Hello to everyone,
My name is Bee and I am so excited I found this website! I come here almost everyday to see if there are any new post, this is by far one of my favorite sites.
Anyhow, let me make a long story short. When I was eighteen I had my bicuspids removed, headgear, and braces. They kept the braces on for almost three to four years, yikes. I guess you don't know what you don't know. After they took off the braces I did not see a problem, if anything I thought I looked better. I did notice after a few years that my nasal labial folds looked weird, deep lines and my smile was quite small. Fast forward ten years later, now I really see the damage. Oh my goodness, the horror of looking in the mirror, the dreadful feelings and regrets!!
I have loads of issues now, the neck pain, the grinding (teeth worn down), the ear problems, the visual issues, breathing...what is breathing? My maxillae looks caved in like someone punched in my mouth, high mandible, increased lower facial height, bags under my eyes, no cheek bones, small lips, open bite from tongue thrusting (not enough room for my tongue). I could go on and on but you get the picture.
I don't even want to socialize with people, I dislike the way I look, I appear to look older than I am. My chin is about to hit the floor. It looks like my mandible is on a vertical slant, I have so much room on the side of my cheeks (three fingers can fit in there), that is how narrow my upper palate is.
I went to see a TMJ specialist and he had me go around in circles, getting MRIs and medical test to just come up empty handed. His best suggestion was....get ready... to remove four more teeth! His theory was: remove the wisdom teeth and the open bite will close. After thousands of dollars later, that was the best he could come up with.
Previous to that I had other consultations but got no where. So, I had enough and went on this eight month journey of non stop searching. In the process that is how I found this site, Mike/John Mew, Plato/Kevin, Claiming Power, Dr. Hang, Dr. Smith, Ian Hedley, Dr Howell, the list could go on and on.
Anyone have any suggestions on what step to take next? I started Myofunctional therapy and currently I am seeing Dr. Gerald H. Smith, we might start the ALF due to cranial distortions. Anyone care to comment on Dr. Gerald H. Smith? I heard he is excellent and has a good reputation. I would love to hear any feedback that you guys might have.
P.S. Will face pulling make the open bite worse? My maxillae looks like it could come forward loads.
Thank you all,
Bee