How to choose an orthognathic surgeon

Hi everyone,

I haven't posted in age, but I still get a lot of questions regarding jaw surgery and I thought over time I'd try to update my blog a bit and add some more information for commonly asked questions.

I feel like a lot of the reason why my jaw surgery experience was so positive and why I got the results I was hoping to achieve is really due to my surgeon. It's not easy putting your life in someones hands but it makes it a lot easier if you feel comfortable with that person and you do your research.

I have cancelled surgeries for other things in the past because I didn't feel comfortable with the surgeon. I've had breathing difficulties and a lot of other medical issues related to my jaw issue in the past. But I'm glad that orthognathic surgery was my final decision.

Here are the steps I took before deciding my surgeon was right for me: '

1. Look and their previous work

I went online and tried to get into contact with as many people as possible who went to my surgeon. Jaw surgery is a combination of functionality, but a part of it is aesthetics. Every surgeon seems to have a different style as to what end result looks good. I noticed with my surgeon that I really liked the way both the nose and the chin ended up post op. It can be common to have your surgery combined with a genioplasty which is having your chin moved. This can be necessary when you have a convex profile or your either have too much bone or too subtle of a chin. Those issues may become exaggerated depending on how your jaws are moved. If you can't find any before and after pictures from your surgeon, call their office and see if they can provide you with any. Also, don't really use their digital imaging of what you will look like as a deal breaker because mine looked nothing like how I look now.

2. Research reviews, blogs, and forums to find out anything you can about your surgeon.

I checked all the reviews I could and I could only find one negative review and it was someone upset because my surgeon refused to do surgery on them altogether. Some surgeons will not do revisions. My surgeon does not do revisions from other surgeons as far as I know. If this is a first time jaw surgery for you, you'll have a easier time finding a surgeon than if you had jaw surgery and experienced complications or relapsed and then tried to go to a different surgeon. Also, forums and blogs will give you a good idea as to how that surgeon treats their patients throughout the process. I was so scared to have a surgeon similar to my orthodontist who was extremely welcoming during the consultation and then turned into a total ass who couldn't care less about my progress after they got their payment. My surgeon and all his staff were extremely professional, friendly, and were there for me throughout the entire process.

3. Use your gut instinct.

If you get a really bad vibe off of someone it might be a good sign that you need to go elsewhere. With my surgeon, I felt comfortable from the start with both him and his staff. Jaw surgery is a big decision and you need to be 100% committed and prepared for a long road ahead of you. Don't let the slight possibility of complications scare you. I had some complications after my surgery which resulted in an infection that required more surgery and a week with a drainage tube in my face. I would still do it all over again. The recovery is such a small time compared to spending the rest of your life without all the issues you had before surgery. I still don't know how I went so long with constant jaw pain and breathing issues. Not to mention the fact that I was slowly grinding my back teeth down to the point where I will never be able to properly chew certain foods from the damage.


Useful links regarding jaw surgery:

Archwired forum  This is probably the post helpful forum I have come across. They have a section on orthognathic surgery which was extremely helpful.

Jaw surgery forums   Another super useful forum that I believe started up doing the time I was going through my process.

Facebook pages and groups - just do a general Facebook search for jaw surgery.

You can also check out any of the links on your right  -----> I tried to link as many jaw surgery blogs as possible. Some may no longer be active as this was a few years ago.

How to choose an orthognathic surgeon

Hi everyone,

I haven't posted in age, but I still get a lot of questions regarding jaw surgery and I thought over time I'd try to update my blog a bit and add some more information for commonly asked questions.

I feel like a lot of the reason why my jaw surgery experience was so positive and why I got the results I was hoping to achieve is really due to my surgeon. It's not easy putting your life in someones hands but it makes it a lot easier if you feel comfortable with that person and you do your research.

I have cancelled surgeries for other things in the past because I didn't feel comfortable with the surgeon. I've had breathing difficulties and a lot of other medical issues related to my jaw issue in the past. But I'm glad that orthognathic surgery was my final decision.

