Advice pls-Cammie and everyone!

[Guest guest]

Hi guys, well here is my dilemma.. I am SOOO hopeful that when i see

my ortho next week hell say that my teeth already fit nicely and i

can go surgery in august. He already had one look and said they

looked good but of cousre needed molds to be sure. So i have molds

and am going to see him next week.. Fingers crossed for me everyone!

Well my other prob is that lik ei said my surgeon seems to keep

suggesting that he just moves myupper out a few mms. i have a 1mm

underbite, not bad at all, however causes much jaw pain and of course

i wnat a normal bite and profile. I can see it in pics, and tell

myself that it is the lower jaw that is the problem. I mean i really

think setting my lower back a few mm's would be idea and my ortho who

is very expereinced in doing thsees also suggested lower and upper.

But the final call is up to the surgeon. I want to tell the surgeon i

want lower done, but i dont want to sound unknowledgable or like im

trying to tell him what to do, i just can see my prof and i know my

upper is perfectly develepted and the lower is slightly over

developed. Well can someone give me some advice or things to bring up

that would show im knowledgable or what do i do? do u think if i told

him he would listen? He is pusing upper i think cause it doesnt

involved as much breakage of jaw bone and is less intense.. requing

only a outpatient etc.. I dont think at all htes thinking that for

his sake but for mine, but i will only have one shot at this surgery

and i want to get the optimim result.. ok thanks alot! Cammie you

are the womam! for knowledge and all others. i dont know u too well

but i am getting to and appreciate your feedback. Hope all is

enjoying hte long weeekend! I start school next week.. TWO more

classes to go in for one month of summer and im GRADUATED!!! yay!!!!

and HOPEFULLY off to med school in a year! im soooo siked but i want

this surgery DONE with!!!!!! ahhhhh ok take care mike

[Guest guest]

why don't you get a second opinion?

> Hi guys, well here is my dilemma.. I am SOOO hopeful that when i

see

> my ortho next week hell say that my teeth already fit nicely and i

> can go surgery in august. He already had one look and said they

> looked good but of cousre needed molds to be sure. So i have molds

> and am going to see him next week.. Fingers crossed for me

everyone!

> Well my other prob is that lik ei said my surgeon seems to keep

> suggesting that he just moves myupper out a few mms. i have a 1mm

> underbite, not bad at all, however causes much jaw pain and of

course

> i wnat a normal bite and profile. I can see it in pics, and tell

> myself that it is the lower jaw that is the problem. I mean i

really

> think setting my lower back a few mm's would be idea and my ortho

who

> is very expereinced in doing thsees also suggested lower and upper.

> But the final call is up to the surgeon. I want to tell the surgeon

i

> want lower done, but i dont want to sound unknowledgable or like im

> trying to tell him what to do, i just can see my prof and i know my

> upper is perfectly develepted and the lower is slightly over

> developed. Well can someone give me some advice or things to bring

up

> that would show im knowledgable or what do i do? do u think if i

told

> him he would listen? He is pusing upper i think cause it doesnt

> involved as much breakage of jaw bone and is less intense.. requing

> only a outpatient etc.. I dont think at all htes thinking that

for

> his sake but for mine, but i will only have one shot at this

surgery

> and i want to get the optimim result.. ok thanks alot! Cammie you

> are the womam! for knowledge and all others. i dont know u too well

> but i am getting to and appreciate your feedback. Hope all is

> enjoying hte long weeekend! I start school next week.. TWO more

> classes to go in for one month of summer and im GRADUATED!!!

yay!!!!

