So what does preparation for surgery entail?
-Part 1 Braces Treatment-
Mainly it comprises of moving your teeth into alignment so that they match up nicely AFTER surgery.
This means that while you are wearing braces before the surgery, your bite is actually going to become far worse than it was as the teeth get straightened out into their proper positions.
Here is an illustration.
Observe from 0.10 to 0:14. If you grow up with misaligned jaws your teeth will still try to 'reach' each other. This creates a bite which, unless corrected before surgery will not be a stable and successful operation.
This is why I mentioned before that having braces on for surgery is very different to having braces if you are just going to straighten your teeth without surgery. You need to be prepared for the implications of pre surgical braces:
There is some good news though. If you, like me, have a lot of crowding of your upper and lower teeth, your pre surgical braces should correct that, giving you a much better smile although worse bite.
Now there are a couple of options for braces for pre surgical treatment. I guess it greatly depends on how much you are willing to spend on the treatment.
I opted for Invisalign and in hindsight I do not think the benefits outweighed its exorbitant cost. I was very pleased with the results yes, but for the money I sometimes feel it's not very worth it. Anyway here's some info regarding Invisalign
Invisalign treatment consists of a series of nearly invisible,
removable aligners that you change every two weeks for the next set of
aligners. Each aligner is individually manufactured for your teeth, and
your teeth only. As you replace each aligner, your teeth will move -
little by little, week by week - until they have straightened to the
final position prescribed by your dental provider.
This is the option I decided on. They are becoming increasingly popular however it's cost makes it a turn off. Hopefully in the years to come they will slowly get cheaper.
-Part 1 Braces Treatment-
Mainly it comprises of moving your teeth into alignment so that they match up nicely AFTER surgery.
This means that while you are wearing braces before the surgery, your bite is actually going to become far worse than it was as the teeth get straightened out into their proper positions.
Here is an illustration.
This is why I mentioned before that having braces on for surgery is very different to having braces if you are just going to straighten your teeth without surgery. You need to be prepared for the implications of pre surgical braces:
- Your bite will become worse. The space between your upper and lower teeth become further apart.
- Eating becomes more difficult of the knew positions your teeth take cause teeth that previously touched to not touch anymore.
- Speaking becomes worse. You become less clearer because of the bigger space between your teeth.
There is some good news though. If you, like me, have a lot of crowding of your upper and lower teeth, your pre surgical braces should correct that, giving you a much better smile although worse bite.
'Teeth looking really nice and straight after 2 years of braces. I used Invisalign for my pre-surgical braces hence why it may seem I have no braces on!'
For me it took 2 years of pre surgical braces, I started in May 2012 and finished up in May 2014.Now there are a couple of options for braces for pre surgical treatment. I guess it greatly depends on how much you are willing to spend on the treatment.
I opted for Invisalign and in hindsight I do not think the benefits outweighed its exorbitant cost. I was very pleased with the results yes, but for the money I sometimes feel it's not very worth it. Anyway here's some info regarding Invisalign
- Invisalign
Invisalign treatment consists of a series of nearly invisible,
removable aligners that you change every two weeks for the next set of
aligners. Each aligner is individually manufactured for your teeth, and
your teeth only. As you replace each aligner, your teeth will move -
little by little, week by week - until they have straightened to the
final position prescribed by your dental provider.This is the option I decided on. They are becoming increasingly popular however it's cost makes it a turn off. Hopefully in the years to come they will slowly get cheaper.
Do take note that many honest professionals do not recommend Invisalign for complex cases. I don't think it works well for those type of cases.
Anyway, I was attracted to them for a number of reasons.
So do look around and hunt for the option best for you. The more cost effective the better as long as the orthodontist has good knowledge of what you are about to do!
-Part 2 Wisdom tooth extraction-
Before getting any kind of corrective jaw surgery, most people have to undergo wisdom teeth surgery first.
Wisdom teeth create complications for jaw surgery and very likely need to be removed. For the lower jaw it is also usually the place where the bone will be cut so it has to be removed.
My lower wisdom teeth had sprung out some years ago and that was where my upper molars met my lower teeth. It was the only contact point for my teeth and I was worried that after removal I would have no teeth touching! But I was advised the earlier this was done the better, as the bone needs time to heal and strengthen for the surgery.
I did my wisdom tooth removal with Thiagan and Kumar Dental Surgery in USJ 11, Subang Jaya. Dr Kumar is a great dentist. I had next to no swelling after removing each wisdom tooth, each one 2 weeks after the other. His rates are also very reasonable and he has some very good reviews online ;)
After removing both wisdom teeth my upper teeth had contact with my lower teeth at only one point right at the back so eating was much harder since then having only 2 teeth to chew with properly!
If you have some upper wisdom teeth I think that will probably need removing as well. My upper wisdom teeth never appeared however one did show up on x ray and that was removed during my jaw surgery with no complications =).
-Part 3 Health tips-
It's important to remember jaw surgery is a major surgery and will take a toll on your body. I am very skinny and am underweight at 52kg. I was told by my surgeon to try and bulk up which I tried hard to but alas to no avail. If you can bulk up it would be good as you lose a good 5 kg or more after surgery because you cant eat solids for a while (Some say 7 weeks of no chewing or more =(
The other thing would be to start taking some health supplements early that will help recovery. For nearly 1 year prior to surgery I took pure cod liver oil which is supposed to promote muscles healing. They strip all the muscles in your jaw during surgery so you need something to help them heal as fast as they can!
