jawsurgeryforums.com
General Category => Functional Surgery Questions => Topic started by: x on September 06, 2012, 08:08:46 PM
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So rather than starting a million threads to ask each individual question, I'm just going to ask them all here as I go through the process.
To start, I have an Ortho appointment on Monday which is the first time I'll be bringing my concerns up to someone else. Should I straight up ask him to refer me to a maxillofacial surgeon or explain what I think is wrong and let him give his input? This is the same guy who treated me from ~2002-2008 so I don't know if he may take it as a personal insult that I'm unhappy with the results?
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are you european or american?
if your ortho says you're fine, you can simply schedule consults with surgeons yourself. i was fortunate to have an orthodontist that said straight up i would need surgery, and said braces would only do so much.
you shouldn't be diagnosing yourself. schedule a consult with a respectable surgeon. id ask your ortho how much experience he has with orthognathic surgery.
American
Part of the referral is selling my parents on it, my mom wasn't even receptive to the idea of my scheduling an orthodontist appointment, they sure as hell don't want to hear I need surgery, major surgery at that. Which is why it'd be better to have an Ortho tell them.
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to be perfectly honest, i have yet to interact with someone who's family was "receptive" to jaw surgery. i guess you'd have to think ahead what you'd do in the event your ortho disagrees with your concerns and proposal of surgery.
That's why I'm wondering if I should actually go into detail with him or just cut straight to the chase and ask him to refer me to one, still trying to decide on that. It's no slight against him, he did the best he could with my teeth given my jaw alignment.
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he's a professional. be cordial and understanding, regardless of what he says. even if he seems against it, no shame in asking for his contacts/referrals. it's your jaw not his. this is a serious commitment financially and physically. i would listen carefully if he says you don't need surgery, because you might not need it.
I will and chances are if he says I shouldn't he's probably right, but I'm gonna consult with a surgeon irregardless of what he says.
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Ok since I'm bored, I might as well kill some time with some more questions I've been wondering ;D
1. The left side of my face seems to be more developed than my right, with the cheek bone more prominent and stuff, will the upper face structure change over time as a result of the balancing of the jaw?
2. I have a lot of excess 'baby fat' on my face, is there any chance that bringing the maxillary and mandible forward would widen my facial bone structure, stretching the skin and making it look less fat? Does that make sense to anyone else?
3. Also, for the hell of it, what do you think the potential for aesthetic improvement is for someone without major deformities? I've seen some very great results (mostly women it seems) and some so-so, I'm guessing a lot of it is dependent on how the rest of your face looks already?
the things I type when I drink... smh
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If you dont have a functional concern just do plastic surgery broseph. Faster, easier, cheaper. Just make sure you go to a really good surgeon.
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I have the Orthodontist appointment later today, so hold your horses and I'll be more specific in a couple of hours :P
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Welp, back.
Main points:
-The orthodontist noticed some definite changes and shifts from since I stopped treatment (early 2009), mostly probably caused by my not wearing my tooth positioner. He noticed the recessed mandible, and a lopsided bite, with one side coming down further than the other.
-He suggested I wear my tooth positioner diligently for the next 4 months, so I guess I'm maybe still in the late stages of growth.
-I brought up a maxillofacial surgeon referral to him and he seemed to recognize it as a real possibility, but I guess he wants to wait and see how the tooth positioner goes first.
-He said that tooth positioners could bring the lower jaw forward. That didn't sound right to me, but I deferred to him as the expert. Anyone wanna confirm or deny this?
-He didn't seem to think my maxillary was too long, but my mandible is. ??? I though quite the opposite, considering how recessed the mandible is.
-He said I should see an ENJ I think it was called, cause I'm a mouth breather. I don't know what that is, I guess I'll have to do my own research on it.
I'm probably forgetting some things, if they come to me I'll post them.