Here are the steps I took before deciding my surgeon was right for me: '

1. Look and their previous work

I went online and tried to get into contact with as many people as possible who went to my surgeon. Jaw surgery is a combination of functionality, but a part of it is aesthetics. Every surgeon seems to have a different style as to what end result looks good. I noticed with my surgeon that I really liked the way both the nose and the chin ended up post op. It can be common to have your surgery combined with a genioplasty which is having your chin moved. This can be necessary when you have a convex profile or your either have too much bone or too subtle of a chin. Those issues may become exaggerated depending on how your jaws are moved. If you can't find any before and after pictures from your surgeon, call their office and see if they can provide you with any. Also, don't really use their digital imaging of what you will look like as a deal breaker because mine looked nothing like how I look now.

This is my before and after. In all photos my face is in resting position with my teeth fully closed. 

2. Research reviews, blogs, and forums to find out anything you can about your surgeon.

I checked all the reviews I could and I could only find one negative review and it was someone upset because my surgeon refused to do surgery on them altogether. Some surgeons will not do revisions. My surgeon does not do revisions from other surgeons as far as I know. If this is a first time jaw surgery for you, you'll have a easier time finding a surgeon than if you had jaw surgery and experienced complications or relapsed and then tried to go to a different surgeon. Also, forums and blogs will give you a good idea as to how that surgeon treats their patients throughout the process. I was so scared to have a surgeon similar to my orthodontist who was extremely welcoming during the consultation and then turned into a total ass who couldn't care less about my progress after they got their payment. My surgeon and all his staff were extremely professional, friendly, and were there for me throughout the entire process.

3. Use your gut instinct.

If you get a really bad vibe off of someone it might be a good sign that you need to go elsewhere. With my surgeon, I felt comfortable from the start with both him and his staff. Jaw surgery is a big decision and you need to be 100% committed and prepared for a long road ahead of you. Don't let the slight possibility of complications scare you. I had some complications after my surgery which resulted in an infection that required more surgery and a week with a drainage tube in my face. I would still do it all over again. The recovery is such a small time compared to spending the rest of your life without all the issues you had before surgery. I still don't know how I went so long with constant jaw pain and breathing issues. Not to mention the fact that I was slowly grinding my back teeth down to the point where I will never be able to properly chew certain foods from the damage.


Useful links regarding jaw surgery:

Archwired forum  This is probably the post helpful forum I have come across. They have a section on orthognathic surgery which was extremely helpful.

Jaw surgery forums   Another super useful forum that I believe started up doing the time I was going through my process.

Facebook pages and groups - just do a general Facebook search for jaw surgery.

You can also check out any of the links on your right  -----> I tried to link as many jaw surgery blogs as possible. Some may no longer be active as this was a few years ago.

How to choose an orthognathic surgeon

Hi everyone,

I haven't posted in age, but I still get a lot of questions regarding jaw surgery and I thought over time I'd try to update my blog a bit and add some more information for commonly asked questions.

I feel like a lot of the reason why my jaw surgery experience was so positive and why I got the results I was hoping to achieve is really due to my surgeon. It's not easy putting your life in someones hands but it makes it a lot easier if you feel comfortable with that person and you do your research.

I have cancelled surgeries for other things in the past because I didn't feel comfortable with the surgeon. I've had breathing difficulties and a lot of other medical issues related to my jaw issue in the past. But I'm glad that orthognathic surgery was my final decision.

Here are the steps I took before deciding my surgeon was right for me: '

1. Look and their previous work

I went online and tried to get into contact with as many people as possible who went to my surgeon. Jaw surgery is a combination of functionality, but a part of it is aesthetics. Every surgeon seems to have a different style as to what end result looks good. I noticed with my surgeon that I really liked the way both the nose and the chin ended up post op. It can be common to have your surgery combined with a genioplasty which is having your chin moved. This can be necessary when you have a convex profile or your either have too much bone or too subtle of a chin. Those issues may become exaggerated depending on how your jaws are moved. If you can't find any before and after pictures from your surgeon, call their office and see if they can provide you with any. Also, don't really use their digital imaging of what you will look like as a deal breaker because mine looked nothing like how I look now.

This is one of my before and after pictures. Theses are both with my face in resting position and teeth fully closed. 

