For me, "a 30-something, wife, mom of 2" there are a plethora of answers to this question:
- I clench my teeth at night
- I've experienced constant jaw pain and headaches for years
- I want a healthy mouth that is easier to take care of
- and maybe the most obvious reason...I want straight teeth and a pretty smile (who doesn't?)
I had my braces put on on July 10, 2015. I was 32 at the time. I honestly thought it would be "terrible, but worth it". But actually, having braces hasn't really bothered me. I never noticed how many adults have braces until I got them myself...I am certainly not alone!
After having my new "accessories" for about 5-6 months, I started noticing that while my teeth were indeed getting straighter, my overbite was becoming ridiculous. Like, for real. I can stick my tongue out while my mouth is closed. That's not normal. It wasn't too long after I started noticing this that my orthodontist suggested that I might need surgery.
Surgery?! Say what? I was a lot in shock and totally not on board. I signed up for braces for 1-2 years...not surgery! But he suggested that I schedule a consultation with the surgeon just to get his opinion and talk about all of my options, so I did. I went into that appointment bound and determined that I would not be having surgery. My only question for the surgeon was, "What are my other options?" His response was, "There aren't any other good options, you need BSSO and Genioplasty." I had no clue what he was talking about, I hadn't really researched ahead of time because, well...I wasn't planning to opt for the surgery. Plans change.
That was January 29, 2016. That day we scheduled my surgery for April 20, 2016.
Now to add a little craziness to this...we are a military family. My husband frequently travels (in and out of country). We are PCSing (aka moving) in May or June. My children are in a blended public school and 95% of their school work is taught by ME at home (teaching after jaw surgery, not likely to happen). My son is in ABA therapy for 15-hours/week. Queue hyperventilation. I truly needed the stars to align for this to work...and they have (mostly, kinda, sorta).
My husband *fingers crossed* will be home (on leave) for my surgery and the 4 subsequent days. I'm working very hard to line up everything for our move ahead of time, so that we can move (thank goodness only across 1 state line) as soon as my surgeon signs off at my 6-week post-op (which should be approximately June 1, 2016). The kids and I are working hard to finish school 6 weeks early, which might be the most stressful part of this whole situation. My son's therapist is also PCSing, so they suggested that we just stop therapy when she moves...which just so happens to be the week before my surgery, so that's off the table. And my in-laws are taking our kiddos for about a week while I recover for a bit. God has worked wonders in making this possible.
Since scheduling the surgery, I've become much more on board with the idea. If I'm going to put in the time and money to have a healthy smile, I want to do it right. I've frequented a lot of blogs that have been really helpful in preparing me for what I'm going to experience. But in all the blogs I've read, there have been very few that (1) Involved only lower jaw and genioplasty (2) focused on a surgery performed on someone in my stage of life (you know...a "30-something" balancing a family). Which is why...I've decided to whole heatedly embrace writing this blog amidst everything else that's going on. I'm a crazy person, truly. But that being said, I hope that this blog will bring enlightenment and encouragement to others who might be embarking on a similar journey.
At this point I'm looking forward to surgery. I'm not really scared or nervous. In the beginning I was (thinking about having your face segmented and screwed back together in 3 different places is a bit overwhelming)...but I read a very enlightening blog in which the person confessed that they had spent so much time and energy being nervous about the surgery...but that's the one part of the entire situation that they have absolutely no memory of. How true is that? I'm not even going to be conscious for that part!! So I've decided not to worry about the actual surgery at all. Instead, I'm focusing on getting stuff that needs doing done before surgery, then I plan to focus solely on recovery. Intentionally focusing only on these two aspects has relieved so much stress.
At this point, what I'm most worried about is my son's reaction. He completely freaks when I change my hair too drastically. I'm more than a little concerned about how he'll react to my face changing (which is a natural consequence of having your jaw and chin moved forward). I'm sure it will be fine though...it'll be a good change, and he will adjust.
That's about all I've got for now. Surgery is 3-weeks from today!
Here is a link that explains the surgery I'm having if you're interested (it's not gory):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQI8L5Sxa6w
Here are some "before" pictures that I've taken. When I get my final X-Rays and pics from the docs I'll post them too.
Trying to capture my overbite...though I don't think pictures do it justice. I can't wait to be able to bite a slice of pizza again!! |
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