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never heard of the tooth positioner bringing the lower jaw forward - at least in a meaningful way beyond orthodontic needs. not sure what an ENJ is, he probably meant an ENT (ear nose and throat). they can diagnose and treat tongue thrusts, although that tends to require speech therapy.
since your ortho considered a surgery a real possibility, i think that's enough to consider consulting with surgeons. it's not going to offend your orthodontist. hopefully you live in a decent state or large city where you'll have more choice of orthognathic surgeons. most orthos have their referrals (typically a courtesy system, thus the top doctors obviously refer to other top doctors). i would definitely bring your parents into the loop, and explain to them what your ortho said. make sure they come with you to the consults, they probably will if they're paying for them. i paid for several of my own consults.
Yeah ENT is right, I couldn't remember what it was exactly and he only mentioned it in passing.
I live in Ohio, I dunno if that's the best place to find ortho surgeons, but are you sure I should go consult with them now if he wanted to try the tooth positioner first? Wouldn't insurance be more likely to cover it if I got the ortho's approval 4 months from now?
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doubt it. the way my insurance worked at least, is they looked at the xrays and analysis done by my surgeon, and said..."well, geez - he can chew, breath without choking, yeah small airway but not severe (moderate), he is functional - rejected." my old insurance would have covered it. my current insurance excludes orthognathic surgery in virtually all cases. i did multiple sleep studies, recommendations from other doctors, waited several years, it never worked out. whether your ortho approves of surgery is irrelevant. say you get the surgery for cosmetic reasons and not functional, your ortho is going to be part of the surgical process. whether he thinks you are a surgical candidate at that point is irrelevant. he provides a service and you (or parents) are paying him/her for it.
my insurance covered a few of the consults, but not others. depended if they were in my network or how aggressive/militant their insurance rep was. dont know ANY surgeons in ohio, im sure there are plenty of strong ones. might want to consider looking at the big universities, seeing what surgeons are affiliated with those hospitals, or major or private hospitals and what surgeons are affiliated with those places.
sure someone here knows more about that.
Well that blows, I'm certainly functional so the chances of it getting covered are probably nil.
I guess consults wouldn't hurt but as far as surgery not being covered by insurance, I don't see my parents footing the bill. May as well graduate, move out to L.A. and get it done with Gunson or the other guy always mentioned.
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Well that blows, I'm certainly functional so the chances of it getting covered are probably nil.
not necessarily. the litmus test for "functional" varies from insurance to insurance. some insurance carries only require patients to prove they have sleep apnea to have their surgery covered. most people with sleep apnea won't die in their sleep, but it can have a severe affect on their quality of life - fatigue, etc. my insurance didn't care.
I guess consults wouldn't hurt but as far as surgery not being covered by insurance, I don't see my parents footing the bill. May as well graduate, move out to L.A. and get it done with Gunson or the other guy always mentioned.
well, getting consults now - which are likely less expensive than in california - is important because you can figure out what is really wrong (or if anything is wrong) and what they say. w/o insurance gunson will cost 40-50k. that's a BMW.
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Is there a way to know if I have sleep apnea? I'm a mouth breather and when I was younger they tried to get me to wear this neck brace at night, I don't remember what they were trying to treat then though.
I guess I'll go ahead and ask about consults now and just phrase it as if the orthodontist suggested it
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What about the neck brace? Something similar to this:
(http://i.istockimg.com/file_thumbview_approve/10286286/2/stock-photo-10286286-senior-with-neck-brace.jpg)
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ok, will do
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I meant in Euphoria's case. His lower face isnt that retruded from what I recall.
I mean it's not as extreme as not being able to discern between my chin and my mandible or something (which I've seen in some cases), but it was retruded enough for my orthodontist to notice it as an issue.
This is about what it looks like:
(http://www.facialart.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/class-II-mandible-300x224.jpg)
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Welp, back.
Main points:
-The orthodontist noticed some definite changes and shifts from since I stopped treatment (early 2009), mostly probably caused by my not wearing my tooth positioner. He noticed the recessed mandible, and a lopsided bite, with one side coming down further than the other.
-He suggested I wear my tooth positioner diligently for the next 4 months, so I guess I'm maybe still in the late stages of growth.
