Newbie from New Orleans

[Guest guest]

Hi ya'll,

Being new to the group, please allow me to introduce myself. My name

is Dale and I live in New Orleans. At 51 years " young " , I suspect I

maybe be the oldster in the group of future surgeries. I have been

reading your many posts for sometime now in preparation for my

yet-to-be scheduled upper and lower jaw surgery. I have found the

info and personal accounts very helpful in putting aspects of the

surgery in perspective. I am very appreciative for the education I'm

receiving from both support sites. Thank you all.

The short and sweet of it is that I learned over twenty years ago

that I needed surgery to correct my underbite. I decided not to have

the surgery. Years went by. In March of 1997, I changed dentist.

Upon completing her examination of my teeth after the cleaning, with

concern in her voice, my dentist asked me if I had ever considered

surgery to correct my bite. I explained to her that I knew I was a

candidate for surgery, but I had just decided to leave things as they

were. I was told I really should at least consider it in order to

avoid future problems. As it were, certain teeth were beginning to

be worn down because of misalignment. The conversation really got me

to thinking. I decided to check out my options. My dentist

recommended an orthodontist. She told me that she could straighten

my teeth but that would not fix my bite. Long story short, I wore

braces from August of 1997 to January of 1999. My teeth were

straight and I figured I could live with my bite. No one even knew I

had a problem with my bite unless I told them. I wore my retainers

religiously and kept my appointments. Around this time last year, I

noticed that I was starting to bite the inside of my cheeks and my

tongue more often than usual. I knew it was because of my bite and I

discussed my concerns with my dentist and my orthodontist. An oral

surgeon was recommended. In June of 2003, after molds, x-rays,

drawings, etal, he concluded that I needed surgery on both upper and

lower jaws. Knowing that future problems, due to my underbite, would

only get worse with time, age withstanding, I decided I would have

the surgery. My dentist and orthodontist are very supportive. They

have nothing but good things to say about my oral surgeon and I am

very happy with him and trust him. By August of 2003, I was back in

braces. Only thing is, I thought I would have had the surgery by

now, but as many of you know, " tweaking " is a slow and patience

building process. I did get some glimmer of the future today. My OD

told me that she may be ready to make molds at my next appointment to

see how things line up and if I'm good to go to the OS for his take

on things. With apologies for being longwinded, I once again want to

thank you all for your writings. As for me, I will be checking in

from time to time. Best wishes to all post and pre ops.

Dale

PS: One more thing. I have friends that are supportive of my

decision to have the surgery, but I also have some friends that do

not understand why I am having the surgery. I am asked why I would

want to put myself through it. This does not bother me. I know why

and that's all that counts. One more thing . . . for the guys out

there that are post ops . . . I have a question. How goes the

shaving? I'm not one for growing a beard and was wondering if there

were any suggestions regarding shaving post op. Thanks!!!!! HAPPY

VALENTINE'S DAY!!! HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!! and GEAUX TIGERS!!!