What do I do if I need to get a jaw problem fixed (speech slurs occur as a result)?

Question

Hi, I've had an irregular jaw shift problem since I was born. I cannot pronounce the "ch" "sh" "tr" "dr" and similar sounds and the letters "j" "g" and "h" without sounding uncomprehendible and with a big wad of spit coming out. I really hate it. It makes me feel insecure, unconfident, I always get made fun of for it, and I just am plain sick of it.

Anyways, I think getting this problem fixed will make me more confident (because when I say something with those sounds, people can't understand me very well. When I say "she," my peers think I said "he."). I want to apply to medical school in about 4 years, and the thing I am most nervous about is that I will have to say something with one of those sounds, and it may be uncomfortable during my interviews).

I am 17 years old, and I am entering college in two weeks. I want to at least have some sort of surgery before hand. So what can I do to get it fixed, and please provide me with names of surgerys that realign the jaw. Thanks!!!!!!!

I know I need to go to the Maxillofacial Surgery Department. BTW, my main hospital is the University of Michigan, so please provide me with the name of the surgery and other pertinent information.

Thanks for the answers thus far. Out of curiosity, what is the price range for this type of operation, and what is done exactly, thanks everyone!!!

Answer 1

It is called orthognathic surgery. My son had it when he was 21 years old. You have to wear braces for awhile first, then they actually separate the jaw and move it. His surgery took 6 hours, because he had both upper and lower jaw moved. He is 24 now, and is VERY happy that he endured all of that. His jaws were wired shut for 4 weeks after the surgery, and he had to be on a liquid diet. He didn't lose hardly any weight, unlike most of these patients do. He went to community college at home for awhile, then went away to college right after he had the wires removed, and he called me from there a couple days later and said, "I can't believe how wonderful it is. I don't have to work so hard to talk any more.... I just talk and it comes out right!"


Check out this website on Yahoo for lots and lots of information, and talk to other patients firsthand.


Adding this in response to your updated question:
My son's surgery required 3 days in the hospital and it cost roughly $40,000.00 for hospital, surgeon, anesthesiologist, etc. We had complete insurance coverage for it, but he had to keep his full-time student status. My husband and I both work and we both had family coverage. Even then, it was a bit of work to get both companies to pay. Many insurance plans exclude things like this, or try to get out of paying for them, so you should check that out carefully. I don't know of any program that pays for this, if your health insurance won't cover it. Go to that Yahoo Group, and ask away... the people on there are wonderful, and very eager to talk it over and help others. I wish you all the best and lots of success!!

Answer 2

I have had Orthognathic Surgery and the best thing for you to do would be to go to a maxilofacial surgeon and talk to him about your options. At the same time it might be helpful to go to a speach therapist, which is something you may need to do after your surgery anyway. You will also need to see an Orthodontist to make sure that your bite will line up after surgery. My recomendation would be to see the orthodontist first and talk with him about finding a surgeon and a speech therapist. Also, a good team will be able to convince your insurance that this is medically necesary so you will have to pay far less.

When I had my surgery it was the most painful thing I ever experienced, but I would do it again if I was put back into the same circumstances. You will feel so much better when you are done with the whole process. My whole process took three years from the time I got the braces on to the time I got the braces off. I had a severe cross bite and under bite that started at puberty. Often you cannot get orthognathic surgery until you growth plates have set.

My surgery was rather uncomplicated so it only cost $25,000 for the surgery and I stayed in the hospital over night. For My surgery they sawed off my mandible and repositioned it to the right and back, they then inserted a bite plate between my teeth to keep my jaw lined up perfectly and wired it shut for three weeks. all of the incisions were inside my mouth so I have no visible scarring. I was eating only liquids for the first three weeks and then I was not allowed to chew for the three weeks after I got the wires cut so I chopped all my food into pill sized to rice sized pieces and simply swallowed that whole. One of the best ways to alter the texture of any food that you put in the blender is to add broth that complements the flavor of the dish, add beef broth to hamburgers, chicken broth to pizza, etc.

Answer 3

If you don't want to have another surgery you could just see a speech-language pathologist for speech therapy. they can help you retrain your mouth to work like it used to.