The Natural Bite

Why get jaw surgery?

• There are many many different reasons why people are referred to jaw surgery. They can include all sorts of bite deformities (cross bite, open bite, underbite, overbite) as well as sleep apnea. Other jaw bloggers run the gamut, so check out their blogs and cases. In my case, I had an underbite (aka Class 3 Malocclusion). My underbite meant that my front teeth hit each other and my molars never met unless I jutted out my lower jaw during chewing. My underbite also meant that my face was constantly sore from eating things like crusty bread, nuts, vegetables, you name it! When I look at old pictures, I can see a huge difference in the width of my face (now much narrower because my jaw muscles aren’t swollen from overwork). I have received countless comments from friends and family over the narrowing of my jaw / face - all this was the result of braces straightening my teeth BEFORE surgery.

Why get surgery if the braces straightened your teeth?

• The braces straightened my teeth, but worsened the appearance of the lower jaw protrusion. Ultimately, braces are not the solution when the true problem is with jaw alignment. If you’re an adult like me, braces only move your teeth, not your jaw.

How much does jaw surgery cost?

• Short answer: a lot. The price tag on fixing my teeth and jaw hovers around $75K. This includes high-tech clear braces, a world-renowned surgeon who is always out-of-network, and a one night stay at Stanford Hospital. This is NOT what I ended up paying - that will be more like $20K total (braces included) - thanks to great coverage. Healthcare is expensive in this country, but it’s also possible to pay your way into really good care. For me, since it’s my skull, price is not the issue. I would rather spend my $20K on payments toward a healthier life than, say, a new car. See my post on surgery financials for a detailed breakdown.

Braces for how long?

• Braces forever! No, just kidding. My official treatment time is 18 months, comprised of 12 months of pre-op braces and 6 months of post-op braces. HOWEVER, I just had my surgery (yay!) after only 8 months of braces, so I am hoping the post-op phase will be shortened by 33% also… meaning only 4 months, maybe?? Here’s hoping for March ‘09… Yes, wearing braces as an adult sucks. No, you cannot eat Indian food anymore (if you don’t know why then you don’t have braces). No, people do not treat me differently. All in all, it’s not such a big deal, and it’s certainly not the braces of your childhood, which stayed on for 3 - 4 years.

What is it like in the hospital?

• I went to the hospital in a very cheery mood because of our nation’s historic election of Barack Obama to the U.S. Presidency. Not everyone can have this good fortune, but I do believe that being in a positive mood at the hospital is key. It can be difficult and scary to change into the gown, get the IV and be wheeled around on a gurney. I was transformed into a ‘patient,’ and for a short while lost almost all of my independence. The hospital staff are well-trained and know how to be sweet and upbeat, but ultimately it is up to you, the patient to maintain your own good attitude. I made jokes with the staff as much as I could and listened to relaxing music while I was being wheeled into the operating room.

Is there a lot of pain after the surgery?

• I would not say this was the worst pain of my life. To me, it was much harder to deal with the IV, the constant bathroom trips (with IV!) and my noisy recovery room neighbor than the pain in my face. I only had to request pain meds once during my hospital stay, and these were not strong meds (equivalent of extra extra strength Tylenol in liquid form). As I brushed my teeth, I noticed that my upper palate, teeth and gums were numb as if they had been injected with Novocaine. The pain was (and is) primarily a throbbing feeling at the back of my mouth and inside my cheeks and nose.

Is my whole body all messed up?

• After the major trauma of bone surgery, my body was pretty messed up. Though I’d had to pee since before going under, they did not use a catheter on me (phew!) and I still had to pee after waking up. It took me three tries to be able to finally urinate. I’m guessing this is because my body was just recovering its vital functions after the serious anesthesia and trauma I had just undergone. However, I was very quickly able to get up and take myself to the bathroom and even down the hall. I experienced some nausea from the anesthesia, but was told this only occurs in about 20% of patients. I’m a pretty small person (110 lbs pre-op) so it’s possible that the anesthesia affected me more than it would affect most other people.

What does it feel like after the surgery?

• I am writing this exactly 50 hours after I woke up in post-op. I actually feel pretty great. To me, it feels VERY similar to a really bad head cold. My nose is very congested because Dr. Li also straightened my deviated septum (through my mouth during the surgery… yuck and yikes!) and I have lots of mucus (sorry, I know it’s gross, but any allergy sufferer is sure to sympathize). The back of my mouth aches when I swallow, as if I had a very sore throat. My face is stiff and I can’t really smile or make too many expressions without muscle soreness. However, all this is minimal to me as I consider all that I’ve been able to do so far…. eat delicious soup and smoothies, take wonderful showers, order shoes on Amazon.com, wash dishes, and talk to my mom on the phone.

More FAQs to come…