My Reasons For Surgery
From what I've seen, there are a few core reasons why most people decide to put themselves through this surgery. They've got to be pretty darn good reasons too since it is an extremely expensive, time-consuming, long and hard process. I was a little shocked when I discovered that not only do I have to have both jaws cut into pieces and put back together, but I also have to have braces for 22 months before and after surgery. I've never really wanted to re-visit looking/feeling like a 13 year old again, but here we are. Here are my reasons for going through with surgery:
1. PAIN - This is absolutely my #1 driving force in making this surgery happen. I've prayed and wrestled with trying to make peace with living in chronic pain, but the fact is I just can't. Not only is the pain too constant and at times too severe, but frankly I'm just too young to live this way. I feel like my husband, kids, family, and friends deserve more than my distracted self that's too tired and consumed by pain to want to smile, talk and laugh as much as I want. I want so much more than my current reality allows. I've been warned multiple times by my TMJ doctor, orthodontist, and surgeon that there's no guarantees for pain relief from surgery (and always the looming possibility of the pain actually getting worse), but I'm cautiously optimistic that this is going to bring significant relief. And honestly, I've tried everything else first, so this is my last resort!
2. To save my teeth - I've been told by multiple doctors that even if I had no pain, I really need to have this surgery to prevent myself from having horrendous dental problems in the future. Because of my skeletal abnormality and open bite, it's a guarantee that if it goes unfixed, I'll eventually grind my teeth down, fracture them, and go through crowns, root canals, losing teeth, etc. Doesn't sound like much of a party to me, so I'm keeping focused on this reason since the surgery will most definitely fix this issue.
3. Difficulty swallowing/eating/talking - My severe open bite makes all 3 of these core life activities more difficult. They require exponentially more effort to complete than they should, and frankly are much less enjoyable because of the work they require. I'll be looking into diving right into speech therapy after the surgery is complete to relearn how to do these skills the right way. My biggest fear is relapsing because I continue to swallow the old way and push my teeth and jaw open again. I'm also a little fearful that I won't be able to relearn these because my bite has been wide open since I was 11 or 12. Twenty years of swallowing one way will most certainly make learning a new way tricky! I'm also super pumped to bite into food like a normal person instead of tearing my food apart and earning myself endearing nicknames like "squirrel" and "bird" at the dinner table. Hoping to lose the slight lisp I've developed as well! (fingers crossed)
4. Gummy smile/crooked face/weak jawline - These are waaay down my list of reasons for surgery. Honestly I would call them more "perks" than "reasons". My orthodontist asked me how I felt about my gummy and crooked smile at my first consultation, and that was really the first time that I'd ever given it more than a passing thought. I've always looked the same way and would never do this surgery with altering my looks as my primary goal. If it improves those, I'll be happy. I'm more nervous about looking really different than excited about the changes (and hopefully improvements) in my face. I'm fine with the face I have and don't really want to look all that different since I have a husband and kids who love the perfectly imperfect face I already have. However, if I take myself up to Audrey 2.0, I won't complain!
1. PAIN - This is absolutely my #1 driving force in making this surgery happen. I've prayed and wrestled with trying to make peace with living in chronic pain, but the fact is I just can't. Not only is the pain too constant and at times too severe, but frankly I'm just too young to live this way. I feel like my husband, kids, family, and friends deserve more than my distracted self that's too tired and consumed by pain to want to smile, talk and laugh as much as I want. I want so much more than my current reality allows. I've been warned multiple times by my TMJ doctor, orthodontist, and surgeon that there's no guarantees for pain relief from surgery (and always the looming possibility of the pain actually getting worse), but I'm cautiously optimistic that this is going to bring significant relief. And honestly, I've tried everything else first, so this is my last resort!
2. To save my teeth - I've been told by multiple doctors that even if I had no pain, I really need to have this surgery to prevent myself from having horrendous dental problems in the future. Because of my skeletal abnormality and open bite, it's a guarantee that if it goes unfixed, I'll eventually grind my teeth down, fracture them, and go through crowns, root canals, losing teeth, etc. Doesn't sound like much of a party to me, so I'm keeping focused on this reason since the surgery will most definitely fix this issue.
3. Difficulty swallowing/eating/talking - My severe open bite makes all 3 of these core life activities more difficult. They require exponentially more effort to complete than they should, and frankly are much less enjoyable because of the work they require. I'll be looking into diving right into speech therapy after the surgery is complete to relearn how to do these skills the right way. My biggest fear is relapsing because I continue to swallow the old way and push my teeth and jaw open again. I'm also a little fearful that I won't be able to relearn these because my bite has been wide open since I was 11 or 12. Twenty years of swallowing one way will most certainly make learning a new way tricky! I'm also super pumped to bite into food like a normal person instead of tearing my food apart and earning myself endearing nicknames like "squirrel" and "bird" at the dinner table. Hoping to lose the slight lisp I've developed as well! (fingers crossed)
4. Gummy smile/crooked face/weak jawline - These are waaay down my list of reasons for surgery. Honestly I would call them more "perks" than "reasons". My orthodontist asked me how I felt about my gummy and crooked smile at my first consultation, and that was really the first time that I'd ever given it more than a passing thought. I've always looked the same way and would never do this surgery with altering my looks as my primary goal. If it improves those, I'll be happy. I'm more nervous about looking really different than excited about the changes (and hopefully improvements) in my face. I'm fine with the face I have and don't really want to look all that different since I have a husband and kids who love the perfectly imperfect face I already have. However, if I take myself up to Audrey 2.0, I won't complain!
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