Adult braces? Anyone? Surgery prior to wedding?

cj3561 · September 2015

Anyone here currently or recently going through adult ortho?

I have a whole mess of screws, wires, palate expander, dental implants etc going on right now, supposed to be completed the week before my wedding, but there's just days I need some support. Or someone to vent to about this process. It's super complicated and painful. I feel like the girl from Saw most days, and I haven't eaten pizza in weeks. It's tragic.

I also have lower jaw surgery in Dec/Jan to correct my horrendous overbite, and I am absolutely STRESSING about the recovery process.

Speak to me.

novella1186 · September 2015

I'm sorry

Dental work is scary and awful to me. The most I've had to have done recently is have a broken molar ground down and a crown put on it. It made me want to curl up in a ball and cry. I even dread going to get my teeth cleaned.

I can't imagine having to get a ton of orthodontal work done. One the plus side, at least modern medicine is around. Imagine needing dental work 50 years ago! Yikes. I recommend spoiling yourself with all the soft foods you love (mashed potatoes, ice cream, milk shakes) cuz at least then you're getting a delicious treat and it won't be something that's hard to chew.

Best of luck. I hope everything goes well for you! Hugs and wine. Or whiskey. When I'm in pain I tend to go for the whiskey.

thisismynickname2 · September 2015

I had jaw surgery as a teenager and my mother had it in her 30s. Both of us had our jaws wired shut for 6 weeks.

I'm not going to sugar coat this- the recovery is horrendous at first but it gets better!! I lost 10 pounds in 3 days from being unable to eat. I slowly got used to eating all liquefied foods through a straw (catheter actually) and recovered the weight eventually.

One of my first days home I had some kind of swelling and my parents had to rush me back to see the doctor in the middle of the night. I could breathe, but I couldn't figure out how-- like you can switch between breathing through your nose and mouth, right, but I couldn't because of the swelling. So I freaked out, cried, which obviously made everything worse.

I think after a week I got used to how everything felt, and used to eating. I drank a lot of Ensure. You can liquefy a lot of things with hot water and a bouillon cube, like a turkey sandwich, believe it or not. I liked those!

Don't stress. Surgery is surgery and of course it's going to be miserable. Stressing is useless; time to just get used to the fact that it'll suck, ok? Like I said, I needed a week to get used to things. At least we now live in an e-mail and texting age; that didn't exist when I had the surgery. Communication was obviously harder.

And keep this in mind- when it's all done, you're going to look amazing. You'll be thrilled, I swear!

OliveOilsMom · September 2015

In regards to your lower jaw surgery, is that where they will basically surgically break your jaw and wire it back together? If so, I would think long and hard about having that done. My SIL has had many dental cosmetic surgeries done as an adult. She's had braces with all that you talked about and went through the jaw surgery too. She has had 3 children naturally and says the jaw surgery was by far the worse pain she has ever gone through. She also said that in hind sight, she would not have it done in the first place. So just some words to think of to ensure that this is what you truly want.

Also, what would happen if your dentist wants to keep your braces on longer? When I had my braces put on in my teen years, I was told 2 years, 3 1/2 years later, they were finally off. While not on the same level, I was very upset to still have my braces on during senior portraits.

cj3561 · September 2015

I guess I didn't mention the fact that I am in the dental industry myself for the past 6 years, and I'm an practice manager for a specialty office. My boss is part of my team working on my case, and he has thankfully referred me to his best colleagues for the treatment he himself cannot do - my orthodontist and my oral surgeon. So yeah, I definitely know what I am in for.

The surgery itself doesn't involve any actual "breaking" of my jaw, just cutting of the jaw bone with a fancy zip saw type thing, and unfortunately, unless I do the surgery, my teeth will continue to break down over the years from my bite and I will lose all of them at a young age. I have lost 4 permanent molars as it is, and had to have implants to replace them. Sooo it's medically necessary. I don't even pay a dime, because it will all be covered by my insurance. It just scares me because it is close to the wedding. I will have an ample 4 weeks to recover at home, roughly about 6 months before the wedding. I'm trying to be optimistic because it's not something I'm really choosing to do - has to be done.