I was also advised to increase my iron stores to reduce bleeding and need for blood during surgery. Iron supplements should be taken with care as too much iron is very dangerous. I started taking an iron supplement about 2 months prior to surgery but it didn't agree with my stomach. Instead I had some meals of chicken liver on and off throughout the month to try and compensate. I didn't require blood during surgery and barely bled so I guess it helped!
Working out etc to build your body is really important too but don't ask me about this as I am not the athletic type and hopeless at it! All i did was some light jogging for a couple of months prior. I suggest you do much more than that if u can ;)
--
So that is pretty much what covers pre-surgery preparation. Of course, depending on your condition your journey might be a little different.
The next step is to patiently what for your pre-surgery braces treatment to finish (in my case 2 years!) before you can finally move on to Surgery! Aaaaaaaah!
Anyway, I was attracted to them for a number of reasons.
- They are Invisible hence the name. I was a little uncomfortable letting people know I was going to do braces for such a sever bite anomaly that this seemed like a great way to go about life without people realizing. I think it worked!
- You can easily remove them for meals and cleanings. Yes this is really a great advantage when it comes to food. Slipping them on and off at the beginning of each Tray can be difficult at first but within a few days it becomes very easy. However it is very easy to become lazy with Invisalign and you need to be disciplined to clean your teeth after each meal and put them back on. You should be wearing your Invisalign all the time including sleeping and only removing them for eating and cleaning!
- They are high tech and your treatment can be computer simulated. Yes you can actually see what you will end up with after 2 years! But for it's very expensive price tag, I don't think this is a big deal.
- The cost. 10k and up depending on the number of aligners/trays you require; is not a small amount of money at all and I was blessed my dad helped me cover the cost. Also medical insurance may cover your surgery but probably would not cover your braces treatment as many insurance companies classify them as cosmetic requirements. This isn't necessarily true and you need to be able to tackle this with your insurance company. As of today we are still waiting on the insurance company to see if I can claim any of this cost from them. More on this in my Cost/Insurance section.
- Length of treatment. I had 42 trays/aligners to complete which equals 84 weeks, quite a long time! At the beginning the early trays had to be worn longer than 2 weeks as my teeth took much longer to move. I was told much later that with regular braces things would have probably been much quicker. Well, we will never know.
- You need to be careful with them. Although Invisalign is a convenient way to fix your teeth, taking them out often can subject them to damage if you are not careful. Always remembering to bring their case along when you go out is important and I have forgot this many times! Once a tray is broken you will have to wait for a month maybe more for a replacement as they are manufactured in Mexico! And that will probably bring the cost up more! Miraculously in my journey with 42 trays I only broke 1, they very first tray and that only because I pulled it out too violently. Fortunately I was on the final day of using that tray so I just popped Tray 2 in!
So do look around and hunt for the option best for you. The more cost effective the better as long as the orthodontist has good knowledge of what you are about to do!
-Part 2 Wisdom tooth extraction-
Before getting any kind of corrective jaw surgery, most people have to undergo wisdom teeth surgery first.
Wisdom teeth create complications for jaw surgery and very likely need to be removed. For the lower jaw it is also usually the place where the bone will be cut so it has to be removed.
My lower wisdom teeth had sprung out some years ago and that was where my upper molars met my lower teeth. It was the only contact point for my teeth and I was worried that after removal I would have no teeth touching! But I was advised the earlier this was done the better, as the bone needs time to heal and strengthen for the surgery.
I did my wisdom tooth removal with Thiagan and Kumar Dental Surgery in USJ 11, Subang Jaya. Dr Kumar is a great dentist. I had next to no swelling after removing each wisdom tooth, each one 2 weeks after the other. His rates are also very reasonable and he has some very good reviews online ;)
After removing both wisdom teeth my upper teeth had contact with my lower teeth at only one point right at the back so eating was much harder since then having only 2 teeth to chew with properly!
If you have some upper wisdom teeth I think that will probably need removing as well. My upper wisdom teeth never appeared however one did show up on x ray and that was removed during my jaw surgery with no complications =).
-Part 3 Health tips-
It's important to remember jaw surgery is a major surgery and will take a toll on your body. I am very skinny and am underweight at 52kg. I was told by my surgeon to try and bulk up which I tried hard to but alas to no avail. If you can bulk up it would be good as you lose a good 5 kg or more after surgery because you cant eat solids for a while (Some say 7 weeks of no chewing or more =(
The other thing would be to start taking some health supplements early that will help recovery. For nearly 1 year prior to surgery I took pure cod liver oil which is supposed to promote muscles healing. They strip all the muscles in your jaw during surgery so you need something to help them heal as fast as they can!
I was also advised to increase my iron stores to reduce bleeding and need for blood during surgery. Iron supplements should be taken with care as too much iron is very dangerous. I started taking an iron supplement about 2 months prior to surgery but it didn't agree with my stomach. Instead I had some meals of chicken liver on and off throughout the month to try and compensate. I didn't require blood during surgery and barely bled so I guess it helped!
Working out etc to build your body is really important too but don't ask me about this as I am not the athletic type and hopeless at it! All i did was some light jogging for a couple of months prior. I suggest you do much more than that if u can ;)
--
So that is pretty much what covers pre-surgery preparation. Of course, depending on your condition your journey might be a little different.
The next step is to patiently what for your pre-surgery braces treatment to finish (in my case 2 years!) before you can finally move on to Surgery! Aaaaaaaah!
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