Hi.
My name's Verity and on the 16th of June 2011 I will be having jaw surgery. I'll be getting my top jaw brought up and slightly forward, my bottom jaw brought forward, and my chin enhanced. All held in their new positions by a multitude of metal plates and screws. The result of the surgery will be a "better" profile, and no more jaw locking. I've been waiting to have this surgery for what seems like forever, and now it's so close- I'd be lying if I said I wasn't slightly terrified! I'm hoping that documenting the journey will help me mentally deal with everything that's going to happen, and maybe help others who are planning on going through something similar in the future.
A history of my teeth.
I had braces through most of high school, in the middle of which I had 4 teeth pulled because of over-crowding. In this time, I had a lot of problems with my jaw "locking" into place- one time, it was locked for over a week! Very painful and annoying. I finally got my braces off at the end of year 11 and wore my retainer religiously. Then, about a year and a half later, I had to have my wisdom teeth pulled.
Because of the swelling and the wounds etc, I wasn't able to wear my retainer for a while and my bottom teeth shifted a bit crooked. It wasn't noticeable to anyone other than myself because my bottom teeth doesn't show much when I talk or smile, but it really bothered me because of all the time and pain it took to get them straight in the first place! So a couple of years ago I went to the orthodontist and asked if he could fet me with a plate or something to straighten them out a little. His response was not what I had expected.
He said that the only way to fix my teeth was to break my jaws and realign them. He went on to tell me everything that was wrong with my smile, including that I had incompetent lips, I showed too much gum and teeth when I smiled, and my lower jaw and chin are under-developed. It was a bit of a shock- I had never been happy with my profile, but to have someone else give you their professional opinion of what is wrong with your face was a bit shattering.
Despite how rude he was (and continues to be), I eventually went back to him and got full braces with the plan to have surgery. I got my braces on on the 5th of May 2010 to change the angles of my teeth to allow room for when my jaws change position.
I was sent to see the surgeon several times at the start, and then last week I was booked in for the surgery and all the follow up appointments, including elastic cutting, splint removal, and wire removal, which I'll cover as they happen. I've got my surgery consent and hospital admission forms which I need to fill in and send away some time this week.
And that is my story so far. I'll be in hospital for about a week following surgery, then recovering at home. I've booked four weeks off work, hopefully that will be long enough for most of the swelling and bruising to disappear! I'll keep everyone updated on the rest of my adventures over the coming months. For now, bye!
-Verity