-I brought up a maxillofacial surgeon referral to him and he seemed to recognize it as a real possibility, but I guess he wants to wait and see how the tooth positioner goes first.
-He said that tooth positioners could bring the lower jaw forward. That didn't sound right to me, but I deferred to him as the expert. Anyone wanna confirm or deny this?
-He didn't seem to think my maxillary was too long, but my mandible is. ??? I though quite the opposite, considering how recessed the mandible is.
-He said I should see an ENJ I think it was called, cause I'm a mouth breather. I don't know what that is, I guess I'll have to do my own research on it.
I'm probably forgetting some things, if they come to me I'll post them.
Sounds a lot like the advice I have received from various doctors. I was also told that the bad growth was in the mandible. I think it is because in both of our cases, the mandibular ramus is actually too short. This leads to an open bite and the appearance of a recessed jaw/long face. I doubt you have significant growth left though and I dont think the tooth positioner will change anything other than the bite which would be dental compensation.
I suggest that if you are serious about this, you go to a surgeon. Its hard to get a referral from an orthodontist unless you have a severe deformity.
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I mean it's not as extreme as not being able to discern between my chin and my mandible or something (which I've seen in some cases), but it was retruded enough for my orthodontist to notice it as an issue.
This is about what it looks like:
(http://www.facialart.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/class-II-mandible-300x224.jpg)
That is not what I remember from your pics. However if that is an accurate representation, a genioplasty from a good surgeon might be the right way to go imo.
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I'm not too keen on plastic surgery, I'd rather address the root causes. I'll just consult with the ENT doctor and the orthognathic surgeon. I don't have to have a referral, right?
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Some places require a referral but most of the ones around me do not. A Genioplasty isnt really plastic surgery as it is using your own bone, and is actually used as a supplement in many jaw surgery cases.
http://www.facecenterla.com/photos/genioplasty.html (http://www.facecenterla.com/photos/genioplasty.html)
Here are some good examples. I emailed the surgeon and she said these were all "just" genioplasty cases.
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Some places require a referral but most of the ones around me do not. A Genioplasty isnt really plastic surgery as it is using your own bone, and is actually used as a supplement in many jaw surgery cases.
http://www.facecenterla.com/photos/genioplasty.html (http://www.facecenterla.com/photos/genioplasty.html)
Here are some good examples. I emailed the surgeon and she said these were all "just" genioplasty cases.
That's a good point, but I feel like procedures like that don't balance out the face properly the way jaw surgeries do, like the jaw is adjusted and other parts of the face follow in suit. Maybe that's a flawed way of thinking, that's just how I looked at it. I'll look into it though.
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Ok so I think I was actually able to convince my parents on scheduling the consult without much trouble. I was sure they'd get hung up on the 'surgeon' part of orthognathic surgeon, but I guess they figured it was an extension of the orthodontics.
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So tongue thrusting and mouth breathing, how are these two things corrected? I am still waiting on my mom to schedule the appointments for the ENT and max-fax, and this is one part of my situation I know nothing about.
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I've been told by my surgeon that tongue thrusting can be corrected when both jaws are moved forward, thus creating more room for the tongue in the mouth. When proper occlusion is achieved and lip competence is satisfactory, mouth breathing should be resolved as well. So it sounds like your issues can be fixed with orthognathic surgery.
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I've been told by my surgeon that tongue thrusting can be corrected when both jaws are moved forward, thus creating more room for the tongue in the mouth. When proper occlusion is achieved and lip competence is satisfactory, mouth breathing should be resolved as well. So it sounds like your issues can be fixed with orthognathic surgery.
Cool, thanks. That's a lot more convenient then I thought it would be. I should mention that I already have proper lip competence (possibly over-competence), I'm not sure if that makes any difference, but I'm still a mouth breather apparently, though I think I accidentally hang my mouth open unconsciously sometimes.
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Well if your tongue is resting on the top of your palate with your teeth apart and lips closed, you can't mouth breath. So when tongue thrusting is corrected, so is mouth breathing.
