Ohhh the joys of returning to the real world after jaw surgery! Turns out the work didn't stop just because I wasn't there
Cmonster - I actually was doing a hard target search for Maxillofacial surgeons in the western burbs. Then through a series of coincidences my mom's co-worker's daughter had jaw surgery with him and after I met with the Doc, through the miracle of social media, I found out a kid I went to high school with had jaw surgery with the same doctor. They both gave glowing recommendations and I felt good after my consults so it was a no brainer.
Perfetto8390 - Thanks! I've noticed a similar phenomenon too. My (less than scientific) theory is that people with under bites usually have underdeveloped maxilla which leaves the mid face concaved. After the surgery the mid face becomes fuller, which seems to make the cheekbones more defined, which I think has a 'brightening' effect on the eyes. My other theory is that people are so excited to be smiling in their post-op picture that their eyes have that extra twinkle in them! haha
Kristen - Thank you! The explanation I was given is that my upper jaw was so crowded and narrow that the amount of expantion needed (9mm) coupled with the 5-6mm movement forward would leave the upper jaw too unstable for the surgeon's comfort level. For sure he tends to err on the side of caution with all his work (i.e. I wore my splint for 4 weeks!). Plus my teeth were so crowded (see the frontal 'before' picture) that I don't know how he'd even line the 2 jaws up properly without first having the expansion and braces...it was kind of a mess!
