Author Topic: Is anyone else on the fence?  (Read 2430 times)

Alue

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Is anyone else on the fence?
« on: June 03, 2013, 08:16:33 AM »
Is anyone else on the fence about going through with surgery.  I am.  I'm not really looking for specific advice, but just seeing who out there is in the same predicament or has been there. 

Aesthetically I have a lot of ground to gain from surgery, both of my jaws are very recessed. 

Functionally I have little to gain, my bite is in alignment albeit recessed, and my airway is adequate.

Financially, I can afford it although it may be more than I want to spend (cost/benefit) I did get per-approved for insurance coverage for the surgery which is huge (I didn't expect to be covered since I have an adequate bite). 

Logistically is where it all goes to hell.  I'm pretty much on my own in the world, and I will most likely be moving for work to a different city that is about a 5 hour drive away, and won't likely have the time to go for checkups much less take time off for surgery and recovery etc.  I think I'm going to have to put this on the back burner for now, which sucks. 

I don't understand how people can travel for this surgery, it seems like a logistic nightmare to me, unless you have a lot of free time and money. 

CK

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Re: Is anyone else on the fence?
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2013, 11:53:47 AM »
since you say you dont have anything to gain functionally, you have to ask yourself if a potential loss in function is worth the aesthetic gain.

if so, then get surgery. dont expect to lose functionality, but it is a risk and not many people leave surgery 100%. there will be some loss if you didnt have anything functionally wrong pre-surgery.


Alue

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Re: Is anyone else on the fence?
« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2013, 01:44:17 PM »
Yea the possible loss of functionality is another thing that makes it a tough choice.  Esthetic gain is hard to factor in to the equation because there are so many variables.  I did a video imaging thing, but it really didn't help any (both pictures of me looked bad!) lol.  I don't know, I thought I was a borderline case, but the more I look into it my jaws are more recessed than most people's that I see getting surgery.   

CK

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Re: Is anyone else on the fence?
« Reply #3 on: June 03, 2013, 04:26:06 PM »
Yep, I had extractions and head gear as a kid before I finished growing.  Had I gone the surgery rout then I probably could have gotten away with just lower jaw advancement, but that was never presented as an option.

yea headgear can distort jaw growth. a lot of orthodontic practices seem like they are from the middle ages.

you have a pretty good case, considering your jaws are recessed.

Alue

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Re: Is anyone else on the fence?
« Reply #4 on: June 03, 2013, 05:19:27 PM »
are you male or females? US or Euro based?

Male, US

pekay

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Re: Is anyone else on the fence?
« Reply #5 on: June 03, 2013, 06:13:24 PM »
I'm starring to suspect that incorrect orthodontic treatment at key developmental ages causes moderate to severe and possible irreversible skeletal damage

and yes I was a victim of this carnage  :(
Chopsticks > Spoons

CK

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Re: Is anyone else on the fence?
« Reply #6 on: June 03, 2013, 09:02:42 PM »
I'm starring to suspect that incorrect orthodontic treatment at key developmental ages causes moderate to severe and possible irreversible skeletal damage

and yes I was a victim of this carnage  :(

headgear is just maddening. i never had it but i feel sorry for those that did. it seems the whole orthodontic industry has been allowed to operate with little to no regulation. honestly why risk your growth with braces? wait until you're an adult.

just bad science all around.