So lets get started. From a young age I was told by
my dentist that I would need to be referred to a maxi facial clinic with
regards to my bite and jaw length. At this time in my life I could not see what
was wrong with my face and thought that some brace work might fix the issue.
When I was first seen at St Mary’s Sidcup, I was surprised at how dramatic they
thought my condition would be and told me I may need 1 or possible 2 operations
on my lower jaw when I reached 18. This was a big blow to me and from this
point I believe I became very conscious about my face. As I was concerned, I
confided in my primary school friends. But when I did so, they all started to
notice my jaw and some of the boys in the class would point fun at me.
After this stage I was told I would need 7 teeth removed
(some of these were baby teeth). I went ahead with this and I was fitted with
braces on my lower teeth only. I wore the lower braces for around 4 years and
had them removed at the age of 16. I was then told when there was enough appointment
availability at the hospital, I could precede with treatment in preparation for
my jaw operation. This would include more brace work on both my upper and lower
teeth. By this time in my treatment I had developed quite a noticeable
curvature in my jaw (asymmetry) and my jaw looked to swing to one side. This
greatly reduced my ability to bite on my back teeth. But as I had grown with
this deformity I did not notice any difficulty.
By the age of 19, after nearly three years of waiting I went
to my dentist for a check-up and expressed my distress of waiting so long to
start treatment. My dentist suggested that I could be referred to Kings College
hospital and Guy’s hospital in London. He advised that they were much better
equipped for this type of surgery and also stated the waiting lists would not
be so vast. True to his word, I was seen at Guy’s hospital a few months later.
I was signed up to Mr Shaun Matthews’ clinic at Kings College who deal with
facial surgery and Dr Cobourne the orthodontist at Guy’s for the pre-surgical
and post-surgical brace work. At this point I was reassessed and had all new
x-rays completed of my upper and lower jaw. This was when it was uncovered that
I would need both my bottom and top jaw operated on. The upper jaw needed to be
popped outwards and rotated slightly to line up with my nose and the bottom jaw
with the large curve would have to be rotated around to reach the mid line with
my nose. Unlike St Mary’s who wanted to wire my mouth shut for a period after
surgery , Mr Matthews stated he would like to fit in titanium plates and screws
to hold my jaw in place indefinitely and use elastics for the first few weeks.
By doing so, this would hold the jaw whilst the bones secured themselves back
together again. Mr Matthews also stated that he would be able to do all of the
work in one operation and there should be no need for the second
operation. Having discussed all the
risks with the team I decided to proceed with the treatment.
Please note that at this time maxillofacial surgery has now
been re-labelled in my case as orthognathic surgery. Orthognathic surgery relates to the mandible
and maxilla (upper and lower jaws) and is the surgical correction of a birth
default or an abnormality that has presented itself as a person has grown.
Maxillofacial surgery is a procedure used to treat disease, injury or defects
of some or all areas of the face and neck.
In September 2008, at
the age of 20, I was fixed with rather large metal brace work. Unlike the small
and fragile looking brackets and wires I had worn before these braces felt much
heavier and larger. This was a little bit of a shock to me as I was already
conscious of my jaw and the way I looked prior to braces. Now I was a 20 year
old lady with serious confidence issues and now having to contend with braces.
At this point in my life I was attending my first year of university and
working as an auditor and admin assistant 16 hours a week. I had no other
health issues and was reasonably fit. I was in a relationship with my boyfriend
for over a year and he was fully aware of what laid ahead, in terms of
treatment. When I first had my braces a few people at work and university
commented. But it was not as bad or as damaging to my confidence as I thought
it would be. My family, friends and boyfriend were really supportive and when I
was feeling down would always remind me that it would be a short term measure
and it would not be like this forever. All in all, my treatment should have
taken 3 years. However, we are now 4 years down the treatment plan and still
going. You will discover why my treatment has been so extended as the blog progresses.
Available now
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Lots of love always,
Steffie
x.x.x
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