Life Before Braces (Part 2)

(Side view of my jaw before jaw surgery.)

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Life Before Braces:

Ever since I was a small girl I knew that something about me was different. And that difference affected much of what I did every day. It affected how I ate, spoke, sang, smiled and anything else that involved the use of my teeth. From time to time during my routine dental checkups, my dentist would pause, closely observe my teeth, say “bite for me”,  lean back in a concerned way and say to my mom “you know, she is going to need treatment”.

The problem was that I had an underbite. It's a genetic condition that I inherited from my father when the lower jaw protrudes in front of the upper jaw. My teeth weren't obviously crooked or misaligned but the underbite was a significant concern. The first dentist who suggested treatment told my mom that they would have to do surgery and break my jaw to correct the issue. Such an extreme procedure sounded horrifying to my mother so she concluded that an underbite wouldn't be that bad of a difference to live with. And so did I - for a time.

(Side profile.)

As I grew older and began to mature, I began to realize more and more how much I really didn't like my underbite. Only rarely would someone make an overtly mean statement about my bite but it was the subtle innuendos and remarks that began to slowly eat away at my self-esteem. I became very self-conscious about my underbite and combined with other factors I retracted socially and emotionally. I was afraid to approach people because I was frightened of how they would respond. I felt that I wasn’t pretty enough.  Now in retrospect, I understand that my underbite wasn't even that bad. I have watched many youtube videos and have seen people in real life with a much worse condition than mine, but this just goes to show how significantly detrimental words can negatively influence and shape the life of an individual.

So I decided to see if something could be done about my underbite. I avidly researched dental procedures, orthodontic strategies, and read countless blogs about people just like me who were able to successfully correct their jaw. Unfortunately, however, no matter what I presented to my parents, they were still seriously concerned about the negative outcome of the procedures, and the significant cost.

When my family moved from New York to North Carolina, my new dentist became Dr. Haley Mann at Gottfried & Mann Dentistry. Dr. Mann is super cool, super friendly and totally hip!! She recommended that I have a consultation with Dr. Timothy Scanlan at TS Orthodontics. She explained how he uses cool robotics to shape the wires to create the perfect alignment for each patient’s teeth. I was so excited and Dr. Mann’s timely and caring explanation somehow worked magic on my mother's skepticism. She didn't have to say it twice for me to schedule a consultation!

(Front view of my jaw before jaw surgery.)

I was 16 when I had my first consultation with Dr. Scanlan. I remember his bubbly receptionist being so friendly and caring. She took several X-rays and photos then had us fill out some paperwork. Then Dr. Scanlan invited us into his office where he spent the next hour or so getting to know me, finding out about why I wanted braces,  and explaining the orthodontic process. He diagnosed my condition as mandibular prognathia - “a [polygenetic] potentially disfiguring genetic disorder where the lower jaw outgrows the upper, resulting in an extended chin” (Chudley). He assured us that orthodontics would help my condition significantly but also pointed out that I would need to have jaw surgery to fully correct my bite. He used a plastic jaw model to show us a simulated “before and after”. After the consult, I was optimistic and pumped and ready to start treatment but again, my parents retracted into skepticism and fear of the actual outcome. So I had to continue my campaign of research and presentations until when two years later they finally consented (and upgraded thier health insurance plan).

(Not so) Fun Fact...

This is Charles ll of Spain. In medieval times, underbites were being proliferated in royalty due to intermarriage and unprecedented inbreeding. Charles’s underbite was so bad that he could barely eat or speak, and due to his enlarged tongue was known to drool at times. Poor Charles...

References

Chudley, Albert E. (1998). "Genetic landmarks through philately – the Habsburg jaw". Clinical Genetics. 54 (4): 283–4. doi:10.1034/j.1399-0004.1998.5440404.x. PMID 9831338.

Disclaimer:

I am not a healthcare professional in any way, sort or form. I am only sharing my personal experience and would recommend that you consult a healthcare professional before entering into or following any course of action mentioned here or otherwise.