First, since there seemed to be a little confusion, let me make clear that this corrective jaw surgery contest was never about judging the best transformation, but rather to get people to submit their before and after photos, then selecting a completely random “winner” of the $20 Amazon Gift Card.
There were 13 official entries in the Before and After Pics forum, and they were all great, so thank you so much again to those that submitted. Now we’ve got the foundation of one unified place where future patients can come and see the potential results from real people.
The best part is the diversity of all the submissions, because there are younger, older, male, female, upper jaw, lower jaw, double jaw, you name it!
For complete transparency of how I chose the random winner, here was my process:
I assigned each of the 13 contestants a number of 1-13, then I went to Random.org, entered minimum number of 1, maximum number of 13, clicked Generate, and the result was number 1.
Corrective jaw surgery results can be dramatic, but even when subtle, the before and after pictures usually sum up the entire story.
I know how much people like to fast-forward to the ending, because I was searching for before and after photos before my surgery too!
What kind of results will I get?
Will there be a big difference?
Are my family and friends going to recognize me?
Will I look better or worse?
Is my face going to look “fake” a la Joan Rivers?
These are all questions that were racing through my mind, and they are questions that I still get on a regular basis from future jaw surgery patients.
I just set up a brand new section on the official Jaw Surgery Forums to try and further help people find and see real results from real people.
Wouldn’t it have been nice if you could have clicked a few buttons and seen an entire list of orthognathic surgery patients’ before and after photos, PLUS the ability to leave a comment and/or ask a question right underneath?
So, I need your help, and I’m willing to bribe you to get it.
To everyone who has already gone through the overbite and/or underbite surgery or is in the pre-surgery process, please follow the simple instructions in the video below to post your before and/or after pictures on the forums.
The contest will run from August 1st through August 31st, at which point I will randomly select a winner from the forums to receive a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate.
You can use this massive windfall to stock up on jaw surgery supplies or anything else that Amazon.com has to offer.
Of course the thought of genuinely helping out a fellow jaw surgerista should provide at least some extra value too…
Enter yourself in less than 5 minutes:
1. Watch the video below
2. Follow the instructions
3. Cross your fingers until August 31st
P.S. – The forums are located here, and if you have any trouble signing up or logging in, just leave a comment below to let me know, and I’ll be glad to help:
I’ve got all the videos converted, now it’s just a matter of uploading and getting the final tweaks done.
In fact, I’m creating the FAQ (frequently asked questions) page right now, and I need your help.
Ask me absolutely any burning question you have about any part of the jaw surgery process.
Not only will I answer you personally, but I will also include it on the FAQ page, because there are probably a ton of people out there with your exact same question.
Don’t worry, all of the questions will be listed generically and anonymously, and you don’t even have to use your real name in the comments.
Hello fellow jaw surgery survivors and potential patients-to-be!
I’ve been meaning to launch this blog for a long time, and I’ve finally gotten it started. I had a pretty major surgery (even by jaw surgery standards) where both my upper and lower jaws were moved about 3 feet each (if you aren’t familiar with sarcasm or exaggeration, I suggest you find a duller jaw surgery blog now…).
I’ve been keeping a video log of the entire process: daily for the initial period right after surgery and weekly/monthly as time went on and changes were less dramatic.
It’s now been a little over a year since the surgery (though it’s been about 3 years since the preparation process began), and I’m now fully healed, braces-free, and have all the feeling back in my face.
I haven’t come across another jaw surgery video log quite as extensive as the one I’m putting together here, and I know I would have loved to see someone else go through this process in so much detail, so I hope that others considering a similar procedure will be able to learn from this blog.
I’m getting all of the videos converted and ready for upload now, so I plan to have the entire blog live and complete by the end of the month (January 2009).
Be sure to subscribe here in the meantime, so you’ll know first about the latest updates.
You can also check out a brief summary and a sneak peak of my “after” pics on my bio page.
Of course, I’ll be here to answer any questions and respond to any comments you may have, so feel free to get the discussion started in the comment section now, and keep on me to make sure I get things finished as soon as possible!
Oral Maxillofacial Surgery is a unique discipline that marries medicine and dentistry. It entails a whole wide range of diseases and procedures from simple ones like impacted wisdom tooth and wisdom tooth surgery to complex complicated ones like jaw abnormalities and corrective jaw surgery. Complex reconstructive work like in a fibula free transfer graft also falls under the arm of oral maxillofacial surgery and may be done with the proper support and expertise.
