Jaw Surgery Q&A

Hello all,

I can't remember the last time I logged in here. I've been wanting to post a Q&A of some of the questions I get often just so it is easier for anyone to find the answers as sometimes when people try to contact me it gets lost in translation. I've changed over so many social media accounts that I don't think I even have access to all my old emails.



1. Who was your surgeon and where are they located?

I had my jaw surgery in Toronto, Canada. My surgeon was recommended by my orthodontist but I had already known about him through my own research and was interested in meeting with him for a consultation. I highly recommend meeting with him if you live in Ontario and are looking for a surgeon. I have met a few of his previous patients and their final results were functional and aesthetically pleasing. I couldn't imagine having had a better surgeon.

Here is a link to my surgeons bio and the website for the clinic he works through:
My surgeon

I am not sure if they take patients from out of the country, but my best advice is to do your research and find out as much as you can about surgeons in your area and also try to get in contact with their previous patients.

2. How much did your jaw surgery cost?

The cost of my jaw surgery is a good representation of what Canadians living in Ontario will pay through OHIP, but will probably not be much help if you are from a different province or if you are from a different country.

The jaw surgery itself and my time spent in hospital was all covered by OHIP, Ontario's health insurance plan as although my face changed, it was not done for aesthetic purposes but for functionality. I had many associated costs that were not covered.

Braces: $7,000
Consultation: $200
Planning fees: $3,500
Wisdom teeth: Somewhere in the range of $500-$1000 (It's hard to remember all these years later).

Braces are required for surgery but as they are considered cosmetic, it is highly unlikely to have them covered unless your private dental plan includes some sort of coverage. I had pretty straight teeth but I needed to have my jaw decompensated (teeth moved to align with the bone structure) since I had braces previously. They are also required for holding the jaws in place and shut after surgery.

If you are having lower jaw surgery then it is likely you will require wisdom teeth removal as they tend to cut the jaw below where the wisdom teeth are.

Planning fees were fees paid to my surgeon through his clinic for preparation and planning for my in hospital surgery. As his clinic is private, these types of fees are not covered. I had sliding genioplasty as my chin have grow in angle backwards as part of my convex profile so planning for that was also included in the fees.

The best bet of what it will cost you is to check with your insurance company and try to get in contact with other people in your area who have had the surgery.

3. Do you have permanent numbness? How do you deal with it?

This is a question I get often and it is something people are terrified of. I have permanent numbness, which is a risk but it is more likely you won't have it than you will. My chin and lower lip are pretty much numb and the best way I can describe it is sort of like rubber.

After four years it is safe to say the feeling is gone. At first your entire face is numb and the feeling slowly comes back over the course of weeks or months. I did have little pins and needle feelings here and there in that area but the feeling sort of came back outwards in and then stopped.

It has been four years and I can confidently say that the numbness does not have an impact in my day to day life in any way. I actually go months without it even crossing my mind. I tend not to drool when eating, and I can speak perfectly fine. It really is not a big deal at all.

The only time I think I really thought about it was when I last had dental work. It was strange having areas of my mouth numb, but nice at the same time that I had less sensitivity than another person might.

4. How long is the recovery? When can I go back to work or school?

My surgeon told me I would be good to return to university after two weeks. I would strongly suggest against this if you are having double jaw surgery and genioplasty. For one, I still looked mangled, very swollen, and had very little mobility in my face, or energy to get through the day. Also, I found that I still hadn't recovered enough to return to normal activities. I still had bad days with a lot of pain, and was still learning to sleep without putting any pressure on my face.

5. Does jaw surgery hurt? 

Surprisingly, no. At least it didn't for me. I found it was more annoying than anything. I had no pain post op. I was completely numb in the face for a long while. the worst part is throwing up post op, which is common, since your stomach will likely be filled with old blood. I also found it really hard dealing with feeling returning to my face because it was constantly twitching and tingling. I had some joint pain as I continued to recover, but most of my pain was manageable with medication. I was on some pretty heavy painkillers that first week, and actually ended up needing a sedative to sleep. I was very uncomfortable.

6. How long does the swelling last? 

I want to be honest and say that the residual swelling takes about 6 months to a year to go away. The first 6 weeks are the worst. My face looked very uneven during that time. After that I could get away with going out in public and not looking like my face was a rubber mask. That was the first time I took a photo of myself and felt somewhat normal. This will vary for everyone. Overall though it is a long road.

Leave any further questions in the comments and I will answer them. Also, I'm going to try to save the most frequently asked questions I get and make a youtube video.

Terra

Health, fitness, jaws, and accounting

Story of my life.

