Metal Mouth Message Board

I had a Lefort I and BSSO no genio. My jaw was heavily banded (no movement whatsoever) for over 7 weeks - I did not have a splint though except for when I was on the operating table. I purchased a nice used recliner on craigslist and slept in it for about 2.5 months or more, just my personal prefere...

While I did not use him because of insurance reasons (my surgery ended up being done pro-bono by another surgeon), my ortho heartily recommended Dr. Kallal. I also felt very good about him and again he would have done my surgery had I not had the other snafu. I will say that I also met with Dr. Zage...

I have dark circles under my eyes but so does every one else in my family (and they do not have recessed chins). It's just a result of a genetic predisposition to thin skin there and deep set eyes with high cheekbones. I had my surgery in November and have noticed no difference in the appearance of ...

I was also on unemployment during my surgery and I continued to look for work and certify regularly with no interruptions. I actually preferred this method because unemployment is compensation that we as workers "put money into" by having it taken out of our checks automatically so I personally felt...

I've always looked young for my age but since my surgery I keep hearing from people that don't know me that assume I'm about 17 and I'm 32. In general it will help you look younger because balance and symmetry will just seem more attractive anyway, but especially for folks that have overbites like I...

It was specifically excluded from my plan EXCEPT for the following: The jaw deformity had to have been diagnosed 31 days after being born (SERIOUSLY !?) or it had to have been an accidential injury for them to cover it. HOW ANNOYING. This is a common exclusion from policies because it brings down t...

I had a great deal of difficulty at first as well and I was only consuming a few hundred calories a day. The zip n squeezes helped tremendously over the syringe, but really the best advice I can give is to try to find a little open space in the back of your jaw on either the right or left side (ther...

I'm just over six months post op and the numbness still isn't fully gone...but each week I feel a little more. Every one is different and heals at a different rate, so no one can say when you'll be doing better but you'll probably notice improvement all the time. Just yesterday I had a braces adjust...

The taste of the liquid medicine was definitely one of the worst parts of my recovery...but like myself, some people didn't have the option of pills because you can't open your mouth at all due to wiring or heavy banding. But you psych yourself up for it, tell yourself that it won't be so bad and th...

This was actually one of the most memorable parts of my surgery (besides the liquid diet, swelling, numbness, etc). The doctor that took mine out wasn't my regular surgeon, but the chief resident who had assisted in my surgery. So he was experienced at removing the wires (that was obvious) but he wa...

My daughter was 13 (so definitely not young!) but I tried to prepare her as best as I could before she saw me post surgery. Even then she still cried when she came into my hospital room the day after. I think the adjustment to my looks has been hardest on her than anyone else for sure...she's only j...

The numbness usually doesn't affect the movement much at all. As I understand it, there are basically two types of nerves, one for sensation and one for movement and the ones that get a bit beat up are the sensation ones. So you can have full functionality and not feel a thing. There may be a loss o...

Just in the past couple of days (of course since I made this thread) I've noticed increased sensation and mobility in my upper lip which I think is definitely making my smile look more natural as my upper face raises more naturally and wider so it appears warmer. I think there's still room for impro...

I don't think hair matters, but I do know that no make up or polish (even clear according to some) is allowed. I get my nails and a pedicure done every two weeks so I planned according so I didn't feel like I wasted my money.

I have many screws and plates from my surgery but my doctor still felt that I needed to be firmly shut so I was heavily banded (he used the term wired although it was achieved with an enormous amount of rubber bands because he was able to move them each week to adjust the placement of my jaws during...