Thank you all for your responses and feedback.

That is very interesting to know that treatment varies according to which coast
you live on. I live on the East Coast. I have seen two Orthodontists, and
several cosmetic dentists. One Ortho wanted to go with a TPA expander (While all
other Dentists and Ortho's I have talked to, said that a TPA expander does not
work in an adult mouth), and the other Ortho I saw (plus one of the cosmetic
dentists) both said I need the oral surgery. The cosmetic dentist did mention
that I have blocked airways as well, and suggested a sleep test (Which I thought
seemed insane, since I have no sleep or breathing issues. But who knows. Not
happening either).

So I guess I will continue searching for an Orthodontist that has a better plan
of action that I am comfortable with. I never thought finding an Orthodontist to
put braces on would be such a difficult task. Very discouraging.

Thank you all again for your help!



--- In adultswithbraces@yahoogroups.com, Elise Algernon <elise.algernon@...>
wrote:
>
> They were seriously considering that for me as well... But I needed to
> do a sleep study in order to get our health insurance to cover the jaw
> surgery and expansion, etc. At the time, I was nursing a newborn who
> refused hypoallergenic formula and was allergic to cow's milk-based
> formulas as well as soy-based formulas... So, because I had to take
> care of our daughter - I ended up opting for the short cut and going
> for extractions instead. I hated getting the extractions. I would
> have rather kept all my teeth frankly - despite any pain, swelling,
> etc. But I couldn't halt treatment on my teeth indefinitely 'till our
> daughter was on solids. So...
>
> My youngest stepdaughter though has an expander in the roof of her
> mouth. The worse that she complains about is that food gets caught in
> it. But she has tools that help her clean it - the same inter-spatial
> brushes I use for getting food out of the spaces between my brackets.
> She seems to be coping with it okay. But I can fully understand your
> concerns.
>
> On the positive side, if you do go with having your jaw expanded (as
> opposed to extractions) - you are less at risk for bone loss, your
> profile will probably look better and you'll look slightly younger.
> When you remove a lot of teeth - it can cause some sagging
> sometimes.... I think it ends up looking better cosmetically. But I
> agree that it is indeed a huge hassle!
>
> I'm not very happy with my extractions and how my face looked
> afterwards... So I have some regret in not getting the surgery and
> expansion done. Recovery from having multiple extractions is very
> painful as well and there was a period of several weeks where I could
> only cope with eating soft foods. I'm sure that the jaw surgery is
> much, much worse - but either way will involve swelling and some
> recovery time. The recovery time is much faster for extractions of
> course. But I don't know if extractions is an option in your case...
>
> Another interesting point is that when I lived in the Midwest: every
> single orthodontist I saw said the same thing your orthodontist said -
> which was that I needed the surgery and to have my jaw expanded - and
> that there was NO other way! When I moved with my husband to
> California, suddenly every orthodontist I saw out here claimed that
> extractions were the only way to go and thought it bizarre to consider
> jaw surgery or expansion at my age! We're talking only a two-month
> difference between when I went to consultations in the Midwest and
> when I was checking out orthodontists in California.... My
> conclusion is that medical opinion varies by region and that is
> something that is backed up by records of other medical procedures
> nationwide. (I even heard an interesting NPR segment on that same
> topic somewhat recently). Not that this helps your situation much...
> but you should know that there are some areas where they are more hot
> on surgery and expansion and other regions of the country that won't
> consider doing that for an adult, unless there were extenuating
> circumstances (like sleep apnea).
>
> I don't know if that helps at all... But I hope you find a treatment
> plan that works for you - that you can live with.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Elise
>
>
>
> On Jul 30, 2009, at 10:18 AM, katttopia wrote:
>
> > Has anyone had this surgery?
> >
> > I'm in my 30's, and have always been in need of braces. I finally
> > decided to take the plunge, and my Orthodontist claims this surgery
> > is a must have, as well as a pallet expansion piece on the roof of
> > my mouth for 6 months after this surgery, for him to provide me with
> > Orthodontic treatment.
> >
> > I refuse to get this surgery, or to have any foreign objects on the
> > roof of my mouth. It was explained, and I also googled it, that this
> > surgery will infact make the teeth worse by putting a huge gap in
> > between my 2 front teeth for 6 months up to a year, before making
> > the teeth better.
> >
> > I'm in a professional field. So to have my teeth get severely worse
> > for that long, is not an option for me. Not to mention the blogs I
> > read, the people that had the surgery said it was extremely painful,
> > they were unable to eat anything more than soup for over a month,
> > and on top of it, their face was swelled up and bruised for well
> > over a month. What adult can go to work daily, looking like that?!
> >
> > Maybe I'm just a grown baby, but I am not putting myself through
> > that. I am going to get a second opinion from another Ortho. But I
> > just wanted to hear personal stories of anyone that was told they
> > needed this, but received treatment without it.
> >
> > Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> >
> >
>