> and HOPEFULLY off to med school in a year! im soooo siked but i

want

> this surgery DONE with!!!!!! ahhhhh ok take care mike

[Guest guest]

Hi, the reason is that i know a bunch of people in the surgical

community and this guy is very very well respected and i know he does

great work. .he is the guy to go to in phoenix for

maxofacial/reconstrutive surgery. So i respect him and want him as my

surgeon. Also my ortho seems to work well with him etc. I mean maybe

he knwos best and honestly he hanst done drawings or told me exactly

yet just has thrown out the idea. I am hoping after a closer study

hell realize it is the lower! I have been to 2 apointmetns. First

with just him for a short time and than with him and the ortho and

rest of team, in which the ortho took the closest look. So im

assuming after a detailed look hell konw what to do. IT is a matter

of seeing if my teeth fit correctly before moving on to the next

step. But still i want to make sure he does lower! ys. i guess if he

refuses ill have to look for someone else. But i have learned that

you like to go to someone who u konw good things abouat from MANY

people. I dont want a crooked face or a bad results.. nerve damage

etc. This guy is top notch.. ok thanks mike

[Guest guest]

Hi welldressed,

I'm not Cammie but will try to answer your questions ;-)

Are you really sure you only have a 1 mm underbite? I just ask

because I had heard the minimum for this surgery was 2 or 3 mm... I

may be wrong anyway.

If you think its your lower the one that needs to be fixed just tell

your surgeon and explain how you feel about it. If you have really

only a 1mm underbite I don't think it will medically matter moving

one or other.

You said you thought your surgeon told you he was going to move the

upper because it is less complicated. As long as I know, upper is

technically easier and safer, but the recovery is more

uncomfortable. Lower is more complicated and there's a greater

chance of permanent nerve damage but the recovery is easier. So

maybe this is why your surgeon suggests upper only.

In either case I think a 1mm movement would be hardly noticeable...

have you considered that maybe your lower is perfectly right, but

you think it's overdeveloped because of the chin? Sometimes the

lower you seems overdeveloped even if you have a perfect bite

because of an overdeveloped chin. I would talk with your surgeon

about the possibility of doing a genioplasty in that case.

Hope this helps and take care!

*Laen*

[Guest guest]

Mike,

My doctor also wants to do only lower jaw surgery on me. He says

that in severe TMJ cases with pain it is a much more delicate and

risky procedure to " mess around " with the bottom. I know that there

are other opinions on this but I trust my surgeon implicitly and I'm

glad that he's taking the cautious, conservative approach.

Cheryl

[Guest guest]

Hey, Mike! Blow in my ear, and I'll follow you anywhere! Of course,

the question is, do you really want a 56-year-old woman with a

retrognathic jaw following you everywhere? I doubt it.

ok. I'll subside into my former role in your life.

I think what you do really want to do is to tell the doc what to do.

I think most surgeons are consistutionally opposed to hearing such

things from patients, no matter how well-informed the patients may

be. (Remember that when you are one!)

But I think if you said, " I've read about these procedures, and I had

figured that you'd suggest advancing my lower jaw, rather than going

at it from the top one. Could you explain to me why the approach of

bringing out the upper would be better? "

I think you might at least find out why this doc wants to do it this

way. And best I remember, you think this doc is the best, and you

specifically want him. So you'll probably have to let him have at you

in the way he thinks best, or find someone else. (And really, you

would not want your surgeon to agree to perform a surgery he thinks

is second-best for you, would you? I don't. As much as I yearn to

hear that my guy " only " wants to do the lower, I believe he knows

which way will work best for me, and will take his advice.

I think your other option is to listen to all he says, and then ask

someone else for a second opinion.

Tell both of 'em what you've told us. That you'd had your heart set

on the lower only, but that you do indeed want the best outcome the

first time, and that you know they know what they're doing, but you'd

like to understand the whys of it.

And as a last shot, tell 'em you wanna be a doc, wanna be pre-med,

and are really interested in the procedures and how they make their

choices.

Good luck. But remember -- you don't necessarily want what YOU want.

You want what your experts tell you will work best. Really.

Cammie

[Guest guest]

So given that you believe he's sooo good, which I'm sure he is, Mike,

plan to take HIS advice, rather than insisting on what you think you

want!