Oral maxillofacial surgery as the name suggests refers to disease and procedures of the oral cavity and the region immediately surrounding it. It may even stretch as far up as the eyes and as low down as the neck. Simple diseases that falls under the branch of oral maxillofacial surgery includes tooth decay warranting tooth extraction and impacted wisdom tooth or an impacted or buried tooth that requires wisdom tooth surgery in the case of a wisdom tooth or just dento- alveolar surgery in the case of other teeth.
Soft tissue lesions such as a lump on the lip e.g. mucocele and the management also falls under the care of oral maxillofacial surgery. The excision of the mucocele or any other soft lesions is done under local anesthesia and sometimes general anesthesia. And very often, the tissue is sent to the pathology lab for a routine histology to confirm the diagnosis. Biopsies be it an incisional biopsy or excisional biopsy is also done.
Bigger lesions and pathologies like a dentigerous cyst, odontogenic keratocyst or an ameloblastoma are also routinely managed under oral maxillofacial surgery. Managements includes simple enucleation of the cyst to resection of the pathology.
Facial trauma also falls under the management and care of oral maxillofacial surgery. Lacerations of the lips and face and fracture of the jaw bones and facial bones are common place in the hospital and the management is normally handled by the oral maxillofacial department. Toilet and suture of the lacerations may be done under local anesthesia or general anesthesia depending on the extent of the injury. And more often than not, if there is an associated fracture, the open reduction and internal fixation of the jaw or facial bones are done together with the lacerations under general anesthesia.
Dental and oral maxillofacial implants are another area where oral maxillofacial surgery is involved in. The placement of dental implants to replace missing teeth in the jaw is gaining popularity and is offered by oral maxillofacial surgery. Besides dental implants, the oral maxillofacial surgical team also do maxillofacial implants such as orbit implants and otic or ear implants. They also offer answers to complicated or difficult cases such as those with bone deficiencies.
Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) also falls under the care and management of oral maxillofacial surgery. Jaw joint pain is a common problem and is normally attributed to stress or trauma. It may even be due to normal physiological wear and tear. But whatever the cause, it can be a worry for the patient. Most of the time though, the jaw joint pain or TMD pain is caused by myalgia which involves the inflammation of the muscles of mastication.
Dental infection or facial infection leading to swelling is also commonly treated by oral maxillofacial surgery. Many a times the swelling of the face is attributed to a dental cause and the prompt identification of the cause and removal of the source together with antibiotic therapy is adequate treatment. Incision and drainage (I&D) is also commonly instituted.
Corrective jaw surgery and reconstructive jaw surgery is also commonly carried out by the oral maxillofacial surgical team. In cases of jaw abnormalities requiring corrective jaw surgery, the oral maxillofacial surgical team will work together with the orthodontist to co manage the patient. In reconstructive surgery, after a major trauma or pathology removing surgery, the oral maxillofacial surgical team will decide the graft to be used and place it appropriately and reconstruct the face.
Cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery are also commonly done. Treatments such as botox administration for the treatment of wrinkles and use of fillers for the facial region is gaining popularity and more and more oral maxillofacial surgeons are venturing into this department due to the demand. Other treatments offered are rhinoplasty and blepharoplasty.
Like a horse and carriage, braces go with jaw surgery. For me, they were one of the more frustrating and seemingly never-ending parts of the process, but a necessity nonetheless.
And before I scare you off, they really weren’t that bad, just being melodramatic.
I was lucky enough to have a smooth and relatively painless surgery, which helped the braces achieve their least-favorite-part-of-the-process award.
While this site covers every aspect of Jaw Surgery, from start to finish, there are also a lot of resources out there that specialize in just specific parts of the process.
BracesReview.com is one such site, encompassing everything there is to know about mouths of metal (and yes, even invisible aligners too).
They cover everything from braces cost, braces insurance, and an awesome forum to talk with tons of other brace-faces from around the world.
If forums aren’t your thing, BracesReview.com has a library of articles covering all the most frequently asked questions.
There’s even an orthodontist directory to help you get started and find a doctor in your area.
So, whether you’re just thinking about getting braces, you already have them, or you’ve been there done that and just want to help those following in your footsteps, BracesReview.com is an excellent resource that you should check out.