And yeah, the braces will be removed prior to the wedding and replaced after if need be. I already got that covered, haha

But thank you for the advice, trust me literally everyone gasps in horror when I tell them I'm going through with it - just gotta trust my boss and my team and know I'm in good hands!

cj3561 · September 2015

Thank you Novella! Mac and cheese is my go-to on the days I'm really sore. I've gotten some from pretty much every good spot in my town, haha. So true though - the wonders of modern medicine. When they first explained the process I was literally like you are gunna do WHAT? And I thought I knew a lot about dental treatment! It's amazing what they can accomplish nowadays so you're right, I should be thankful!

Thank you for the words of encouragement

cj3561 · September 2015

thisismynickname said:

I had jaw surgery as a teenager and my mother had it in her 30s. Both of us had our jaws wired shut for 6 weeks.

I'm not going to sugar coat this- the recovery is horrendous at first but it gets better!! I lost 10 pounds in 3 days from being unable to eat. I slowly got used to eating all liquefied foods through a straw (catheter actually) and recovered the weight eventually.
One of my first days home I had some kind of swelling and my parents had to rush me back to see the doctor in the middle of the night. I could breathe, but I couldn't figure out how-- like you can switch between breathing through your nose and mouth, right, but I couldn't because of the swelling. So I freaked out, cried, which obviously made everything worse.
I think after a week I got used to how everything felt, and used to eating. I drank a lot of Ensure. You can liquefy a lot of things with hot water and a bouillon cube, like a turkey sandwich, believe it or not. I liked those!

Don't stress. Surgery is surgery and of course it's going to be miserable. Stressing is useless; time to just get used to the fact that it'll suck, ok? Like I said, I needed a week to get used to things. At least we now live in an e-mail and texting age; that didn't exist when I had the surgery. Communication was obviously harder.

And keep this in mind- when it's all done, you're going to look amazing. You'll be thrilled, I swear!

Just getting used to this quote thing cus apparently I never noticed it before. YES - thank you for sharing your experience! It sounds very similar to all the jaw surgery blogs I have been scouring. Some of them stress me the f out, but I think those particular ones are just dramatic to begin with.

That's so scary not being able to figure out how to breathe - and I can for sure see why that would happen. Add in the fact you were probably loopy from all the meds and that would be a terrifying combo.

I think I would be so much less stressed if the wedding was taken out of the equation, especially because in some blogs I have read it took some women apparently 6 months for all the swelling to go down. Those were usually double jaw surgery cases though, so I'm hoping with just my lower jaw I'll be normal in no time.

You and Novella are very kind with the encouragement

I needed it today.

redheadbride15 · September 2015

I'm with you girl! I have had tons of dental problems my whole life and I'm absolutely petrified of dentists (typically my BP in the dentist office is like 160/90 - once they sent me to the ER to rule out a hypertensive crisis but it was just anxiety.... haha). I also had dental work done before my wedding, including a root canal/crown just 2 weeks before. And I also had to have a broken tooth extracted (the day after returning from my honeymoon!) and I am in the process of replacing it with an implant. I also had lots of oral surgery and orthodontic work as a teenager, but that was a long time ago now. I remember the surgery being unpleasant, but now many years later it was just a blip. It's all worth it to me because I'm actually proud of my smile and I know it helped my confidence tremendously. You'll do fine! Set yourself up with a good support system for the immediate post-surgery period. Make sure your surgeon/dentist knows about your wedding timeline. I'd trust them to know what the expected healing time is for the specific procedure you're having.

thisismynickname2 · September 2015

cj3561 said: Thank you Novella! Mac and cheese is my go-to on the days I'm really sore. I've gotten some from pretty much every good spot in my town, haha. So true though - the wonders of modern medicine. When they first explained the process I was literally like you are gunna do WHAT? And I thought I knew a lot about dental treatment! It's amazing what they can accomplish nowadays so you're right, I should be thankful!
Thank you for the words of encouragement