2. Research reviews, blogs, and forums to find out anything you can about your surgeon.

I checked all the reviews I could and I could only find one negative review and it was someone upset because my surgeon refused to do surgery on them altogether. Some surgeons will not do revisions. My surgeon does not do revisions from other surgeons as far as I know. If this is a first time jaw surgery for you, you'll have a easier time finding a surgeon than if you had jaw surgery and experienced complications or relapsed and then tried to go to a different surgeon. Also, forums and blogs will give you a good idea as to how that surgeon treats their patients throughout the process. I was so scared to have a surgeon similar to my orthodontist who was extremely welcoming during the consultation and then turned into a total ass who couldn't care less about my progress after they got their payment. My surgeon and all his staff were extremely professional, friendly, and were there for me throughout the entire process.

3. Use your gut instinct.

If you get a really bad vibe off of someone it might be a good sign that you need to go elsewhere. With my surgeon, I felt comfortable from the start with both him and his staff. Jaw surgery is a big decision and you need to be 100% committed and prepared for a long road ahead of you. Don't let the slight possibility of complications scare you. I had some complications after my surgery which resulted in an infection that required more surgery and a week with a drainage tube in my face. I would still do it all over again. The recovery is such a small time compared to spending the rest of your life without all the issues you had before surgery. I still don't know how I went so long with constant jaw pain and breathing issues. Not to mention the fact that I was slowly grinding my back teeth down to the point where I will never be able to properly chew certain foods from the damage.


Useful links regarding jaw surgery:

Archwired forum  This is probably the post helpful forum I have come across. They have a section on orthognathic surgery which was extremely helpful.

Jaw surgery forums   Another super useful forum that I believe started up doing the time I was going through my process.

Facebook pages and groups - just do a general Facebook search for jaw surgery.

You can also check out any of the links on your right  -----> I tried to link as many jaw surgery blogs as possible. Some may no longer be active as this was a few years ago.

I Corrected my Tongue Thrust - Without Speech Therapy

A tongue thrust is basically poor tongue posture which causes you to push your tongue against the inside of your teeth instead of up on the roof of your mouth. Everyone is born with a tongue thrust and almost everyone learned proper tongue posture on their own, without any assistance. Tongue thrusters do not. A common result of this is an anterior open bite where none of the anterior teeth meet and an opened appears.

This was my anterior open bite prior to double jaw surgery and prior to decompensation. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had braces at a younger age to attempt to fix the bite. With no attempt to fix the tongue thrust I just kept tongue thrusting and ended up relapsing to the point I was developing sleep apnea and TMJ disorder. I also had speech issues, chewing issues, mouth breathing, and other things that were out of the norm.

I believe two things fixed my tongue thrust.

1. Persistence to fix my tongue posture: I didn't go to speech therapy during this process, but I researched tongue thrust correction and used many youtube videos to help learn ways to correct my tongue thrust. It was very annoying, and at first you will start thrusting the second you stop thinking about it. Be persistent. It is a very difficult habit to break. 
2. Jaw surgery: When I had my jaw surgery I had both jaws moved and my chin moved. It was a big surgery to go through with a very tough recovery. I also had cysts removed from my nasal airway. Being able to breathe properly through my nose was a huge factor in correcting my tongue posture as it allowed me to keep my tongue at the top of my mouth while using my nose to breathe. 

I know a lot of people have relapsed after having jaw surgery for an anterior open bite. I had my surgery over two years ago and so far my bite as remained the same as it was post op. I will always try to be aware of my tongue posture and one day I will see a speech therapist to assure I am doing everything I can to avoid a relapse.

This is my bite post op:

Terra

The Reality of Jaw Surgery

Hello readers!

I have been posting less and less over the year but I still want to update since the blogging community has been so good to me and has really been my rock when I was going through so much.

I am amazed how much time has passed since my surgery and how great life is not having to worry about my jaws anymore.

I've been so busy with life that i sometimes forget how much has changed and how fortunate I am. I feel truly blessed that everything has gone so well.

