Trying to fix underbite without surgery

[Alima24]

Hello all,
So I got my braces installed on 3/13/17. I am in pain and somewhat wondering if I made the right decision but I am happy to have at least started something.
I am 34 and for the past 20 years or so I have hated my underbite and wanted to do something about it. I couldn't afford doing anything to fix it for most of those years.
As soon as I started working though, I consulted an ortho who told me I would need jaw surgery but he could start me on braces first (the first time I heard of the necessity of surgery I ran away thinking it is NOT THAT SERIOUS, why on earth would I go through all that trouble and 6 months to recover just for teeth...). Anyways, I decided against braces then because I saw myself getting married within 2 years and did not want braces on my wedding pictures... Hahahah, the reasons we sometimes come up with!
5 years later, I consulted another ortho who told me there was a small chance (5%) braces would fix my problem but if it didnt work, the teeth movement would have to be undone and then jaw surgery... I almost signed the contract, but my husband was like: WHATTTT???? NO WAY! WHAT SORT OF CONTRACT IS THAT!!!!
Fast forward to 2017, my new ortho tells me he can fix my problem with 3 years braces and no surgery. I signed and now here I am, in pain, can barely eat anything, can't talk right... Please tell me it will be worth it. Anybody here got their underbite corrected with just braces?
I should mention I even considered paying $34,000 for veneers but changed my mind after I realized those are more like acrylic nails. Your nails underneath have to get ruined to allow attachment and they need constant maintenance. At least your nails can grow back, there is no turning back with your teeth.

[Rebeccasmells]

Aghhhh americas why can't you change your date system so it's in line with the rest of the world.

Yes the pain will get better. Take pain relief or clove oil.

Getting married is an ok excuse, except you would wait an extra year and have a perfect smile in braces

Not sure why you trusted the ortho the second time? Did you just have these two consults?

[Alima24]

[quote="Rebeccasmells"]Aghhhh americas why can't you change your date system so it's in line with the rest of the world.

Yes the pain will get better. Take pain relief or clove oil.

Getting married is an ok excuse, except you would wait an extra year and have a perfect smile in braces

Not sure why you trusted the ortho the second time? Did you just have these two consults?[/quote]

Altogether, I think I had a total of 5 separate ortho consults spanning over 20 years. The last one (who installed my braces) is the only one who said with confidence that he could fix my underbite without jaw surgery... This makes me wonder if he is just that good an ortho or he just wanted my money! Well I guess I will find out right.

[Rebeccasmells]

Aghhhh americas why can't you change your date system so it's in line with the rest of the world.

Yes the pain will get better. Take pain relief or clove oil.

Getting married is an ok excuse, except you would wait an extra year and have a perfect smile in braces

Not sure why you trusted the ortho the second time? Did you just have these two consults?

Altogether, I think I had a total of 5 separate ortho consults spanning over 20 years. The last one (who installed my braces) is the only one who said with confidence that he could fix my underbite without jaw surgery... This makes me wonder if he is just that good an ortho or he just wanted my money! Well I guess I will find out right.

Your mouth and their techniques may have changed.

I would say a lot of ortho don't want relapse etc.

My jaw operation wasn't bad and I understand America it's the insurance based system so perhaps won't be great.

[Alima24]

How long did it take you to fully recover from your jaw surgery and how old were you?

[Rebeccasmells]

What's your definition of recover? It was not a painful process and I wasn't tired. No biggie to me. I've had hangovers that were more painful.

[FlyByNight]

You'll notice that you won't be able to eat solid foods for up to a week after every ortho appointment. An underbite will take a while to correct with braces, but in my opinion, it's completely worth it. You'll have a beautiful smile in the end.

[Alima24]

[quote="FlyByNight"]You'll notice that you won't be able to eat solid foods for up to a week after every ortho appointment. An underbite will take a while to correct with braces, but in my opinion, it's completely worth it. You'll have a beautiful smile in the end.[/quote]

Thank you so much. That's very comforting to hear!

[Dub100za]

Hi Alima24, I just read your story. I also have an underbite. As a child I went to the ortho who said I needed to get jaw surgery and that scared my mom off enough so I never got braces and had to live with crooked teeth up till now. Realising I needed to correct my bite as some fron teeth were biting on each other went to an ortho who also said I would need to get jaw surgery for my underbite. He advised that my top jaw would need to be moved forward.

Anyway consulted other orthos and two told me they could correct my underbite with just braces, but I had to get 2 bottom pre-molars removed first to create space for the bottom teeth and pull it back a bit. Extractions were done and I got my braces at the end of January. My ortho seems very confident that he would be able to correct it with just braces, apparently he has done it many times before and I will just have to trust him with it.

I did a lot of personal research on this subject before I made my decision. To make a long story short, from what I could gather was that if you have severe underbite your only option would be to got for orthogantic surgery, but if your underbite is mild it may be possible to correct with just braces.

I certainly think you made the right decision and definitely you are correct not to have gone for the veneers option.