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[Guest guest]

Hi everyone -

About ten months ago I went through the BSSO procedure. My braces

were removed three months later. All of my TMJD symptoms disappeared

after the surgery, but they started to come back after the braces

were removed and I started wearing retainers at night. My bite was

much improved, but not perfect - for the most part, my molars still

don't mesh together very well. The ortho tells me that they'll

eventually " float " up into alignment with the rest of my teeth. I

clench my teeth at night and had to have two different kinds of

retainers made before I could find retainers that didn't seriously

aggravate my TMJ. I currently wear a True-Tain retainer on my upper

front six teeth and an old-style wrap around retainer on my lower

teeth.

With the history out of the way, here's the current problem: in the

past couple of weeks I've noticed that my lower jaw has slid back a

couple of millimeters and it's also rotated to the side about one

millimeter. It doesn't sound like much, but the perfect alignment of

my jaws that I had after surgery is gone and my bite is almost as bad

as it was before I got the braces. One of the first treatments I

tried for TMJD was to wear an appliance that kept the joint from

closing fully in an effort to " de-program " it and release the stress

in the joint. It reduced the pain, but it significantly changed by

bite by allowing my lower jaw to " slide " backwards. I'm wondering

now if the retainers, which also keep the joint from closing fully,

have somehow screwed up my jaw.

I've made an appointment with my surgeon to talk to him about it, but

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with something like

this. Anyone who's undergone orthognathic surgery and braces knows

what a long process it is, and I'm barely fighting off

discouragement. I started treatment for TMJD seven years ago, and

saw seven or eight different orthodontists, dentists, and surgeons

before finally hitting on the solution that made the most sense - the

surgery. It seemed like everything was finally fixed for the most

part, but now I feel like I'm back to square one.

Any thoughts, information, and/or encouragement sent my way would be

much appreciated.

Vicki

[Guest guest]

Hi -

Thanks for replying and for sending some encouragement my way. I'll

be talking with my surgeon on Wednesday and hopefully he'll be able

to figure out what's going on. I have some arthritis in the joint,

but no deterioration or anything like what you've experienced. Prior

to surgery, I had an 8mm overbite and my midlines were off by a

couple millimeters. Overall the surgery and the braces greatly

improved my profile and my smile, and I'm grateful for that. My

ultimate goal, of course, is to be pain-free. I'm sure you

understand, it's very frustrating to go through so many procedures

over the years and still be in pain.

I'm just speculating about the retainers causing the shift - it seems

to me that if retainers could have that effect on your jaw that more

people who have had braces would have problems with jaw alignment.

But at the same time, if a bite splint can change your bite, I would

think retainers that cover the chewing surface of your teeth could,

too.

Hopefully I'll hear good news from the surgeon on Wednesday. He's an

excellent doctor and my orthodontist is really good, too.

Thanks again for your input!

Vicki

> > Hi everyone -

> >

> > About ten months ago I went through the BSSO procedure. My

braces

> > were removed three months later. All of my TMJD symptoms

> disappeared

> > after the surgery, but they started to come back after the braces

> > were removed and I started wearing retainers at night. My bite

> was

> > much improved, but not perfect - for the most part, my molars

> still

> > don't mesh together very well. The ortho tells me that they'll

> > eventually " float " up into alignment with the rest of my teeth.

I

> > clench my teeth at night and had to have two different kinds of

> > retainers made before I could find retainers that didn't

seriously

> > aggravate my TMJ. I currently wear a True-Tain retainer on my

> upper

> > front six teeth and an old-style wrap around retainer on my lower

> > teeth.

> >

> > With the history out of the way, here's the current problem: in

> the

> > past couple of weeks I've noticed that my lower jaw has slid back

> a

> > couple of millimeters and it's also rotated to the side about one

> > millimeter. It doesn't sound like much, but the perfect

alignment

> of

> > my jaws that I had after surgery is gone and my bite is almost as

> bad

> > as it was before I got the braces. One of the first treatments I

> > tried for TMJD was to wear an appliance that kept the joint from

> > closing fully in an effort to " de-program " it and release the

> stress

> > in the joint. It reduced the pain, but it significantly changed

> by

> > bite by allowing my lower jaw to " slide " backwards. I'm

wondering

> > now if the retainers, which also keep the joint from closing

> fully,

> > have somehow screwed up my jaw.

> >

> > I've made an appointment with my surgeon to talk to him about it,

> but

> > I was wondering if anyone has had experience with something like

> > this. Anyone who's undergone orthognathic surgery and braces

> knows

> > what a long process it is, and I'm barely fighting off

> > discouragement. I started treatment for TMJD seven years ago,

and

> > saw seven or eight different orthodontists, dentists, and

surgeons

> > before finally hitting on the solution that made the most sense -

> the

> > surgery. It seemed like everything was finally fixed for the

most

> > part, but now I feel like I'm back to square one.

> >

> > Any thoughts, information, and/or encouragement sent my way would

> be

> > much appreciated.

> >

> > Vicki