Author Topic: Don't get jaw surgery  (Read 15820 times)

jawregret

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 42
  • Karma: 4
Don't get jaw surgery
« on: September 27, 2016, 06:04:36 PM »
Don't get jaw surgery unless you're having very bad functional problems or are severely deformed. The risks are not worth it.

kjohnt

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 387
  • Karma: 26
Re: Don't get jaw surgery
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2016, 10:17:16 PM »
Please expand on your experience

David_D

  • Private
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 101
  • Karma: 12
Re: Don't get jaw surgery
« Reply #2 on: September 29, 2016, 10:10:18 AM »
Don't get jaw surgery unless you're having very bad functional problems or are severely deformed. The risks are not worth it.

I don't hold the same viewpoint.  I think that individuals should make a determination for themselves of the costs and benefits associated with surgery.  Each individual will have different metrics and valuation of those costs and benefits.  I can certainly understand that someone's experience might shape their recommendations.

jawregret

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 42
  • Karma: 4
Re: Don't get jaw surgery
« Reply #3 on: September 29, 2016, 05:39:00 PM »
Please expand on your experience

I had camouflage treatment done my by ortho for an overbite when I was young. Eventually when I got older, I became self-conscious of my somewhat receded lower jaw, so I went back to my orthodontist and asked what could be done about it. Ortho said that I could only get a proper class 1 bite (no camouflage) by getting jaw surgery, and that I would look much better after.

I agreed (pretty stupidly), so I went through decompensation treatment to prep me for surgery. A lefort 1, BSSO and genioplasty was planned.

Surgery comes, and I was impacted a bit over 3 mm when I had no gummy smile or excessive upper tooth show, and the surgeon advanced my chin waaaay too much.

I now show zero upper teeth at rest (ONLY lower teeth), and maybe 3 mm of upper teeth in a big smile. My chin is ridiculous.

Long story short: I came out looking way worse than I did going in. I didn't even have a horrible bite. The previous no surgery treatment had created a stable enough bite.

I still regret letting mild self-consciousness drive me to do something so invasive. I looked totally normal, and now I look like a much worse version of myself. I had no functional problems either.

PloskoPlus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3044
  • Karma: 140
Re: Don't get jaw surgery
« Reply #4 on: September 29, 2016, 06:22:00 PM »
Over impaction is probably the worst aesthetic f**k up possible. Yet even the big name surgeons screw up like this.

jawregret

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 42
  • Karma: 4
Re: Don't get jaw surgery
« Reply #5 on: September 29, 2016, 06:32:51 PM »
Over impaction is probably the worst aesthetic f**k up possible. Yet even the big name surgeons screw up like this.

Is there any hope for fixing this? It seems downgrafting isn't very stable...

PloskoPlus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3044
  • Karma: 140
Re: Don't get jaw surgery
« Reply #6 on: September 29, 2016, 06:43:38 PM »
Is there any hope for fixing this? It seems downgrafting isn't very stable...
Down grafts are done all the time by the better surgeons.

Lazlo

  • Private
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3004
  • Karma: 174
Re: Don't get jaw surgery
« Reply #7 on: September 29, 2016, 07:41:03 PM »
Down grafts are done all the time by the better surgeons.

ditto, i had an amazing downgraft done, brought out my entire smile.

molestrip

  • Private
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 735
  • Karma: 40
Re: Don't get jaw surgery
« Reply #8 on: November 30, 2016, 09:42:00 AM »
I don't think it was stupid at all! If your mandible was advanced, then you won't suffer from sleep apnea now or down the line. That's no small win! Talk to people who have it, it makes life beyond miserable. Most of your peers who didn't operate will discover it the hard way, after years or decades of problems they didn't realize were connected. No autopsy ever cites "sleep apnea" as a cause of death, only the complications from it.

I don't get why you had double jaw, though, usually overbites are single jaw problems. Any surgeon can downgraft the maxilla. Did he say what material he would use? It won't ever be good as new and they all have tradeoffs. Still, it's done and it's done routinely. You should also know that bony gaps of up to 3-4mm are expected to heal without grafts. The graft is there primarily for structural reasons. Agree on the chin work, I don't like SG either but when done well typically they're small. FWIW, I don't have any tooth show at rest either pre-op but have a good smile still somehow. If you came out of it without functional problems, then you had a decent outcome. We've seen some really s**tty/scary stuff on here.

That being said, I'll be checking my surgical plan before my surgeon goes in lol. But I have confidence about what the plan should look like and there will be no impaction for me.

jawregret

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 42
  • Karma: 4
Re: Don't get jaw surgery
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2016, 09:29:25 AM »

I don't get why you had double jaw, though, usually overbites are single jaw problems. Any surgeon can downgraft the maxilla. Did he say what material he would use? It won't ever be good as new and they all have tradeoffs. Still, it's done and it's done routinely. You should also know that bony gaps of up to 3-4mm are expected to heal without grafts. The graft is there primarily for structural reasons. Agree on the chin work, I don't like SG either but when done well typically they're small.

What do you mean by it won't be as good as new? Like, ever (for the rest of my life)? Or just during the healing phase (one year or whatever) where relapse is most likely?

Do you also know if reversing a genio is a bad idea?

Vincent999

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: 2
Re: Don't get jaw surgery
« Reply #10 on: December 06, 2016, 12:41:24 PM »
Did he tell you he was performing an impaction?

jawregret

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 42
  • Karma: 4
Re: Don't get jaw surgery
« Reply #11 on: December 06, 2016, 02:06:56 PM »
Did he tell you he was performing an impaction?

Short answer: yes.

I was a dumb teenager who trusted my doctors 100%. I didn't even know what the word impaction meant at the time and I also had no idea that millimeters here or there would make such a difference.

molestrip

  • Private
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 735
  • Karma: 40
Re: Don't get jaw surgery
« Reply #12 on: December 12, 2016, 02:30:18 PM »
What do you mean by it won't be as good as new? Like, ever (for the rest of my life)? Or just during the healing phase (one year or whatever) where relapse is most likely?

Do you also know if reversing a genio is a bad idea?

Depends on material used. The most stable materials aren't ever good as new. For that matter, that applies to surgery in general. You accumulate scar tissue with each operation. I view grafts as a form of bone scar tissue. Not the end of the world, most of the time these "scars" will function fine through life. I don't know the same can be said for joint replacements.

I don't know about reversing genio. I see a lot of problems with genios in general and I think they often look unnatural. For me the aesthetic gain has to be pretty big to justify getting one because there's a notable increase in the risk of paresthesia after getting one. It's a relatively minor procedure to revise it I think if that'd make you happy.

FWIW, I have no tooth show at rest. My upper lip is too long. I guess I'm able to pull my lip up a lot because my smile is near perfect. It's gonna get worse with age but lip lifts aren't wonderful I hear. Wait and see for me.

Deformed_Human

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 18
  • Karma: -1
Re: Don't get jaw surgery
« Reply #13 on: December 16, 2016, 10:07:12 AM »
OP can you PM me some before/afters cuz for all I know, you could be imagining it.

jawregret

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 42
  • Karma: 4
Re: Don't get jaw surgery
« Reply #14 on: December 20, 2016, 06:44:13 AM »
OP can you PM me some before/afters cuz for all I know, you could be imagining it.

My surgeon agrees, my ortho agrees, people I've PMed on this forum agree. I could show you, but I don't think I'm imagining it at this point.