<p>It is really really helpful to read all the comments here. Thank you for responding.
I agree with the genetics. Son has l features like his fraternal great grandmother and is the only child of 4 who does. He was a thumbsucker but had baby teeth then! And although only othodontics may work for some, I don't think that is possible here. After all, son had braces 7-12 and as soon as he grew a little when they were off... zing. I really hope this works out okay. I really really hope this works out okay.
Carolyn; how did your daughter get the infected wisdom teeth? Were they deep or is she sensitive?
HAS ANYONE who had this surgery had any problems? Like infection or additional surgery?</p>
<p>Digmedia; If you are here, so is the numbness bothersome or do you get used to it?</p>
<p>BHG - Just the luck of the draw regarding the infected wisdom teeth. We have a well-recommended oral surgeon and he used special padding to prevent infection. He even had her start antibiotics a week BEFORE the wisdom teeth extraction. She was fine about 4-5 days after surgery....then boom - the next week her face swelled up like a baboon. She had to return to have drains put into the two infected sites. (She was particularly thrilled to go to the homecoming dance that weekend with chipmonk cheeks and drains in her mouth) The oral surgeon said usually it is because some kind of food particle gets into the surgery site and infections aren't typical.</p>
<p>BHG, my D had her wisdom teeth removed just before starting college. Based upon what we were told by her French horn teacher, we expressed every concern (read: extreme anxiety) to the surgeon that the nerves around the w-teeth not be damaged because they can cause loss of sensation as per Digi's post...and for a horn player this is devastating. She came through with no problems. Apparently one possible outcome is that a nerve can be dinged (bruised) and that feeling will return after a few weeks...that happend to D's horn teacher.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Just to reiterate-- the reason teeth move again can be that the underlying jaw anomality has not been solved. Don't know about your child's case of course-- but if you see a dentist who tends <em>not</em> to do surgery for a 2nd opinion you may hear about other options. </p>
<p>My dentist is very very reluctant to do surgery but occasionally, of course, it is necessary. It is always better to do the least invasive approach.</p>
<p>My friend's D had post operative infection when she had jaw surjery. (Also had to drink a 100% liquid diet with wired jaw...) Very difficult, but this is a complication that does occur and can be dealt with.</p>
<p>Believe me if there was any way to do this non invasively we would. It's bad. Son cannot bite, there is a 1/2- 3/4" gap- his teeth touch in the back but not in the front, they can't- he can't close his mouth.And now, the teeth in the back are moving forward. If we were to wait, a point would come when he would have no grinding surface. The boy could not eat.</p>
<p>Yikes! Poor guy!! Wishing you lots of good wishes for a successful outcome.</p>
<p>Good luck from me also. You asked about the numbness... actually, I hadn't noticed it in years. You forget about it very quickly. But when I read these posts, all of a sudden I noticed again. Yup, it's still numb - like a small area (about one-half inch) near the front of my lower lip. It feels like a shot of novacaine that is almost worn off, but not quite. There must have been a little nerve damage when they sawed through the jaw. But, like I said, I don't even notice it and I think that something like that is very rare. I have never heard of anyone else having that problem.</p>
<p>Bob (digi)</p>
<p>I have been out of town for a week and I just found this thread. Our son also needs to have jaw surgery but the insurance company is being a pain. In his case he needs the lower jaw brought forward, he has what is called a deep bite. He also tears at his food and has never eaten a steak or anything that requires a lot of work to eat. He's also skinny, almost 6 feet tall and 130 pounds or so. His ortho said that plates and screws would be used and he would be able to eat soft food. His jaw would not be wired shut. I still worry that he will get even skinnier. His jaw looks ok, maybe it's a little undershot but not much. My son really wants this over with asap. I am hoping to have it done when he gets home from his 2nd semester.</p>
<p>How do we convince the insurance company that this is corrective and not cosmetic surgery? Can I be part of that PM with the how-to hints?
Thanks a lot, it's amazing what I've learned here from all of you.
Cruella</p>
<p>Cruella, I'll let you know when we finish fighting with our insurance company. Actually Curmudgeon sent me some ideas but I have deleted them --- perhaps he;ll see this thread has been revived and comment here. It certainly sounds like this is more common than we realized.</p>
<p>Thanks Carolyn, I am stunned that this is such a common problem. I hope we all get everything worked out with our respective insurance companies. We even switched insurances to get the surgery and that didn't work. Hopefully we'll find the right way to battle for what we are technically paying for... otherwise why have insurance?</p>
<p>My niece had a severe overbite and was forced to undergo incredibly long and painful jaw surgery the equivalent of having her mouth wired shut. It all seemed very old fashioned, but it did work in the end, and she now has a beautiful smile. It will be worth it in the end...let me know if I can help.</p>
<p>Cruella, I tried to pm you. It appears you have that function turned off .</p>
<p>I'm sorry, curmudgeon . I thought it was on. Maybe when the board was changed I lost my settings. It's on now though! Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>I am too lazy to read all the posts so don't know if i am already talking about something mentioned. I had major jaw surgery for something diagnosed as "hemi facial micro somnia"-don't know how to spell it and I might have the name slightly wrong.</p>
<p>They had to "saw" off my upper jaw-trim on one side and put a bone graph on the other. That was held with pins which I will always have. My lower jaw was shaved where needed and following the dsurgery, I was wired shut with a bite plate for several weeks.</p>
<p>The recovery, frankly, was awful. I was in intensive care for about 3 days-tube down my throat so I couldn't talk. When they finally pulled it out I remember it was a terrible feeling-like momentarily drowning. I was in the hospital for about 5 days total. My face swelled so much my eyes were shut. My doctor said-due to the severe swelling-I might be the youngest patient ever to have a face lift. Fortunately, the skin did not stretch-everything went back to normal.</p>
<p>It took me about 2 weeks, following surgery, to even be able to read or watch a little TV. Being wired shut--which is what I was most concerned about prior to the surgery-wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My bite plate had a little hole in it-big enough for a straw. I got really sick of soups, etc. and my Mom would puree chicken or beef, etc. and I would get a little of that in (seemed like a sirloin steak!). I still lost a lot of weight.</p>
<p>Thoug I would describe the whole thing as traumatic-in the end the surgery was successful and my very crooked jaw is now straight--I look like I was supposed to look.</p>
<p>They still don't know why I had this condition-at first they looked for a tumor (thank God there wasn't one). They said this is usually the result of some trauma when young-like being hit or a bad fall but I did not have either happen to me.</p>
<p>It is all still a mystery as to why my lower left jaw grew (17 mm's) over a period of time-before surgery, if I bit on a pencil, it was on an extreme angle...high on the right and low on the left. That illustrated how crooked my jaw (and bite) had become. Oddly though-I didn't have to have braces afterward (I had had them a few years before). It wasn't my teeth-it was strictly my jaw.</p>
<p>Sorry about the rambling but I thought it might help.</p>
<p>Good luck to all of you who will have to go under the knife--it will work out for you in the end.</p>