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if your lips aren't completed sealed as mine aren't, and only part of your tongue sits on top of your palate, you can still mouth breath some of the time.
not sure if tongue thrusting is corrected by jaw surgery.
What he said about expanding both jaws makes sense to an extent, if my mouth can't fit my tongue properly it'll be pushing against my teeth constantly, and the consensus seems to be I have an underdeveloped upper jaw, and a lower jaw that doesn't extend out as far as it should. Remains to be seen if this is true or not though.
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okay i dont want to hijack this thread but im going in for 2 ortho consults :-\
wtf is a tooth positioner, ive never heard of those, are there any advantages? did insurance cover it? can you go straight from braces to retainer without a problem?
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Yeah insurance covered the tooth positioner.
I went from retainer to braces/retainer (wearing the retainer when I could) to tooth positioner after I got the braces removed. I think it's mainly used for final adjustments and to indefinitely keep your teeth in place. Which is why I want to talk to a max-fax surgeon, cause I don't think a tooth positioner will be that effective for my jaw issues, except for somewhat closing the bite.
(http://www.proterocorp.com/images/products/toothpositioner.jpg)
^ That's what they look like. You stick them in hot water and when it gets soft enough, you put it on your teeth and it'll mold to fit your teeth, then slowly pull them into position.
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thanks (I GAVE YOU KARMA)
i might need one of these. im going to have to wear something to keep my teeth in place for eternity (....as i have a connective tissue disorder and the teeth have a tendency to move around more). it looks more practical long term than a retainer
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thanks (I GAVE YOU KARMA)
i might need one of these. im going to have to wear something to keep my teeth in place for eternity (....as i have a connective tissue disorder and the teeth have a tendency to move around more). it looks more practical long term than a retainer
It definitely is, in the final stages of your treatment you should only have to wear it at night, at least that's what I did. And it's something you won't have much trouble falling asleep with once you get used to it.
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Finally have this thing scheduled for next Thursday. The ENT and the max fax are in the same buiilding, so hopefully I will be meeting with both of them on the same day.
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Ok, the appointment is tomorrow, I'm undecided if I should go in there, and tell him what I think is wrong or just ask him if "something seems off about my face, and what can be done
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If I tell him what I think is wrong, I guess I can compile a list of possibilities:
-retruded mandible and maxillary (deficient midface)
-lopsided bite, caused I think by one side of the maxillary being longer (causing asymmetry)
-the ramus of my mandible not growing a proper vertical length (as suggested by tdawg)
-my tongue thrusting and mouth breathing, and how these two may be related to lack of room in my mouth for my tongue
-open bite and occlusion of the teeth on my left side
-long face syndrome
-jaws being too narrow
Thoughts? Would I look like a know it all or come off as obnoxious by asking all these questions if I do?
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well, id wait for his thoughts based on the clinical analysis and xrays. he'll be able to tell if the mandible is retruded pretty easily. as far as the ramus not growing properly, that's sketchy somewhat. surgeons think in the present, not the past. unless the absence of growth is an existing condition, rather than just something that did not happen in the past, the surgeon will say so if he feels like. otherwise, he'll just treat the problem. unless you really want him/her to validate your own self-diagnosis lol.
i wouldn't stress it, keep questions clear and concise. the above list are not questions, but statements. is that what you want to do? i think a wiser approach would be to invite his thoughts beyond yes/no. "how would you treat this x, y z."
but really, it seems, you care about aesthetics the most? right? is that not the gist of your posts? if so, make time for that. you dont need to win the affection of the surgeon, he is providing a service and you should know what that service involves. if he doesn't specialize in aesthetics, or you don't feel comfortable with him...then more consults.
i wouldnt worry about being obnoxious, honestly. i wish i had taken more of an initiative prior to my surgery. go for it.
Thanks for the response. What I most wanted to know was whether he would validate my self-diagnosis or not, because if you think he would then I'm going to avoid bringing any of my 'theories'. What my plan was, was to bring up these statements individually, and then ask him if he sees them in me, and after I've kind of gotten a clear idea of what is the issue, ask him how to effectively treat what is actually wrong.
