Has anyone had surgery to correct open-bite?

Question

What was your experience and what did it cost you?
How did you feel after surgery; were you in a lot of pain?
How long did it take to heal and did you miss work?
Did you have to wear braces after the surgery?

Answer 1

My daughter had orthognathic surgery similar to what you need. First you need braces to align your teeth perfectly.Hers was not an open bite but the pallet was to narrow and had to be split and widened which is similar to what they will do for you. You may be wired a friend of ours had the open bite surgery and was. My daughter was not. You will probably wear a splint for a while which is rather like a cast one has for a broken bone it will be wired to the braces and holds the jaw in place.

You will feel no real pain as the surgery itself causes you to go temporarily numb and when the feeling returns in a few weeks then you will be healed. The worse part of the surgery is the fact that you cannot blow your nose as they cut through the sinuses. You will not be able to blow your nose for at least 6 weeks. To clear the nose you will have to pick it with Q-tips. Doesn't sound pretty but it works.

My daughter's results are amazing and so is our friend who had the surgery you need. Your smile will be amazing too. My daughter said that this surgery isn't that bad and she would do it again in a heart beat.

If you do elect to get this surgery. Visit this site: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/orthognathicsurgerysupport/?yguid=40759934

Answer 2

I had an underbite, and had to wear braces for 2 and a half years, had the jaw surgery, involving about 9 incisions to both jaws, and had a bone graft taken from my hip and inserted in my top jaw to drop my jaw line. My jaws now look like barbed wire and screws inside (Phillips head) in an x-ray. My insurance covered some, but I think it cost about $1000.00. I was off work for 2 and a half months. I recall that after surgery, I was swollen and felt like hell, but that's to be expected after your face's bone structure is taken apart and put back together, with more of it! Actually, the pain was not that bad, but the first while, they put me on morphine/gravol (the latter for stomach upset from the drug), then tylenol 3. I was in the hospital for one or two days (here in Canada they toss you out into the street the next day when you have a baby), and had to have pureed food for a couple weeks, I think, and "drink" it through a straw, where the surgeon had left a gap for that reason. I lost about 15 pounds total over this period. My jaw had to be kept shut with elastics, and I forget how long those were in. That was back in '98; maybe it's a little different now. I had to wear my braces all the while, and after surgery, also. Then you get a mouth guard like the kind boxers wear, to wear to bed at night. It's kind of uncomfortable. If I had to do it again, I would, quite frankly. I had to get it done, or, I was told, I would have suffered with TMJ in later years. Oh, yeah, I had to walk with a cane for a couple days because I had my hip operated on. It's not something you really think of after a while. The most uncomfortable and unpleasant thing was the braces. I hated those damned things. I missed eating my Granny Smith apples for well over 2 years (cutting it up was not an option; I had to bite them whole for the full effect); so that by the time I WAS able to eat those big apples, I'd lost the taste for them. I don't even like that kind of apple anymore. Go figure. Anyway, if you need it, as I did to prevent future jaw problems, I'd say go for it; but expect some pain, lots of uncomfortableness and inconvenience, and a long stretch of it along the way. Just preparing you; I'd rather know up-front, and I can handle it better. Good luck!

Answer 3

It appears like you've a particularly complicated case. i imagine you would earnings from an opinion from yet another orthodontist. possibly a referral from the community dental society may be that enables you to commence. clarify your situations, and ask for the call of an quite experienced orthodontist. you've gotten to make investments in appointments with countless different orthodontists for exam and diagnosis earlier you discover someone you'll sense precise about operating with. each and every orthodontia practice i have ever heard of is nice about assisting sufferers (or their moms and dads) set up a value plan. They understand their paintings is severe priced.

Answer 4

yes i had a surgery once, because my own dog bite me in my face and i had to go get stiches sad huh??