------------BOXES------------- To the bolded-- I'd known I was in for surgery for awhile. I had an underbite- my lower jaw wasn't aligned with my upper jaw. They brought my lower jaw down and out and they did something to my upper jaw too; I don't really remember. All I remember was they showed me my molds as "before" and my molds as "after"-- and that is when reality sunk in. I cried in the office, so did my mom (empathy!). My "after" mold was in pieces and glued back together. Like a puzzle. I was like, "You're doing WHAT!?" (ETA: Obviously they didn't glue my jaw back together, but if they had to make it into so many pieces and wire it back together, it's shocking.)

Feel free to contact me anytime while you're going through it if you need the encouragement! I think my swelling went down in the normal amount of time, and the difference it made to my profile was drastic. That's why I say it's so worth it- my smile is complimented often and I joke, "Yeah, I had a great surgeon!" Same with my mom too. Sounds like you have the best too- it'll all work out!

[Deleted User] · September 2015

I'm in the need adult braces camp, and I found out when I went in for a consult about 3 years ago that it's going to take 3 years to fix and over six grand. I didn't bother to try to get it done before the wedding.

Although it was sweet when my fiance said he'd learn how to photo shop so he could photo shop my braces out of our wedding pictures if I wanted to start it before the wedding- ha ha!

I'm saving up so I can put down at least half when I do go to do it. The place I want to do the work is no longer near where I live and not close to my employer either and the one bad thing about them was they seemed to be somewhat inflexible with when they'd see you for each part of the procedure. I'd have to try to work something out with my boss to take time off just to have my braces adjusted... I dunno...

I will also need surgery before I get the braces as I have two adult teeth impacted in the roof of my mouth (one poking through- hate it, always nick my tongue on it) and they have to cut those out so my orthodontist can pull them into place with a chain- after ripping out my primary teeth that are in their spot currently.

Good luck- I'm sure you'll have a lovely smile when it's all done.

themosthappy91 · September 2015

I have been told by my dentist that I will maybe need jaw surgery in the next decade or so to correct my pretty extreme overbite (which was unable to be fixed with braces/rubber bands/metal wire bands/headgear when I was a teen). I've never been able to get a definitive answer so far on whether it's it is going to be medically necessary, or if it's something I would even be able to find a doctor to do it if it wasn't (i.e. if it's not medically necessary but I want it for more cosmetic reasons). Keep us updated on this process because I'm really interested in learning more!

wrigleyville · September 2015

I had braces a few years ago, from age 32-35, and I don't regret it. I'd always been really self-conscious about my smile, and the crowding affected my dental hygiene.

I wore them for about 2.5 years. It took a while to get used to them, about two weeks, but it got much easier as my teeth moved into position and the brackets stopped rubbing as much.

I hated the way food always got stuck under my wires, meaning I had to brush every time I ate something. I don't miss that part at all. I always felt like I had food stuck somewhere, even if I'd just brushed.

ElcaB · September 2015

Eek. I had braces at the end of HS and it was awful. My teeth have since moved around and I have one front tooth that's slightly lower than the other --- it's not horrible, but it really bothers me. Still though, I can't imagine spending the extra money for Invisalign and I'm not sure I can handle another round of braces.

I'm sorry you're in pain, and I'm sorry they make you feel a bit nightmarish. My BFF got braces at 30, and although she felt hideous and awkward about it, she is so happy now that they're off and she has straight teeth.

Remember the pain will result in a beautiful smile, and in the meantime, remember ice cream doesn't get stuck in braces ---- I say eat some.

peachy13 · September 2015

Sorry OP! My cousin (25) is going through exactly what it sounds like you're doing. He had his first jaw surgery a few weeks ago and has the expander in now. Braces to come in about a month or so, followed by an additional surgery I think.