But you're suggesting I go in there and let him determine what's wrong? I could do that as well, and if he skips over any of the possibilities I listed, I could bring them up in the end just for closure. And aesthetics are indeed important to me, but at this point, I'm kind of going with the idea that you correct the jaw growth issues / air passageway issues, and the aesthetics will fix themselves. If not, I can always worry about that later. At the moment though, I'll just focus on fixing what is wrong.
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Yeah I see your point about finding a doctor who places emphasis on aesthetics. And I may do that, but if I do I'll no doubt have to wait a few years until I have a steady income. If I do this, I'll probably just go with Arnett or Gunson. And you are correct that if not for the aesthetics, I wouldn't be going through all this trouble, it's definitely not debilitating or anything.
Minor update: I didn't get a chance to see a max-fax surgeon today, though I did see the ENT. I guess I have a deviated nasal septum on one side. He also told me mouth breathing and forward head posture aren't related, which goes against what I've read. Yet another irritating thing. This may be arrogance, but sometimes I feel like I know more about some of these subjects than doctors. Or they're all on different pages, it really is hard to tell which.
ENT also told me there wasn't much he can do about tongue thrusting, as he is only capable of bringing the tongue forward, not back. So he suggested I talk to a maxillofacial surgeon about it.
At this point, I'm just getting frustrated with the lack of definitive-ness in everything. I think we have a long way to go when it comes to fully understanding this kind of stuff.
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a tongue thrust can be helped with jaw surgery but speech therapy is often needed to truly correct it. lots of doctors have their own views and philosophies. may have something to do with the palate as well and how much space your tongue has in the mouth.
Yeah, I had that theory too and brought it up with him and he thought it was possible, but wasn't in the position to say so. My guess, there's not enough room because both of my jaws have retrognathia. He even said my tongue was on the small to medium end of sizes, so it's definitely not the tongue that's the issue.
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well one of my dentists recommended speech therapy (who i saw, didnt help) and exercises (helped some). tongue thrusts suck definitely.
Yeah people always tell me "don't show your tongue when you're smiling" for pics. As if I can help it :P
Having trouble pronouncing some words sucks to. I'm hoping the issue will just go away if I get surgery, Marisama said it might.
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Is cracking or crunching of the jaws when you open them an early sign of TMJ or is it perfectly normal?
I hate not having a frame of reference to compare my experiences to.
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Is cracking or crunching of the jaws when you open them an early sign of TMJ or is it perfectly normal?
I hate not having a frame of reference to compare my experiences to.
from what i know about 40% of people experience
cracking or noises. Not necessarily a sign of tmj.
For people on the border yeah it can be difficult because most case studies focus on the extreme or not ordinary op. Jaw surgery is definitely evolving in terms of how it is viewed condition wise. Essential to research and try and get a handle on what you feel is wrong and what is actually wrong and can be addressed surgically.
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Essential to research and try and get a handle on what you feel is wrong and what is actually wrong and can be addressed surgically.
Exactly. I'm trying to gather as much info as possible cause I'm afraid that if I don't bring up an issue, the surgeon won't address it.
Oh, and the Fluticasone Propionate I'm taking for my deviated right nasal septum is actually making it harder for me to breathe. I guess steroids won't be doing the trick. :-\
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Hmm, well I noticed my lips are positioned further over to the left side than the right, and I'm starting to understand how the asymmetry is developing. One side of the maxillary being longer than the other has pushed my mandible askew and my whole face seems to be following the pattern, as is evidence by the deviated nasal septum.
If assymetry existed prior to surgery, how is it affected by a proper bite alignment?
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well, you dont really know if it's the upper jaw or just your lips (soft tissue). hard tissue isnt always the issue.
Dude, what are you on about? If he can see that his maxillary is longer on the one side, that's what it is. It's not rocket science figuring out what skeletal asymmetries one has. This is how you do it: You position yourself in front of a mirror, then you put your face really close to it and open your mouth really wide. Now, it should be no problem figuring out if it's the maxillary itself or just the soft tissue. If you find this technique hard, then take a close up-photo of yourself with your mouth wide open (so that you can clearly see both rows of teeth in the photo). Then upload this photo to your computer, open it in a photo editing program, zoom in on your midface and check how far the distance from each of your teeth row is from eyes/eyebrows/whatever.
