Wonky Gob

Guess who finally reached the top of the waiting list? I'd almost written off the whole braces / jaw surgery idea as I'd been on the waiting list for almost 2 years without any news at all. I'd almost decided that I could live with wonkey teeth when back in January my jaw locked up for a few days and was total agony. I went to see both my dentist and my GP and the general opinion was that jaw pain might be a reoccuring annoyance and that jaw surgery was needed. But after another 8 months of no news I began to think that maybe it was all too much hassle. When I finally got the call from the orthadontics unit I was really surprised and ever so slightly paniced. It was so long since I'd done all my initial research, read all the blogs, studied all the before and after pictures that I decided to do a quick cram on the whole subject before my appointment. I soon realised that I'd spent so long focussing on the surgery side of things that I hadn't given the brac...

Had my first appointment at the Orthodontic department at the Queen Victoria Hospital. The surgery was very busy and I had to wait about 90 mins before I was seen, which was slighty annoying as I hadn't brought a book, but never mind! I was seen and examined by a technician who assessed the severity of the miss-alignment. She pressed one side of my jaw and got me to open and close my mouth and she could feel my jaw clicking as it was closed. May also explain the tinnitus in that ear. She manovered my jaw closed into a correct biting position, and when I was asked to move my teeth into my current biting position I was quite surprised at just how far my jaw moved to one side! She took all sorts of measurements, and some impressions (a mouth full of vaguely minty play-doh - niiice) and wax imprints, and I was told to go for some x-rays and photos (damn, wish I'd put make-up on) and for now that's it!

OK, so it's time to start doing some research. The orthodontist had explained that the actual surgery for my kind of underbite would involve removing a section of my lower jaw. Just a little bit on either side, at the back, to shorten the length. Fixed braces would be required for a period before and after but these days they do not necessarily have to mean a mouth full of metal a la Ugly Betty! They are available in 'ceramic' (i.e. tooth colour) these days and can be quite subtle. I got home and I started by Googling the terms 'underbite' and 'jaw surgery'. I found diagrams of the proceedure, all very interesting and all that, but the most useful information I found were numerous before and after photos, and some excellent YouTube video diaries. It looks like the post-op liquid diet could be a little hard to cope with, the thought of not being able to eat solid food is a little scary (no chocolate? OMG!) but I think I can handle that. May have to ...

Go on...Google it...see what it entails. Why would anyone want to do this to themselves? I first noticed something was slightly 'wonky' when I got my wedding photos back, my head looked like it was on crooked! My chin seemed to jut out quite spectacularly to one side. Why hadn't I noticed this before? Looking at photos dating back 10...15 years I could see it there too, but it has gradually becoming more and more pronounced. A question to anyone that knows me: have you seen my wedding photos? Have you noticed them proudly on display around the house? No? There's a reason for that. Ever since then I have been very aware of the fact that I have a very lop-sided appearance. I've always hated having my picture taken at the best of times, but these days I try to avoid it at all costs. At the end of last year I mentioned to my dentist that I was a little concerned about my teeth beginning to show signs of overcrowding. These days there seem to be plenty of adults taking t...