I am a Carpenter And You Are my Lady.

Last Wednesday I went to my consult with the oral surgeon.  I expected a short visit and to leave with some pamphlets in hand.  Instead I was there for almost an hour with a very passionate surgeon!

He explained the procedure with some model jaws for a visual (very helpful).  He would perform a Lefort I on my top jaw and take a sliver of bone from my right side to shorten the jaw and rotate the entire top jaw so it's straight.  He would also cut on both sides of my bottom jaw to position it correctly to line up correctly to my upper jaw. And of course, the possible genioplasty that might be needed to centre my chin to my perfect new bite (Ouch!).

 He took tons of pictures and uploaded them right away so that we could look at them on the computer while we talked.    Once he started explaining the procedure he got more and more excited about it. He said "I am your carpenter and you are my lady"!  LOL!  I also had some X-rays done so one day they may be my "before" X-rays!  So exciting!

He seemed pretty competent when he removed my wisdom teeth 16 years ago, and my friend has wonderful things to say about him from her (successful) double jaw surgery only a few months ago.

So it seems that I found a great surgeon, with a wonderful referral, and a sense of humour!

The only thing that is holding me back is the cost.  With any luck, my benefit plan and my husbands plan will cover most of the visits, appointments, moulds, and X-rays leading up to the surgery and follow up visits.  It will not cover the surgery itself.  OHIP covers many of the costs from the hospital, however the oral surgeon will charge a large sum of money to perform the surgery.

I forgot to ask how long my recovery time will be so I can plan the time off work ahead of time.  I'll have to remember to ask that when I go back.

I also was referred to an orthodontist, the same one my friend uses for her orthodontics for her surgery.  This is all feeling like it just might be a possibility.  A very exciting possibility.

Mixed Emotions (NOT a tribute to the Rolling Stones)

Well, tomorrow is finally the BIG day!  I go see the dental surgeon for a consult!  I realize that I am approaching this process backwards.  Typically patients see their orthodontist and get referred to a dental surgeon if they feel that orthodontics alone will not fix the problem.  Im my case, I am seeing the surgeon first, as he was the one who suggested the surgery in the first place when I was 17.  I guess this wouldn't be the first time I did something 'my way!'

I am excited and scared at the same time (hence the Rolling Stones reference 'Mixed Emotions'). What if the procedure will be too complex?  What if I am the only person he has seen with this type of bite problem?  What if OHIP and my insurance don't cover the procedure?  What if aliens come and take over the world?  (added that one to see if you are still following along!)

I have decided to add a few pictures to this blog before starting this (possible) journey to jaw surgery.  This is the part that I love seeing on other blogs!

This is me smiling!  This picture was reversed in my phone camera, so my jaw really juts out to the left.  See how my upper lip is fixed on one side, and the lower lip is on the other side?

This is how my teeth line up.  My front left tooth hits my bottom tooth and is slowly wearing away the bottom of the tooth!  What you can't see in this picture is that because of having orthodontics TWICE as a teanager, my back molars seem to line up fine.  My 'centre' is off by a lot!  I'll see if I can get the actual measurement when I see the Dr. tomorrow.


So wish me luck everyone!  I hope I get great news tomorrow :)

Accomplishment #1

I did it.   It's official.

Up until now I have only talked about getting jaw surgery done.   The other day I actually picked up the phone and made an appointment for a consult.  They told me to bring my health coverage information and my spouse and that they will likely do 2 different x-rays.  Bringing my husband will be great since I'm not sure he understands how serious the surgery is.   His silly jokes aside, I think he needs to hear it from the surgeon.

January 16th is the big day.  I'm hoping that I'm a good candidate for orthognathic surgery.

The History of my Crooked Smile

I had braces on when I was a pre-teen and AGAIN when I was in highschool.  The first set of braces came off too early and my jaw grew so they had to put them back on.  This was around the time that we noticed a significant change in my jaw. I remember my Mother saying that my chin had gotten “pointy”….thanks Mom.  Imagine my disappointment as a teenager to find out that I had to go back to that damn orthodontist AGAIN!  I thought my life was over.  I lived.

When I was around 17, I had to have my wisdom teeth removed.  Enter the oral surgeon who immediately identified my jaw issues.  He explained the surgery and explained that I would need braces put back on before he could do the surgery.  At 17, I thought there was no way in hell that I was getting braces back on for a THIRD time!  He even provided me with a phone number for a young girl who had just gone through the surgery that was willing to talk about her experience with me.  I did call her, but all I remember her saying was "pain," "intensive care," "braces."  My parents suggested that I had the surgery, but didn’t push the issue.  Would they have won this battle if they pushed a little harder?  I honestly don’t know. 

Now I am 34 years old and having jaw issues.  My right side “clicks” whenever I open my mouth more than a few inches.  Some days the right side of my jaw starts to ache.  Once the aching starts I get a headache at the lower part of the back of my head.   Also, the way that my teeth hit when I close my mouth is causing me to literally grind away a portion of my front left tooth.  That can’t be healthy. 

Beyond the medical reasons for surgery there will be some obvious cosmetic benefits.  When I was about 21, my condition was starting to get worse.  My smile was crooked, my chin got even pointier and juts out to the left when I smile.  When I got married 10 years ago, I practiced for months on adjusting my lower jaw to the right so that I could have pretty wedding photos.  Before this, I was always the girl in the picture making silly faces or tilting my head so my smile would seem less noticeable. 

I should also add that I have asymmetrical eyes - what luck!  When I was in grade 9, a girl I knew from grade school made up a song about my “crooked eye.”  She sang it to me at the upstairs lockers.  I don’t remember the words to the song, but I do remember that kids can be cruel.  Tyra Banks would tell her models that imperfections can be beautiful.  Right?  Sorry Tyra, but after surgery I hope my assymetrical eyes are less noticeable.  And to the girl from high school with the bad singing voice….karma’s a bitch!

Why I'm Here

Hello, my name is Robin and I am starting this blog to discuss my possible orthognathic surgery.   I have self-diagnosed myself with an "anterior mandibular malocclusion.”  In normal words, this means that I have a cross bite because my lower jaw in the front of my mouth has grown differently that the other side.  This causes a cross-bite where some of my teeth on the lower left come in front of the upper teeth.  Not a very pleasant smile.

I am writing this blog for 2 reasons.  First, I wanted to put my information out there so that others in the same situation can read what I have been going through.  I have read tons and tons of blogs on this subject, but my kind of cross-bite is rare in the blog world.  I hope to add many pictures – that is always my favourite part of reading other bloggers’ posts!  The second reason is that I would like a place to organize my own thoughts.  Although I have an amazing husband and wonderful friends and family, I think that they will eventually get sick and tired of listening to me talk about this!  And I do like to talk.  A lot.  Also, many don’t understand why I’m doing this…I hope this blog will help with that.

I wanted to give a thank-you to my “new” friend Sarah.  She has gone through a similar process (different bite problems, but still similar surgery).  She doesn’t realize it, but she is the one that has kicked my own butt in gear to start looking into the surgery.

I have 2 young children; a daughter who is 6 and a son who is almost 4.  This surgery will have to wait a few years until they are a little older and self-sufficient.  But I do want to have a consult with the oral surgeon soon so that I know what HIS diagnosis is and what he recommends.  This process will likely involve over a year in braces before any surgery can take place, so I think that in one year I can start the process.  So, a one year wait, and another year in braces …my youngest will be almost 6…is that old enough?  I sure hope so!