Still find it hard to decide whether it is the soft tissue or the bone structure itself? Then employ a professional photographer to take the photo for you.. Actually, why don't you throw in a marine biologist while you're at it. Might as well get a bunch of different experts in the mix, since this is such an advanced and highly complex task. After all, we have to MEASURE the DISTANCE between PARTS OF OUR FACE... That's some serious scientific s**t right there.
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Well, I'm not sure of the distinctions between soft tissue and bone structure causing asymmetry, but from observation: one side of the maxillary is indeed longer, and it's noticeable when I open my mouth. The left eye is positioned ever so slightly above the right eye, although the difference is so negligible that only someone looking for flaws would ever notice it. And I also have overall left/right facial asymmetry similar to what you have I believe CK. The mandible comes down lower on the right side, one side appears to project further away from the middle of the face than the other, and a lot of my face seems to be deviating to the side (deviated nasal septum being the only part of this diagnosed).
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So are you telling me that the upper half of the face is never affected by misalignment of the lower half of the face, or just the eye positioning? Are you 100% sure of this?
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no. upper half of the face is too general, what areas are you specifically referring to? the eye positioning can't be changed, ive read briefly about eyelid surgery or something but i doubt it is worth pursuing and not sure how it applies to your case.
the eyes are so far from the jaw. features like those can't really be manipulated by a jaw surgeon but correcting the jaws might make the eyes harmonize better. i dont know what you mean by misalignment of your lower face, you mean jaw? you need to see a legit surgeon and get xrays. he can then clinically evaluate you and tell you what's up. might consideri hunting for a jaw surgeon that specializes in PS, as rare as they are where you might live.
Nah I'm honestly fine with the way it looks, like I said it's not noticeable at all. Just at this point I've always attributed it to asymmetry caused by jaw misalignment. If it's corrected by jaw surgery cool, if not I'm pretty nonchalant about the whole thing. What I was saying though that since one side of the face seems slightly more elevated than the other because one side of mandible comes down further, I thought that if they evened out the vertical lengths of them it might adjust my eye height or something.
I have noticed in the afters though that eyes seem to appear more bright and wide open after surgery, should be interesting to see if that is a result.
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no, there is no way to tell if it is bone or soft tissue without an xray and clinical evaluation.
Oh, so how was it possible for me to tell then? I figured all this out prior to my consultation and at the consultation after the x-ray, the surgeon confirmed 100% of my self-diagnosis. Guess I'm either an undercover jaw-surgeon or some kind of super human, right?
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Oh, so how was it possible for me to tell then? I figured all this out prior to my consultation and at the consultation after the x-ray, the surgeon confirmed 100% of my self-diagnosis. Guess I'm either an undercover jaw-surgeon or some kind of super human, right?
so did you preface your consult with your own self-diagnosis before the surgeon gave his response?
you may have figured it out, that's good and a sign of due diligence. i wish i had that kind of fortitude and ambition prior to my surgery. but encouraging that sort of behavior isn't healthy for most people, it just isn't helpful. they come into the consult with the wrong mindset. OP needs a clear diagnosis, he doesn't need to prove anything. it is a serious surgery that will likely carry permanent results. so it's better to get a good handle on the surgeon's POV rather than having your own thoughts validated.
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so did you preface your consult with your own self-diagnosis before the surgeon gave his response?
you may have figured it out, that's good and a sign of due diligence. i wish i had that kind of fortitude and ambition prior to my surgery. but encouraging that sort of behavior isn't healthy for most people, it just isn't helpful. they come into the consult with the wrong mindset. OP needs a clear diagnosis, he doesn't need to prove anything. it is a serious surgery that will likely carry permanent results. so it's better to get a good handle on the surgeon's POV rather than having your own thoughts validated.
