Metal Mouth Message Board

I was told i needed surgery for my openbite/overjet so they could bring my lower jaw forward. Ortho said it was up to me & that surgery would give me the best result.. im 24 and I opted to NOT have the surgery and try and fix everything with braces. I've had them on since feb. 11th, 2011 (so about 4 1/2 months) and ive had the elastics on for about 2 1/2ish.. my openbite is about 95% closed so far!!!! & my overjet is at about 80%!!! Doc mensioned relapse being a HIGH possibility in the beginning - how bad of a replapse do you think i will get after im debanded next february???

I dont know if anyone can answer your question, time will tell. Maybe look on the brite side and it might not relapse atall. I have a severe open bite and had no option but to have surgery, i wasnt warned about relapse he told me that the way they are doing it will give me the best outcome and will stabilise it all as much as possible.

[quote="Emmauk"]I dont know if anyone can answer your question, time will tell. Maybe look on the brite side and it might not relapse atall. I have a severe open bite and had no option but to have surgery, i wasnt warned about relapse he told me that the way they are doing it will give me the best outcome and will stabilise it all as much as possible.[/quote]

I understand, I guess my big question is.. do relapses usually get as bad as the way they were BEFORE the treatment?

Relapse of open bites with traditional orthodontics is one of the most common types of relapse. The reason is because most open bites are closed by extruding the anterior teeth. Unfortunately, there is no retainer that will then help hold these teeth in their newly erupted positions. If there are other factors like a tongue habit, the relapse can be 100%.

The post from the Dr. here said relapse with a tongue issue is 100%. My open bite relapsed within a month after debanding. My ortho should have warned me and I could have saved thousands of dollars. I am pissed.

38Illinois wrote:The post from the Dr. here said relapse with a tongue issue is 100%. My open bite relapsed within a month after debanding. My ortho should have warned me and I could have saved thousands of dollars. I am pissed.

I am not a specialist in orthodontic relapses, but... In my opinion, relapse should not happen after just one month. I think you have a right to continue the treatment free of charge. I'd think, something was done wrong in that treatment that caused such a fast relapse...

Well, look at it this way... relapse of surgery when done to bring the jaw forward is also pretty common (if not inevitable), albeit not as common as when all corrections are done orthodontically.

sirwired wrote:Well, look at it this way... relapse of surgery when done to bring the jaw forward is also pretty common (if not inevitable), albeit not as common as when all corrections are done orthodontically.

Relapse of SURGERY? I do understand teeth shifting back, but I thought they insert the titanium plates into the jaw, how can that relapse?

I don't know... but I've seen the tables. (I found an online copy of a fairly recent orthodontics textbook...)

Slight correction: When I said "pretty common", I didn't mean a majority of them failed; I meant that it's not an unheard-of problem.

From the first Google source I found:
"In general, mandibular advancement appears to be stable, if rigid internal fixation is used (Van Sickels & Richardson 1996, Dolce et al. 2000, 2002) (note by SirWired: "rigid internal fixation" refers to the titanium tie plates) and if anterior facial height is maintained or increased (Proffit et al. 1996). Several factors may affect relapse in mandibular advancements: the surgeon´s skills; proximal segment control, including condylar positioning and prevention of proximal segment rotation; prevention of counterclockwise rotation of the distal segment in cases with a high mandibular plane angle; the degree of mandibular advancement; and stretching of the perimandibular tissues, including skin, connective tissues, muscles and periosteum. (Will et al. 1984, Smith et al. 1985, Phillips et al. 1989, Moenning et al. 1990)."

sirwired
wow, this never appeared to me that orthognatic surgery patients can relapse... If I was to relapse after surgery, that would REALLY piss me off

What about relapse of an open bite by intruding the back teeth? Is the relapse kept at bay by normal biting forces?