Jaw Surgery?

Question

I have a crossbite in three places I guess and my options are to have surgery or to wear the expander thing which spreads my upper jaw and creates a gap between my two front teeth. Neither sound great. Has anyone had either? I also have a very low tolerance of pain and am terrified of the dentist. They screwed up my last appointment and tried to put in the expander when they were only supposed to put in the spacers and the expander hurt like hell. Is there any possible way that Invisaline could work sense I'm so sensitive? Any help would be really appreciated. And if you know of any websites with pictures of before and after surgery would be nice. Also as much information about both things as you know.

Answer 1

if you need one of these options, invisalign will NOT help you, i'm afraid....
you have a SKELETAL problem, and using invisalign will be like putting a fresh coat of paint on a house that needs to be re-habbed....

as far as surgery and pain goes, you can be sedated so you don't remember anything. If you arne' thappy w/ your dentist, or orthodontist, find another that takes the time to address your concerns and talk to you about your options.

as far as before and after...i can't help you. but your dentist should have some pictures! seriously, ask them.

the expander is like a little pain (discomfort really) spread out over a long time.... the surgery would be more pain, but it'd be oever faster PLUS you get the fun of having post operative narcotics like vicodin and percocet....

hope i've helped! take home message: be sure you're comfortable w/ your dentist! you pay them, you deserve to know what's going on and be as pain free as possible.

Answer 2

Seriously im 18 and i had a expander [i currently have braces and i had to have an expander in first] and it didn't hurt that bad!
my mouth was a little sore but advil helped. but you do have to turn your expander everyday with a little "key" it just feels tight..
honestly it wasnt like extreme pain or anything. im super scared of pain and i can tell you it was nothing to be overly worried or scared about. but then again everyone has there own pain tolerance and what not. your mouth will just feel tight. when i went into my ortho they scared the **** out of me because they said "were going to be putting a expander in and it will slowly move your upper jaw apart and create more room" like i was sooooooo scared. but they over hype it.
so honestly from experience id go for the expander its probably loads cheaper! and definitly less pain and it also has no "recover time" [maybe a headache or 2] but you wont have any down time.. hopefully i helped you a bit =)

Answer 3

It may be wise to listen to your heart about this. And, get a 2nd, 3rd, and even a 4th opinion before pursuing radical surgery. These surgeries do NOT have good track records. Ask your dentist for at least 3 scientific papers that document the LONG-TERM outcomes for this type of surgery. If the dentist can't provide them, then 'let the buyer beware'.

Best wishes and good luck.