This definitely isn't the first time I've had orthodontic stuff done to my teeth. Way back when in 5th grade, my orthodontist already suspected that I might have jaw alignment issues in the future, but the most they could do at that time (since I wasn't nearly done growing and they had no idea how my jaw would turn out in the end) was to give me regular ol' braces to straighten out those crooked tween teeth, and put in a palate expander on the roof of my mouth to widen my maxilla, which definitely helped in the long run. All that took about a year and a half, during the very beginning of middle school. When it was done, my bite was fine and my upper teeth were slightly in front of my lower (but just slightly). I got a retainer, and they told me to just wait it out. Eventually I was even allowed to stop wearing the retainer because I had grown enough that it didn't fit anymore, and then it was just a waiting game.
About two years ago, after one of those semi-annual dentist visits where they just clean your teeth and make them feel squeaky clean, my dentist casually brought up if I knew that I had an underbite. I told them that I hadn't really thought about it until the moment he mentioned it, and that it obviously hadn't bothered me enough to know it. He recommended that I go see an orthodontist for an opinion on what to do about it. I didn't pay much attention to it because I didn't see why I needed braces after already having them (plus my teeth were relatively straight). But when I went home that day, I looked at my smile long and hard in the mirror, and began to feel self conscious. I asked my parents what to do about it, and -- like regular parents -- they assured me that I looked fine and I didn't need to do anything about it. At the time it was purely an aesthetic issue, and with some self-consolation I was able to put most of my insecurities about my smile out of my mind over the next several weeks. Every now and then when I looked in the mirror it would bother me, but I always just told myself not worry about it.
Fast forward a year (just about a year ago), and I'm beginning to notice some little issues with my jaw. My temporomandibular joint (also known as the TMJ, the little hinge where your lower jaw fits into the rest of your skull, see diagram) often pops very uncomfortably in and out of place whenever I opened my mouth too wide (like if I yawn or try to bite into a big burger), my lower jaw feels very stiff whenever I sleep in certain weird positions, and I often wake up to find my inner cheek painfully bitten into because my mouth hangs a little open when I sleep and my cheek happens to fall into the misplaced gap between my top and bottom teeth. Those were all little problems that I just kind of dealt with, until one day I was trying to chew the dry skin off my lower lip (yes, I do that), and I noticed that my top and bottom teeth wouldn't even meet and it was very difficult for me to grasp such a thin little piece of skin. I would say that was the turning point for me, because I went to the bathroom right afterwards and began to really examine my teeth in the mirror. That was when all the other little problems added up and became apparent to me, and I decided that I was truly unhappy with my bite overall. Ever since then I've been super determined to fix this damn problem.
I dragged my dad to the orthodontist for a consultation. She was young and new and inexperienced (the old orthodontist who used to run the place retired; it was a bummer, because I actually really liked that dude when I saw him in middle school), and seemed very unsure when we bombarded her with questions after she told us I would most likely need jaw surgery to correct the issue. The whole idea of surgery never really phased me, but my dad was freaked out, being the typical holistic Asian who really doesn't want to resort to crazy medical stuff unless you're on the verge of death. From day one, just because of the animated surgical simulation the orthodontist showed him where they go in and cut the bone of the jaw, my dad was freaked out and already set his mind on a big NO to the surgery (let's just say I don't have the most reasonable and understanding parents, and that I've never really had a good relationship with them, but that's not what this blog is about and I'm starting to sound like an angst-filled teen). The orthodontist wasn't very reassuring either, and when she suggested that we could go get second opinions, that's what I did immediately.
I talked to a distant aunt, who is in her 40s and had a double-jaw surgery about a year ago for a bad open bite. She was still recovering -- but recovering well -- because of her age, and she recommended a new orthodontist to me who she said made it all possible. I scheduled a consultation with this new orthodontist, who I immediately liked much more. He's older and wiser, and seemed much more knowledgeable and sure of what he was doing. He is patient and kind, and took the time to explain everything to us as thoroughly as possible. After just the first visit, I had a lot of trust in him and switched over to his office. My dad on the other hand... well, he is extremely stubborn and had his mind set on NO just because he was alarmed by the extent of the surgery, even though the benefits clearly outweighed all the risks, and hardly paid any attention through the whole thing, which was extremely frustrating. The new orthodontist even made an appointment with us for a consultation with the orthodontic surgeon that he works very closely with, which my mom took me to a few weeks later. My mom is a nurse who works at Riverside Hospital (one of the big main hospitals in Columbus) actually recognized the surgeon, since he preforms all his surgeries there and very coincidentally on the same floor that my mom works. My mom is more reasonable and was convinced, but hesitatingly so, and with her being a very busy workaholic woman and not around the house much, she was very passive about the whole ordeal and said that the big decision rested entirely on my father. This was also extremely frustrating for me, that my mom didn't seem to care enough about it to stick up for me.
The months leading up to this point have been a real struggle, filled with constant arguments with my dad just trying to get him to see my point of view and get on board. Every time we argued, I would break down because I am an emotional teenage bitch who cries very easily when frustrated, and speaking with my dad has always been the most frustrating thing. We are not a very communicative family at all (I don't think my mom and dad have ever actually thoroughly discussed this topic with each other, even though we all live in the same house, which I find unbelievable), and it's always so hard to get my dad to just listen. I kept trying to get him to understand that yes, I know appearance-wise, I look fine, I am more worried about the long-term consequences of not correcting a bad bite, but all he could process was they are going to cut part of her skull and possibly mess up her face, which was completely exaggerated, as it is a very intricate surgery with surprisingly little risk for "cutting someone's skull". The one good part was that he assured me that cost was not an issue, which was my main concern before any of this. So after countless fights with my trying to persuade him to understand why I want this surgery so bad with lots research and other online accounts and painfully explanatory talks (seriously, it was like I as talking to a 5-year-old who needed everything repeated 10 times), finally, FINALLY I got him to say yes. With a revisit to the orthodontist's office for a final and very thorough consultation for which I had emailed them ahead of time and warned them about how difficult it is to make my dad see something he doesn't want to see, my dad finally -- but still very reluctantly -- agreed. Throughout the whole course of those months, I kept in touch with the amazing orthodontic assistant via email, who is so extremely nice and caring and listened to all my rants and did everything she could to help make this happen. I was always the one to make all the appointments and figure everything out (with the dates, prices, and insurance) because had I not, my parents would have just tried to forget about the whole issue, and I guess it looked like all my efforts had finally paid off.
Phew, which leaves us where I am now, about a week from getting my braces on and finally starting this whole damn journey. I didn't want to start a blog until I was sure this was happening, or else otherwise it'd be a very brief and very disappointing blog, haha. But now that I've spent about an hour writing all this and getting my blog all oriented, I feel so much better. THIS THING IS FINALLY HAPPENING, AND I AM SO EXCITED FOR IT TO JUST BE ALL OVER AND DONE WITH. WOO!
Have an underbite too,,please help how can I correct mine soon,makes ma jaw big and wide
ReplyDelete