little concerned about having spacers put in; this was postponed until next month. Several metal ties were placed to close in gaps created after my initial banding. Ouch, I felt like my teeth were twisting out of my mouth. Let me just say how wonderful braces have been for my flossing routine – now there is enough space to actually clean between my teeth. Oh, and new ligatures rock. Yeah!

My orthodontist, Dr. B, looked at my mouth for about 30 seconds. Then I spoke up and said, “Wait, I have a few questions!” I wanted to discuss the oral surgeon’s notes, to talk about Dr. T’s textbook (which I tracked down through inter library loan), and get a sense of my timeline. Well, everyone was pleasant but I could tell they were ready to go home. My entire appointment lasted about 10 minutes. I hope the rushed treatment was due to the time of day and not to the fact that I was now locked into treatment. Everyone was so accommodating during my previous two appointments. My mouth is sore enough that it woke me up this morning but not nearly as bad as before. Thank goodness.

initial surgical consultation

The visit to Dr. T’s office was great. I live about 100 miles south of his office, so getting there took some real effort. My dear husband offered to take a half day off to stay at home with our children. This was especially nice for them – the baby really needs her long morning nap and our toddler loved the extra time with her “Papa”.

I was terribly nervous throughout the entire visit. I arrived about 30 minutes early and flipped through the pages of People magazine. This was a terrible idea! My usual magazines are the Economist, National Review, House Beautiful and when I can find it, Southern Accents. I don’t usually read People or US. That day reminded me why. It was difficult to feel confident when it seemed like everyone in the office was examining my teeth. Seeing glamorous stars with perfect everything just made it all worse.

When Dr. T asked me what I wanted to correct, I tried to describe the complex feelings I have about my mouth. His bedside manner was delightful. He asked clarifying questions without prying. Next, he took some photographs of my teeth & jaw profile. We had to take several…it turns out I subconsciously pull my lips over my overbite. My lips don't really meet! I’ ve since read other bloggers who say they do the same things. It’s good to know I am not the only one. A special thanks are in order to all of you who have posted pics of your “before” photos. They have really encouraged me.

After much discussion, Dr. T recommended I have upper and lower surgery. Next, we discussed these two procedures in more detail. He merged my photo with the software – my “new” face stared back at me. When I kinda freaked out about the upper surgery, he said something like, “well, I think we can achieve about 90% of the results with about 60 % of the surgery…doing lower surgery only is okay.” He remarked that as my face ages, my upper lip will cover some of my upper gums. I guess this is good news? So far, my chin is okay. No need to do genio.

The most interesting thing I learned is that my panoramic x-ray revealed my jaw bones had shifted “significantly” in the past few years. It is so good to know what I see in the mirror is not just a figment of my imagination. Maybe my two pregnancies exacerbated the asymmetry? You hear how your pelvis joints relax. I also learned I have arthritis in my jaw. A few other bloggers have mentioned this too. I am eager to learn more about this aspect. Is there something specific that causes this? Does my asymmetric bite create constant friction on my joints or something? Not sure.

I am now waiting to hear back from my insurance company. Thank you to everyone who has shared their experiences so far. I found Stephanie’s blog especially helpful. Dr. T said my mouth should be ready for surgery in 6-9 months.

On pondering surgery...

My appt with the oral surgeon is this week. I am excited, apprehensive, cautious. This afternoon, while my children are napping simultaneously (which almost never happens!), I looked through some photos. Does everyone get this obsessed with their teeth? I found a few that triggered strong internal cringing. From a certain angle my smile looks great, but from other angles, it looks, well, awful. Here are a few for comparison.

Good news tidbit: I faced two large social events this week in full braces. Just kept telling myself to "exude confidence & radiate beauty". It's corny, but it really did help!

Before photos

Why blog?

Seeing photographs of other people's teeth moving during treatment is *so* encouraging. After my initial consultation with an orthodontist, I had many questions. Reading personal experiences has helped me sort through the plethora of info out there. Though my unhappiness with my teeth and profile brought me this far, will I still like my face if I go through with surgery? Is my recessed chin that noticeable? Is my bite responsible for my headaches & ear issues? How much will all this cost? How will my plans for more children tie in with their proposal for orthognathic surgery?

I am still looking for more information about juggling orthodontic treatment with small children. Hopefully, journaling this process will help someone else who finds themself in a similar position. My plans are to post about once a week.

My braces have been on for about 10 days. They are beginning to feel normal, though my bite continues to change every 2 days or so. It feels really weird. I have an appointment with an oral surgeon on Wednesday, Feb 6th. I am curious what he will advise. My younger daughter is 8 months old and still nursing. How will my plan to delay weaning another six months fit into the treatment plan? I was kinda thinking about a third pregnancy in mid-to-late 2008. Does this still make sense? We'll see. I am still undecided about surgery. At this point, it's still 50-50.