1 Day Before My Double Jaw Surgery!
Posted by Vince on 9 August 2010 11:37 AM in Pre-Surgery Orthodontics | 16 Comments
Hello everyone!
This is my first post on my blog. My web site does not have a lot of content at the moment but I will be adding more content after my jaw surgery tomorrow.
I have been preparing for my surgery for over a year. I had braces done last May and I am finally ready to go under the knife to fix my misaligned upper and lower jaws once and for all!
What’s Wrong with My Jaws?
Here’s a Youtube video I created to summarise all the unbalanced facial features that were caused by my misaligned jaws.
1. Protruding lower jaw – The cause of my underbite (Class III malloclusion). The lower teeth are in front of the upper teeth, which is abnormal because a normal bite has the upper teeth in front of the lower teeth.
2. Underdeveloped upper jaw – The cause of my gummy smile and flat cheeks.
3. Titled lower jaw – The cause of my misplaced midline and asymmetry. My upper teeth and lower teeth do not meet at the centre line due to the angle of my lower jaw. My face looks slightly tilted to the right if you look hard enough.
I think I can be grateful that my jaw condition is not very severe. I have seen worse cases and I have no idea how they coped with their conditions. Nonetheless, I still want to correct my jaws because I believe I will be able to enjoy a better quality of life with a normal set of jaws.
Why Do I Want to Have a Double Jaw Surgery?
People always ask me why I want to have jaw surgery. Well, my answer is simple. I want to look and feel better with a normal set of jaws. As you can see from the number of problems I have due to my jaws, it makes sense to me to fix them because all of them combined aren’t making me feel very happy about myself when I know I can change that.
Apart from the aesthetic benefits of my jaw surgery, I also want to be able to close my mouth and breath though my nose without conscious effort. My parents used to scold me when I was younger to remind me to close my mouth but they didn’t know why I kept doing it! I tend to keep my mouth open because it feels more natural and easier on my jaws. I think I look pretty dumb with my mouth open most of the time but it takes a lot of effort and concentration to keep it closed.
16 Comments On “1 Day Before My Double Jaw Surgery!”
On 28th September 2010 5:41 PM,
Chris said:
I think I have the same problem as you sir, did you have twin block treatment before your braces went on?
On 30th September 2010 6:52 AM,
Vince said:
No I did not have twin block treatment before braces and I have no idea what that is to be honest with you.
On 18th January 2011 6:18 PM,
annonynmous said:
hi i have exactly d same problem witt u …
but so far i think im still collecting money to do d correcting surgery for i knew tat it is expensive for sure..
but how much is d exact cost actually?can u pls let me noe?
and about your double jaw surgery…how is it carried out actually?is it very painful or wat ?
i have been so upset with my appearance but i cant do much..
On 18th January 2011 11:49 PM,
Vince said:
I didn’t pay a cent for my double jaw surgery in Singapore because it was covered by my insurance, medical savings and a government subsidy.
I’m not sure if you can do the same at your location.
On 19th January 2011 8:49 PM,
annonynmous said:
o..at least i knew tat Singapore can do dis surgery ..:D
from d video u posted, u look like u r in pain..dat made me scare about it..haha.
how long u take for ur whole surgery i mean including the time u wear braces?
do the surgery actually restricted for particular age?
i thank you first for ur patience upon replying my questions
On 20th January 2011 11:34 AM,
Vince said:
Before Jaw Surgery: Braces for 1 year 2 months +
Jaw Surgery: Takes only a few hours to do!
After Jaw Surgery: Braces for 5 months + and counting
The time it takes for everyone is different depending on your jaw and teeth. Corrective jaw surgery is usually done on adults although some teenagers do it too but it is not common.
On 25th January 2011 8:30 PM,
annonynmous said:
ha, iccc…thank you very much! and wish u recover faster
On 5th March 2011 12:31 PM,
Katie said:
Wow I saw the photos after the surgery what a difference, I only got my braces put on in December last year but my orthadontist wants me to have surgery on my bottome jaw to bring it forward because i have a big over bite and he said that if he pushed my top teeth back that it would stuff up my profile. I have kind of decided not to get the surgery done because i am absoloutly petrified and I will just be happy to have streaight teeth i dont realy care if i still have a bit of an over bite apparently its natural. But he said i may not have to have it done he is going to see as time goes by I will be getting the braces off in december this year to maybe feb next year he said 12 to 14 months and then the operation.
On 7th March 2011 10:36 AM,
Vince said:
I hope you don’t have to undergo surgery because that would be easier.
Assuming that you need surgery, I would definitely recommend it because it isn’t a big deal if you don’t make it one.
On 7th March 2011 5:16 PM,
Katie said:
I hope I dont need it either,
but it is costing me $5,950 for the braces alone and then I will have to pay more after that and if your saying that you had to have braces after the operation again I would probobly have to pay for that as well. I cant afford all of that I can pay for the braces to start with but thats it I cant believe how much my teeth and bite have changed already though and I hate the thought of having them off then having to have them again for another 5 months or more that would suck so much.
Do you think I will have to tell my orthadontist that I have decided not to have the operation on my next visit? because he said the braces to start with where to get my teeth in line for the operation.
Well thank you for your opinion and for you putting you experience up here to help people like me make a decicion for themselves. Its one thing for your orthadontist to tell you how much it will change your profile and apperence but to acctually see photo’s of how much of a difference it made for you that was good to see so thank you I am still making up my mind now I keep on changing my mind my parents are very against it so I think thats what is making me hesetant to get it done.
On 7th March 2011 8:12 PM,
Vince said:
You should only pay one fee for your orthodontic treatment. If your orthodontist quoted you $5950, I believe it is for braces before, during and after jaw surgery.
Try consulting a government hospital to see if you can get the jaw surgery subsidised. I also had insurance where I could claim part of the expenses from.
On 8th March 2011 11:55 AM,
katie said:
Oh ok then I will try that.
On 1st July 2011 6:54 PM,
Sam said:
By the way, is there any chance you remember your insurance scheme or which company did you claim from?
What did you have to tell them?
I’m planning to do a bi jaw in a few months but i’m hoping to claim from SAF, but i’m just afraid i won’t be able to claim from them if my doctor writes in a way that does not prove the surgery’s necessary.
Oh and i’m doing it at NUH.
On 5th July 2011 9:11 AM,
Vince said:
Try NTUC Incomeshield.
On 18th August 2011 6:21 PM,
desmond said:
hi Vince, not sure if you’re still around on this site and pardon me for the long post. i heard from your video above that you mentioned flat cheeks. What does that mean? I myself will be doing double jaw surgery in 1 and half years time at ndc. I notice my midface (left and right of my nose) is very flat especially when viewed from the side. Something similar to your photo above of the left and right profile where the midface looks sunken in. Does the flat cheek refer to this? Will double jaw surgery correct this or am i asking too much out of this surgery? Thanks
On 23rd August 2011 4:30 AM,
Vince said:
Yes, your double jaw surgery will fix it. It is quite an amazing surgery.
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