I'm hoping I'm not jinxing myself by labelling them as such, but here are my pre-op photos, as of today. In all of them I have my jaws tight shut, so that gap is there all the time. As you can see, the underbite is massive, have a weak top jaw and lip and the midlines are skewed to one side on the lower jaw. The chin is quite large, but on moving it back it might not be that prominent, apparently my surgeon likes to wait and see if any more work is required once healed..
And the one of my looking moody is just with my mouth closed - it's no surprise I'm known for smiling all the time is it!
I would never have allowed profile pictures before all this, but now knowing that it's all getting fixed makes things a lot easier!!
9 comments:
I can already tell that you're going to look stunning when all of this is over...
V
Your story, so honsetly and well articulated, has inspired me to follow in your brave steps. I too have an underbite and will commence braces in 8 weeks. I am quite envious that tomorrow your surgery will be done and dusted! I hope it all goes well and that your recovery is speedy.
I agree with funkyrhodes. :) You are going to look amazing! Can't wait to hear how it went.
Anonymous - I am so glad you feel inspired, I've tried to be honest as I think there are so many psychological issues that are not addressed or admitted by a lot of people. And it should be something you should be ashamed of. Please do let me know if you ever have any questions etc, and keeping a blog has been so helpful to have people keep in touch and is an invaluable source of support.
hey! this blog has been an amazing inspiration for me and has given me so much more insight into something im planning to have in the near future.
I'd just like to ask...how much worse did your facial profile appear since getting the braces as compared to before? this is somethign that bothers me as i dont want my underbite being more obvious before surgery!
Hi Anonymous,
I'm so pleased that my blog has reached you. It's a tough process but my fellow ortho bloggers and forums have made it that little bit easier and it's nice to know I can give something back!
To be honest, my profile was significantly worse after the braces went on... But I had quite a bad underbite to begin with (about 6mm) and so the teeth have to get pulled out to reverse the compensation that your lips and cheeks do to make up for the discrepancy.
I'm not going to lie, I found it incredibly hard to deal with. It's like taking something you hate and making it worse/more noticeable. To me, anyway. A bit like wearing white trousers when you have a big bum :)
But to be honest, it's easier in a way to deal with because you know it's temporary and a necessity for a good outcome. And, like anything, you do get used to it. I started hating photos even more but you just have to carry on as you are, knowing things will be different. And believe me, it was worth it - I wouldn't be saying that if I didn't believe it!
thanks for the reply! well now i think i have a better idea of what to prepare myself for, assuming i'll look incredibly worse during the pre surgery phase. Would you be able to post a set of pictures comparing your pre orthodontic phase with your pre surgery phase so that i have a better visual idea to see how much worse it gets? thanks!
I don't know about *incredibly* worse, but it may well feel it to you if it's something you're conscious off. But please, don't let it put you off - even though it seems like a long time, it's really not in the scale of a lifespan! :)
I'm not sure if I have any good shots pre-braces, I am trying to get some from my ortho so once I do I'll put them up, of course...
oh ok...i'll be very curious to see how much difference the braces make it appear.
Would you be able to explain to me why it actaully appears worse? i thought the braces just moved your teeth rather than your jaw so there shoudln't be any difference in apperance with your jaw? I dont actually know cos all my orthodontist has told me is that "i'll look worse" without explaining why. Also in your second picture in this blog are you biting down or was that your natural relaxed side view?
sorry for all these questions! i just wnat to enquire everything i can from people who've gone through this! i hope you dont mind! thanks!
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