Geez. You're a headstrong young-un, aren't you? You don't really

believe that you know more about this stuff than does the best

maxillofacial surgeon in Phoenix, do you?

At least keep an open mind and be ready to accept, or listen openly,

to what he suggests.

Cammie

You remind me of my best beloved, who will ask me how to do something

he has no clue about, and then when I try to tell him, he starts

reeling off reasons why it must be done another way! Fine. Go do it

your way. But then don't ask me!!

You reckon it comes on the male chromosome?

C.

P.S.: The school I told you about is having tuition hikes this year.

From what the paper sez, graduate, out of state, goes up from $254

per credit hour to $270. Of course, med school may be something else

again. I know not. Also dunno whether that's bad or good.

best.

Cammie

[Guest guest]

Gotta love you cammie! always speaks your mind! haha and thanks all

who have responded. Well about tuition first.. heck im gona be sooo

deep in loans, a few more thousdand i wont even notice! haha ANd yes

i have addded that school to my application list! so thanks much!!

Well he is good my surgeon but u konw how it is, me head strong! ha,

i dont konw jsut a feeling.. i cant describe it that it ismy lower

jaw. And YES to the person, im sure it is a 1mm! haha my ortho

measured it less than a month ago. Doesnt mean it doesnt throw my

profile off and gives me one HECK of a jaw snapping and clicking that

is giving me a ton of pain and wearing down my jaw joing according to

my doc. Well i know, i defend m ychoice of surgeon yet i ask for

advice on how to tell him what to do.. im sure u all understand, it

is MY face here u know! and i know the surg. are soo busy now adays

im just hoping he dindt overlook somethin getc. I will defintly tell

him but i want all theinfo i can to take in to him! Cammie you are

the coolest and i hope ur comign along well.. man i HOPE i can do

this surgery in augtust and dont need braces before hand. .that would

save a ton of money and speed up everything! oh well we all hope! ok

back to my M. day bbq.. here i am all this company yet i sneak away

to type on the orgo board! haha bye mike

[Guest guest]

Hi Cammie,

I totally agree with you Cammie. I was tempted to answer something

similar to what you did, but finally the diplomat in me took control

and I just tried to suggest other posibilities (genio).

Very well put anyway.

*Laen*

P.S.: I don't it comes with the male chromosome... my mother does

the very same thing to me. She can't tell a microwave from a pc and

is the one who is always telling me how to do something with my

computer ;-)

[Guest guest]

we;;. hey. So it isn't much of a mind; it's all i have, so why not

let it talk? You did ask, you know...

I do know how it is. You want what you want, and only what you want.

But things seldom work out that way. When they do, rejoice, open a

bottle of Dom P. and celebrate!

Hey, I'm impatient myself, especially with " he is good, but I just

have a feeling.... " Nope. no points here. feelings don't count. You

gotta be able to figure all the angles, which you can't, and which it

took my fine ortho a decade to learn how to do.

Well, I don't exactly mean that. Of course feelings do count, as in

you shouldn't be made to feel ignorant because you ask questions; ask

away. But face it; you're asking for his experience, skills and

expertise. He knows things you don't. So don't refuse his suggestions

because you " just have a feeling. "

I hope you're coming along well, too. And hey -- I want some of that

barbecue. Off the ribs, please! As in pulled pork. With lots of nice

sloppy sauce that can require yet another bath today.

I am scared s---less. I am going crazy not knowing whether we're

looking at one or two. But my guys are great, and I for one, am gonna

listen to what they tell me. Hint. Hint. Hint. Some folks could learn

to do likewise, at least until they have more than " just a feeling "

to go on. And if this fellow is as good as you say, he's not too busy

to have studied what's going on in your mouth and face before he

makes a recommendation.

Stay informed. Keep asking questions. Get your answers, and then

decide rationally.

Best. The salivating Miz c.