Anyway I just wanted to update, the website I have been using to get my workouts is having a 30 day challenge. They post videos for the month including fitness tests to help you get in better shape in 30 days. It's FREE!!! Okay no excuses!!! Anyway here is the link so check it out if you want to get in shape.

MAY 30 DAY CHALLENGE - BODYROCK.TV

My eating has been pretty good, still staying on the healthy side. I feel thinner in the sense that pants are fitting better and I don't look bloated.
My thighs have gotten thicker over the years from running but I notice that I do have more muscle mass and at a higher weight I look thinner than I used to because of this.

I start summer school in a week. Taking one of my tougher financial accounting courses. This course is really important for when I get my accounting designation so I wanted to make it the focus when I had time.

Jaws are being a pain as usual. TMJ is super swollen. Do any of you notice that when you feel the TMJ you can feel the disk on the outside, like a little bump that moves when you put pressure on it? I guess its still inflamed.

I see my orthodontist in 2 weeks and we're going to talk about where my bite is, the possibility of moving my surgery up, and also finding an orthodontist in Australia to complete my treatment.

Well thats about it, the weather is horrible in Canada. My short lived summer before summer term is pretty much over and it hasn't even been warm enough to run outside.

TMJ and gaps

So I don't really want to be updating all the time but I really don't know what to do about my TMJ pain anymore. After my last adjustment I find my jaw is still very sore and its actually cracking a lot more than it usually does. The only real change I notice is that my midline is moving further and further apart and I feel the constant need to clench my teeth.

When I told the orthodontist about my pain he basically said that I have to go to my doctor because all he can do is put bite plates in that will probably irritate the TMJ a lot more. This is understandable as he is an orthodontist and not a medical doctor. I'm wondering if I should call my surgeon though as he is the one who will be working on my jaws? Hmmmm

I went in to see my doctor not long ago and she just advised me to keep taking any painkillers as I need them and that over the counter may no longer be strong enough. I've been taking Tylenol 3's every few days when it gets to the point that I have a migraine, otherwise I try to stay away from the painkillers.

I'm pretty worried about next term in regards to the pain. I'm starting to have more and more of those days where I am in so much pain I can't get out of bed, and I don't want to be drugged up every other day. My doctor suggested taking the term off as I might end up in a situation where I can't complete work or go to exams. I really hate the idea of taking time off school as I was initially trying to fast track (prior to knowing I would be having jaw surgery) I was willing to take this term off and go through the summer if I could have the jaw surgery earlier, but they keep setting it back.

In no way do I want to make my orthodontist sound bad, because he is great. My teeth have never looked this good, despite the underbite/open bite/cross bite lol I just wish that the timeline was more realistic at the start. Initially I was told around Christmas I would be ready and now it turns out that I won't be ready for another few months. Maybe it's just one of those things that are hard to predict but I would have liked to know this back then.

At this point all I can do is keep hoping that my teeth move to where they should be a lot faster so that I can have the surgery and hope that the pain resolves.

BTW my front teeth look awesome after the filing, the gap closed and they look perfect. The bottom teeth on the other hand now have a little gap, I don't know whats going on with my bottom teeth but at least stuff is moving.

Adjustment #4

Hey everyone

So I went to the orthodontist today for an adjustment and I still dont have a surgery date, go figure. 

Well anyway this is what went down lol

1. Top bracket changed, don't know why or what this tooth is called
2. New steel wires put in, these are the surgery wires
3. Power chain on top and bottom
4. Front tooth filed, apparently is was too wide on the bottom and too long

I have my next adjustment January 31 2012 

I also uploaded a video explaining more. 

Not enjoying the wait for jaw surgery

So I guess I'm just complaining about the same things again.
I have a lot of jaw pain going on, nothing out of the usual.
It just makes me feel like doing nothing all the time.
The headaches, the neck pain, the jaw pain, I just want to stay in bed all day.
Now the weather is changing and I feel less and less motivated to move.

I feel my bite change all the time, somedays my jaws line up better, some days they look like they're in a crossbite. I don't know whats going on but I know that the muscles in my face are sooooo tense right now and it hurts. I love having cold drinks like smoothies and just sitting with it at the side of my cheek because it sort of numbs these muscles and gets rid of the pain for a little bit.

I have a very busy term coming up next year and I am hoping I get a lot of rest when I'm done this term, which will be post Dec 17th.

I have an orthodontist appointment on Dec 7th, which is this coming wednesday, and I hope that I get a surgery date. I just hope that he looks at my teeth and says "yes they are ready!!"
We will see.

I'll probably have my next adjustment in late january or early feb more likely. which will mean my next next appointment will be pre surgery!!! yayyy!!!
I hate waiting!!

I also hate power chains, they get so dirty and collect everything I eat.
I have made it a habit to make a solution of mouthwash and water in my waterpik, and rinse my braces after I brush them to help clean the power chain and brackets, I notice this helps a bit.

