Hello my beautiful jaw friends!
I just wanted to make a post because I've recently been having some worries about how much my surgeon told me he was going to move my jaws......
I've seen on other peoples blogs that part of the reason they are having jaw surgery is because their tongue doesn't fit on the roof of their mouth, and so the top jaw needs to be moved forward to make space for their tongue.
Well, mine doesn't fit in the roof of my mouth AT ALLLL.. when it's just resting, it lies between my top and bottom teeth, or sometimes behind my bottom teeth.
The reason I'm worried is that the surgeon is moving my top jaw forward by only 2mm, and the majority of the movement is going to be in my bottom jaw. I don't think 2 mm more room will be enough to make my tongue fit, and if my tongue still doesn't fit after, I was thinking maybe it would push my teeth into a bad bite again...?! eeek! well anyway I'm going to ask about it in my next appointment but I was just wondering if this is a rational worry or not. I think this is all called 'tongue thrust' but I have no idea really I don't understand it very well!!
You should ask your surgeon about this. Your tongue is part of the soft tissue that moves with your bottom jaw. It will still meet up with your bottom teeth the same way it does now the only difference is that your top teeth will be going over the bottom teeth instead of behind them.
ReplyDeleteOmg Rosa I totally know what you mean! I have to contort my tongue and practically fold it over to get it to stay at the roof of my mouth. My surgeon was actually trying to suggest just doing the bottom jaw when he wasnt happy with the top jaw, and I was like WHAT, I'm going to keep tongue thrusting, and hes like yeah well it would be better to do both then. ARGGHHH!!!
ReplyDeleteLaura: I actually never thought of that. These surgeons need to take some tips from the younger generation on how to explain things to their patients!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI just saw your blog today, and thanks for sharing - it's really helpful for others who are getting jaw surgery to know others share some of the same thoughts. My jaw surgery is scheduled for mid-June, and I have the same concern! At first, I was going to get double-jaw surgery, but on my last visit, my surgeon said he could probably do it all just on my lower jaw. It wasn't til after I got home, that I thought "what about my tongue"? I'm going to ask my surgeon about this as well. I don't want it to eventually push my teeth to a bad bite again either. Thanks!
Update: Had my surgery last week and it went well (ended up havng double jaw surgery)! Swelling 'feels' worse than it actually looks I think. But, regarding the tongue issue, it's true - when they move the lower jaw back, the tongue goes back with it, so there won't be problems with the tongue fitting inside (or worse tongue thrusting issues). I'm still only a week post-op so only time will tell, but so far, I'm not experiencing any issues with my jaw being banded shut, or any 'increased' issues with tongue thrusting. FYI.
ReplyDeleteBest on your upcoming surgery!
oh wow that is so good to hear!:) I'm sure my tongue issues will be sorted out then because they are moving my bottom jaw back quite a lot. I'm so glad everything has worked out well for you, and thankyou for commenting and letting me know how it went!
ReplyDeleteI would ask if you could have the upper arch expanded; that would give a more attractive face and end the tongue thrust.
ReplyDelete