So I had a consult...but kinda scared

[adult braces]

2nd opinion. They did xrays in the office and all that jazz. Liked the 2nd guy way better.

I should mention that I have had more ortho work than anyone I know. i mean it. I had braces as a teen as well as jaw surgery. I didn't wear my retainer as much as I should have, and after a while it didn't fit. By then my ortho had retired. Fast forward until now. I'm 28 and I feel my teeth have shifted a ton. I have a really small/narrow mouth and my teeth are crowded.

Anyway at the consult the ortho gets all concerned about this bone loss in my jaw I am suffering from! He says it can either stay the same or get worse but he warned me that I might need jaw surgery again!! AGAIN! WTF? Who has that happen to them?!? Oh me, with bad teeth. He was super hesitant in even bringing it up. Kinda worries me?

For the time being, I signed up for Invisalign treatment, he said that it is a good "compromise." He went on a bit about how he can't see into the future and but he said it was his duty to warn me about the jaw bone loss, which was more than he would expect a 28 year old to have. Every ortho/dentist has said okay, fix relapse and get a good nightguard to stop grinding.

I am kinda confused because 1. I have had loads of xrays done with dentists and periodontists and they never mentioned any bone loss and 2. AHHH who gets jaw surgery twice?

At this point I am pleased with getting my teeth corrected and that I do not have to ask my parents for money. I never would because it's totally my fault on the relapse front. I will be broke for a few months but it's worth it. I will also go see an oral surgeon for a consult about the bone loss, but I honestly cannot fathom jaw surgery again. At the same time I was up all night worrying about what happens 20 years down the road and my teeth all fall out and I die of some weird bone loss disease or something. The bone loss xray just reminded me of my impending death at some point. Omg. I should have told them I have anxiety......

Has anyone heard of someone having jaw surgery twice? And bone loss?!

On the bright side he said I was doing a great job at cleaning my teeth. And they will be straight!

[jaime]

Sorry to hear that your treatment is giving you stress. I know how it feels to go into a consult expecting one thing and then get a way worse answer.

There are a handful of people on this board who had jaw surgery twice but to my knowledge, they were fairly close together because the first one didn't work as it should have. I haven't heard of anyone needing a second jaw surgery again years later but maybe someone else here has...

As for bone loss, I'm not quite sure what you mean. Where is the loss occurring? I have severely ground down molars from having an anterior open bite as well as a grinding problem and I've been told it's pretty bad for my age as well (28). My ortho and surgeon haven't seem too concerned about it though, and my surgeon thinks everything will fit together nicely after surgery. Do they want you to get a bite guard now or after treatment?

[adult braces]

Thanks for your response!

I am glad to meet another 28 year old with braces :)

Yeah, apparently where my jaw hinges, it's like...all warn down. I dunno, its hard to describe. The nightguard was suggestion if I didn't get braces by a dentist I had in my hometown like 2 years ago, but he strongly recommended braces so I could clean my teeth better and stop grinding as much. Current dentist agreed--seemed to think issue of teeth grinding was bad and braces would help. Same with periodontist, haha. This current ortho didn't really bring up nightguard but I assumed it would be part of my retainer as that seemed to be the consensus of the other docs.

I swear, I must have the teeth of a 90 year old :/