56 and Finally Getting Double Jaw Surgery! - Seattle, WA

I've known since the age of 14 that I've needed jaw surgery. I was bullied by several boys starting at age 11. My parents sent me to an orthodontist but they couldn't afford jaw surgery so nothing was ever done.

Since then I've had headaches, jaw, neck and tooth pain as well as teeth wearing down. Problems eating as most of my teeth don't hit together. Hoping to rectify some of these problems though I've been told my top jaw is narrower than my bottom jaw and my surgeon will need to widen it..I will have a need for three splints after surgery. Scary! That's what I worry the most about...and how well I will heal at my age. I'm shooting for surgery summer of 2017, as I'm a teacher and I need to do it when I have time off. I'd love to hear tips from anyone that's been through the process. The journey begins...

Im having some issues with teeth getting really loose when braces are tightened. It seems to be temporary, but they hurt for quite a few days and its really hard to chew in those areas. At the current time my bite has gotten worse and I can only chew on my right back teeth. Underbite has become more pronounced... Which I knew it would. Anyone besides me have troubles with major chapped lips?

In Dec 2016 my orthodontist took impressions of my teeth, xrays and pictures of my face/jaw and sent them to my surgeon. Within a couple of days I received a call from Dr Bloomquist's ofc saying my teeth were ready for surgery. I need to wait till June though when I will have tge summer off from work to have it done.

So far the most concerning problem has been my gums receding. Braces have really done a number on my gums. Especially my front lower teeth where you can see the roots. Because of this and my teeth being loser than they were...Ive had a lot of pain when Ive had braces tightened. Literally it feels like my teeth are being pulled out. Horrible pain. The dental assistant now puts her finger behind my teeth to stabilize them when she is changing bands and wires.This seems to help some. I had to change assistants as the prior one wasn't as gentle and I'd have problems eating for a week afterward due to the pain.

Also in the last 6 months I've had two major surgeries. I had been having a lot of back and neck pain, spent 6 mos in P T, etc and in June I ended up having a breast reduction and tummy tuck. Things went really well and I recovered quickly. Unfirtunately I still had lower back/ hip pain and saw a hip surgeon. Turned out that I have severe osteoarthritis in both hips and my spine. In November 2016 I had both hips replaced at the same time. That surgery also went well though I got pneumonia in the hospital they think from being intubated. I was horribly sick, spent 17 days in the hospital of which 8 were in ICU. What was to be two weeks off work became four weeks off work. What an awful experience. I am glad I had both hips done at once though and 8 weeks out I'm doing really well.

Given the experience with my hip surgery, the jaw surgery scares me more now. That and being on steroids for an adrenal condition, makes me wonder how much problem I will have with swelling of my face ( which happens anyway when I stress dose with my hydrocortisone). I also ended ui p with a lot of numbness from both my tummy tuck ( about 5 inch wide circle around belly button) as well as numbness down both thighs from my anterior approach double hip replacement ( granted its only been 2 months since my hip surgery). I hate the numbness and worry about how my face will be after surgery. Lots to think about.

The latest issue for me is I was just diagnosed with Sjogrens Disease which is an autoimmune disease that affects the amount of saliva you have in your mouth ( makes it really dry) as well as chronically chapped lips and dry eyes. One of the side effects for some is receding guns and losing teeth. It can also affect pain in your joints. I am being sent to a rheumatologist as there is a concern I may have Lupus as well. Oh joy! The good news though is I think Ive had it for a long time. Probably more than 10 years.

I am going to see my jaw surgeon in March and then will schedule my surgery for the end of June. I need to be sufficiently recovered by September when I go back to work. I just hope I'm one of the 75% that are happy with the results! And I think I will try some oil pulling with coconut oil to see if it helps my receding gums.