As PPs have said, I'm sorry you have to deal with this now but keep in mind how wonderful it will be to have them off eventually. They will come off.

cj3561 · September 2015

Wow, I'm so appreciative of all the kind words and encouragement. I needed it. And I try not to consider myself a weak or needy person, but my god my brain was just spinning the past few days. I think mentally dealing with this all trumps the physical discomfort, although that sucks too but as @elcaB said .. icecream

And the end result of a pretty and most importantly FUNCTIONAL smile!

@themosthappy91 .. I will definitely keep you updated!

@thisismynickname - Oh man, the puzzle piece model is pretty terrifying! My surgeon showed me a model of a skull and where the "cuts" in the jaw would be, showed me the motion of sliding my lower jaw forward, where the nerves are in the jaw that go numb for a longggg time post surgery - I got so pale and hot in the face and felt like I was going to keel over. Thankfully he noticed and put the model away - it's like I wanted to know, but at the same time I didn't. Scary shit. So it's okay if I send you a post-surgery drug-induced rant when my head feels like a balloon ready to pop?! Just kidding

I also am looking on the bright side and thinking I have a full 4 weeks of being at home, so I can get a lot of wedding DIY stuff done that month!

wrigleyville · September 2015

Once you get the braces on and start getting sores where they rub, use this stuff. I promise it works really well. It tastes awful (like black licorice), and it's kind of thick, so you'll want to gag, but it totally works.

http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/g-u-m-rincinol-p.r.n.-mouth-sore-rinse/ID=prod849475-product

Also, wax is your best friend. I used a ton at first, and it really did help a lot.

Every so often, when your teeth move into new positions, you might need to use a bit here and there, but I promise it gets better after the first few weeks. It got to the point where I didn't even bother because I knew I'd get used to the newly-rubbed area after a few days.

It was easier to just deal with it than applying wax all the time. But, at first, you really will want that wax.

You'll learn that you can eat some of the forbidden foods, as long as you're careful. I never stopped eating popcorn. I just took a couple pieces at a time instead of a handful (so I didn't get surprised by a kernel). I also had to brush forever afterward because it gets stuck EVERYWHERE, but it was worth it.

Rice is a pain in the ass (gets stuck everywhere). Bread is a pain in the ass (it gets all gobbed-up in your front brackets). Most foods you have to bite into are a pain because your front brackets prevent you from using your entire tooth to bite into things. You either have to grip-and-pull or cut your food up, depending on what it is. I got the technique down after a couple months.

wrigleyville · September 2015

Also, the braces are the easy part. My mouth was just... ugh... after my extractions, and then the spacers were annoying, but the braces weren't bad at all.

Whenever you get an adjustment, you'll feel some pressure. For me, I felt like I had a mild sinus headache for a couple days. It wasn't anything that Tylenol couldn't handle. My teeth would be a bit tender, but it wasn't painful. I just had to remember not to chew hard foods for a day or two. I don't remember the pressure/tenderness lasting longer than 2-3 days, at most, and sometimes I didn't even feel that after an appointment and could eat regular food right away. It just depended on what she decided to do.

Granted, everyone is different, but that was my experience.

britneydel · September 2015

Just about a year about I finished my "journey" of braces and jaw surgery.

I had my braces for 2.5 years, and half way in between I had surgery to correct my overbite and cross-bite along with removing my 4 wisdom teeth.
The surgery was very tough and won't be pretty. I ended up swallowing a lot of blood during the surgery, so when I was recovering in the hospital I was vomiting blood for hours afterwards. I was in pretty bad pain for about 2 weeks straight, but then it started to get more bearable. My face also turned into a balloon. Eating was extremely hard- I lived off of foods like jello and pudding for the first week and lost about 12lbs from not being able to eat properly. But it does get better as time goes on. And to me it was fully worth it. I love my teeth and smile now, and the surgery was just a distance memory.

Adult braces? Anyone? Surgery prior to wedding?

Re: Adult braces? Anyone? Surgery prior to wedding?

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