First off, something I want to share with all my jaw surgery buddies. As much as we want this surgery to lead to perfection, in reality, it doesn't. Not even for those with great results. It is a journey filled with challenges and we really have to choose our battles wisely and not let the small things take away our joy. I am more than happy with my results but I still don't have perfect results. I have permanent numbness in both my lip and chin. I've learned to accept the fact that this numbness will probably always be there. I also still get pressure and swelling in my upper plates. I wake up and feel sore some days. I'm still battling with tongue thrusting but wearing my retainers religiously in order to keep my teeth where they should be. Be demanding when it comes to having retainers after braces and make sure you're wearing them enough that they don't ever feel overly tight on you.

All of the above are things I've learned to accept. I don't let them take away my peace and I try to focus all my energy on the positive changes I've experienced. I have a bite that closes, I can chew almost anything, I don't have excruciating TMJ pain on a daily basis as I did for years.

This is all more than enough to make me feel forever grateful that I had this surgery and went through this long process.

Looking past jaw surgery, life has changed in so many ways. I feel so much more at peace that I can finally live my life normally and do the things I've wanted to do. I've been finding school so much more manageable not having TMJ issues. I feel like I can actually see the light at this point.

I will try my best to post a video soon. I think it shows much more accurately how much my face has changed.

I hope everyone is well. Also so excited to hear so much good news from the blogging community. I feel like so many of my jaw surgery buddies are experiencing so many positive changes in their lives and I hope we can all continue to update and share this joy.

Love you guys!!

Terra

10 Months Post op

Hello readers!!

It's been a crazy summer and I've been slacking in the blogging and youtubing department.
I did do a youtube update not that long ago and I will do a retainer one soon.
My bite has been good and has pretty much stayed the same. I've been wearing my retainers nightly for the most part. The only time I didn't wear them consistently was when I was at the hospital overnight with my grandmother.

My last post was on the way back from Montreal and everything sort of got crazy after that. A couple days later my grandmother fell ill and was hospitalized in critical care. I was closer to my grandmother than most people are so when she's not well I don't leave her side. She was at the hospital for 9 days in which I pretty much was there all the time, around the clock. She started to improve on July 6th and we had a lot of hope that maybe she would someday be well enough to be moved to a different ward and eventually recover. The following day she went down hill really fast and that was the last day I got to spend with her. Planning the funeral that week was chaos with the amounts of flooding and the storms in Toronto. We had a power outage so I got very little sleep working around the clock to have everything sorted out. The funeral turned out to be beautiful and I think it honoured her life well.
I miss her every single day.

Some days everything that has happened these last few months just overwhelms me so most of the time I try not to think too much. My life has forever changed in so many ways that sometimes I don't recognize it at all.

At the same time I feel blessed to have the amazing people that I do have in my life. Hoping for lots of good from here on out. I really hope all your wonderful people are doing well. I miss your stories and I've going to try to catch up on everyones blog.

xoxo
Terra

Is this normal?

Hey guys,

So the last week I've noticed that my bite is really close to literally just hitting. Post op I had an overjet but now I don't even have a mm of extra space. I've been wearing my retainers at night but I wake up and my bite is super tight. I may have to call my ortho regarding this. Just a mini panic here.

I was really more worried about the open bite coming back but it feels like my muscles are pulling my bite back into an underbite.
ARgGGGFHDFHFDG

Maybe I'm just over reacting. I'll book in an appointment with my massage therapist, maybe my facial muscles are just tense.

Anyway otherwise life is good. Heading back to Toronto after being in Montreal with the bestie.
She's moving back so we packed stuff and caught up on life. We went to an outdoor electronic music party which was pretty cool except we got eaten alive by all the bugs.

I always get a kick out of the stop signs in quebec. It's Terra backwards. I still remember when we went to Ottawa 10 years ago and the stop signs said Stop Arret so we would say "Pots Terra"

Drinking in the day. I like the massive amounts of wine people drink in this province. 

This was a separate stage but if you were drunk enough and could see this guys dance moves. 

We were forced to drink from the bottle when some random guy thought he could pick me up by bumping his booty into me. This didn't work and we lost our cups :( Losers

I have these two massive bruises and I have no idea where they came from. Was before the festival though. 

I also have this massive bite on my arm, still not sure what this was from

<3 Terra