Okay, I just wanted to write an update since it's now 1 year post-op and I have finally, finally come to this point where I can say that YES, I'm glad I went for the double jaw surgery.
In the first few months after the surgery, I basically regretted the whole thing. I even fell into depression for abit and went back to my jaw surgeon asking him to reverse the procedure (haha). For a long, long, long time I couldn't get used to my face and I was very unhappy with both my upper and lower tooth show (upper too little, and lower too much).
I must say that a lot of my unhappiness at the beginning had to do with the swelling. I had no idea the swelling would make me look so different, but it did. I got really upset because I didn't believe it was swelling and thought I looked like that now. And would look like that FOREVER. Haha. My philtrum area was swollen for the longest time and took I think almost a year to really get back to normal. My smile was really tight and weird for months on end, and again I thought that was just the way things were going to be now. But it was just swelling! Nothing could convince me that it was just swelling.
I had to change my orthodontist because the first one turned out to be terrible - he had almost zero communication with me, didn't explain things and failed to address the issues that I brought up. My lower teeth was quite dented in because of the way the surgeons had to position my lower jaw. Also I wasn't biting well on either side. But my former ortho "worked" on my teeth for almost 8 months and nothing had changed. Mostly because he was not interested in listening to what I had to say (he probably thought I was just being paranoid). I went to get a second opinion and eventually switched to a different ortho, and this new ortho improved my issues significantly in less than 4 months. I am still on braces now because the new ortho had to reverse my braces treatment and work from scratch again, but in just a few months things have improved a lot and I am very happy with the results so far.
I hope my story will be of encouragement to those who are newly post-op and who are currently struggling with recovery. Especially those who are struggling mentally, because the challenge with jaw surgery really isn't physical but mental. For me, the greatest obstacle was believing that things would get better. So let me tell you this - things really do get better, but they take months and months. Only at this point, 1 year post op, am I finally happy with my results. So if you're still a few months in, take heart. Give it some time.
Also, the other advice would be to advocate for yourself. If you really think that something is wrong, go see a second or third opinion. Your jaw surgeon or dentist might brush you off at first - that's understandable because things on your face haven't settled yet. But if at the end of 1 year you still think something is wrong, go get a second opinion.
A last word of caution: double jaw surgery really isn't for the faint-hearted. If you're contemplating going through with this, I urge you to do your research and make sure that you are going with a good jaw surgeon with a great track record. This is your face. It's important. It's how you face the world. So don't be hasty or rush things through. Research and find out everything you can. Get more than one opinion - shop around for the best jaw surgeon you can get.
Has jaw surgery changed my life? No, not really. But it does make me feel like my face matches a little more with what I feel inside. And I think that's important and gives me a little more confidence. But if I have learned one thing, it is to love myself no matter what I look like. Underbite or not, I should have learned to love myself right from the beginning. =)