I'll update in a couple days when I have my next adjustment. Wish me luck!!

Day 4 After Wisdom Teeth Extraction

Hey everyone!

So it is day 4! I had my wisdom teeth removed on Friday morning and it is now Monday afternoon. I wanted to let everyone know that it all went great and that I didn't have any pain.

the first day went by pretty quick, I just had a lot of liquids and sat around a whole lot. I ended up getting my booster juice that I wanted. My lovely boyfriend brought it over. I have been sleeping really well also.

The next day it was beautiful outside and I couldn't stand being indoors any longer. We went to a farmers market and spent some time outside. It was really nice. Everyone was out gardening at my house and I started to do a little but ended up getting tired really fast so I stayed on the couch and watched some tv.

I will be on antibiotics until friday and I stopped taking painkillers. I don't know if I even needed the painkillers at all, I haven't had any pain. The only thing I can somewhat complain about is that I can't open my mouth very wide. It doesn't matter much as I'm not chewing foods yet but every time I yawn it sort of won't open.

I have chosen to stay on liquids for most of this first week because I really don't want to get food lodged into the extraction sites. My bottom ones were not stitched and they look like big dark holes so I am trying to keep them clean. Since that is the area my surgeon will be cutting through when I have jaw surgery, I want to make sure it heals as well as possible.

I was giving a very large container filled with chocolate covered raisins the night before my surgery but unfortunately I haven't been able to enjoy them since I was fasting the night before and now I can't chew :( Despite this, they are depleting so I'm guessing my brother has been the lucky one enjoying them. He also went a bought 4 bags of chips yesterday and has been crunching on delicious kettle chips all weekend as I consume my liquids and mushy stuff.

Really looking forward to my holes closing up! They said I could start flushing them after a week so I still have a few days of being super careful.

Hope everyone is doing well and I can't even start to say how excited I am about jaw surgery.

I'm 6 months I will be allowed to book my surgery as long as my bones reform where the teeth were pulled. I was giving 18 months in braces when I got them put on so now I am down to 17 months! Everything is happening so fast.

Hope everyone has a great week and happy Victoria Day to any Canadian readers :)

Hello World + Monkey business

First I just wanted to say.....

So I was at the surgeon yesterday, trying to understand why oh why I need double jaw surgery instead of just having the top jaw moved. I'm staring at the image and I'm like "well, can't we just move the top jaw?" The surgeon responds, " Well we could and your jaw will likely work out fine but you will look like a monkey, the whole bottom half of your face will stick out." Well that reason is good enough for me.

So as of yesterday I have been aware of the fact that I am getting double jaw surgery, genioplasty, braces, and 4 wisdom teeth removed. I have to admit I am trying not to let it get to me but I think I was in bed for 3 hours last night thinking about the fact that the bones in my face are going to be rearranged. Scary. Well anyway I woke up today feeling a lot better about it. The initial shock will continue to fade I'm sure. I have 3 finals left in the next 10 days so I have taken action to disconnect myself from the world for the time being.

I have become known for deactivating facebook, and throwing my phone under my bed or some unaccessible place in order to avoid distraction. I might not update my blog again until after these finals are done, but my next update will be filled with lots of important information regarding the future of my face.

Just in case you didn't see my last update video, I have been so lucky as to not only need upper jaw surgery, but also lower jaw surgery and genioplasty. Looks like this summer I will be getting my wisdom teeth out as well.

Upon talking to my brother about this whole situation he responded with, "Oh so you're going to look like the bride of Frankenstein?" He always puts such a positive spin on things. This child has been gifted with absolutely no health related issues, and I have been fortunate enough to have them all. From allergies, to jaw issues, to breathing issues, broken bones, many visits to the ear nose throat doctor, etc. I've already had a couple surgeries but nothing like jaw surgery. I'm hoping the jaw surgery will also correct my breathing as I have had sleep apnea in the past as well, it comes and goes. All in all, I'm just going to take the good with the bad and try to see it all through rose coloured glasses.

The one thing that does suck, is that during this process I will have to stay homeward bound for sure. I can foreshadow many visits to the orthodontist etc, in the next two years. I really wanted to look into doing an international exchange for a year in Australia as this is where half of my family is, but looks like that won't be happening. I'm instead fast tracking so I can finish a term early and go there for a while once I'm done my degree and my jaw is in place. To all the Aussies who read my blog, you live in the most amazing place. Oddly enough, I appreciated Canada most when I was in Australia. I think I just want to travel the world and take in all the amazing views.

Thanks for reading, hope you are all keeping well, and I will be back in 10 days :)

Pictures from the Orthodontist