No, I had him diagnose me before I said a peep. I didn't want to influence his evaluation in any way. His evaluation of me needed to be as unbiased as can be.
I think you're wrong about that. If you want as good a result as can possibly be achieved, you need to understand the dynamics of your own face. From what I have seen, the vast majority of surgeons out there are not very much concerned with the aesthetics of jaw surgery, and even those who are get it wrong a lot of the time. Most surgeons seem to strive for accomplishing as much as possible by doing as little as possible and while that is a perfectly fine thing to do (especially seeing the exponentially rising risks associated with "doing more"), it is not good enough for me. By being uneducated, you are essentially putting yourself in the hands of an unknown person whose judgement you can't be too sure about. They might overlook and not correct, or undercorrect, parts simply because THEY do not think it's a big deal, and because it might not be needed to achieve a good bite.
I'm well aware that the great majority of patients out there do not have good knowledge of their own facial structure, but I would personally never do anything like this without being as sure of the impact of the surgery as I can be. There are times at which you do have to blindly put 100% of your trust in the hands of others. This is not one of those times.
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i dont disagree. ive encouraged posters to get a handle on what they feel is wrong, and then find out what is really wrong and what can be corrected.
im not saying people should be "uneducated." educate yourself, completely agree. sensible advice. cant say much about your opinion on jaw surgeons, as i havent interacted with the "vast majority."
i think a lot of people are more or less aware of their facial structure. but they simply put their faith in the surgeon. considering the rising medical costs associated with orthognathic surgery, especially with those "rockstar" surgeons - you know who they are - it is critical potential candidates inform themselves. but also have some humility.
I haven't interacted with many surgeons either, but I have seen a ridiculous amount of before/after's and patient's surgery journals which I am basing this assumption on. We seem to agree on most of the stuff that's been said then.
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I haven't interacted with many surgeons either, but I have seen a ridiculous amount of before/after's and patient's surgery journals which I am basing this assumption on. We seem to agree on most of the stuff that's been said then.
pretty much.
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Well appt is scheduled for December 21st.
Haven't been this depressed in a while, and the whole process is going to be a nightmare considering it's something that's not even guaranteed to give the desired results.
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im looking forward to see how this turns out since your case is relatively similar to mine. Good luck.
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I, too, need a septoplasty but I'm waiting until I have jaw surgery (1 month) since he's going to do it at the same time. Why get 2 separate surgeries if you don't have to?
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Well my good for nothing parents lost the info pertaining to the maxillofacial surgeon I was supposed to see. I didn't even get a call about missing the appointment, this is the second time I've scheduled an appointment and they pretty much pretended it didn't exist.
I did see my orthodontist today, and he's now saying I shouldn't see one, that my issues can be fixed with a septoplasty and a tooth positioner. In reality I know this is going to fix my issues, but do little for appearances. My mom was in the room when he shot down the idea of seeing one, so she doesn't think I should either now. I guess I'll be waiting until I'm older and have my own insurance etc.
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Sorry to hear. I had to wait until I was independent from my parents to do this and they still tried to convince me not to do it.
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Sorry to hear. I had to wait until I was independent from my parents to do this and they still tried to convince me not to do it.
It is what it is I guess. I'm interested to see how dramatically things will change from just a tooth positioner though. The orthodontist seems very confident, I'm not as convinced.
Good luck with your surgery, I look forward to getting to the point where you are at :)
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Thanks. How old are you if you don't mind me asking?
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Thanks. How old are you if you don't mind me asking?
20
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Ah well I'm sure you'll be on your way before you know it :)
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Will my face get longer or shorter with surgery?
to recap: both my jaws are retruded, my maxilla is more retruded than my mandible. I have an anterior open bite.
so I assume I'd get CCW rotation to correct the steep occlusal plane and fix the open bite, allowing my lower jaw to come forward. but my lower 1/3rd is the longest part of my face, and my chin is vertically long, only recessed right now. I can't tell whether my face will be shorter or longer when all is said and done
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shorter
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shorter
good... i think
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lower third should be shorter and rounder.