This is Going to be the Best Thanksgiving of My Life!

This comment was made by 53 year old female patient who is not going to be eating turkey and dressing this year. In fact, she is going to have orthognathic surgery in a couple of days to advance both of her jaws so she can BREATHE BETTER! By Thanksgiving she fully expects to feel great and be breathing better. I suspect she will! I’m hopeful she will have the best Thanksgiving of her life.

Why is she unable to breathe? She had the still very common treatment of traditional orthodontics with removal of bicuspid teeth and retraction of the front teeth. Not everyone who is retracted will react as she did, but far too many literally have their lives devastated by the process. She’s actually been struggling for decades to find a solution to her breathing problem. Struggling is perhaps not a strong enough word. When we first met her she was doing an exercise regimen for 5 hours per day working on posture, doing training programs for the pelvic floor & diaphragm, and singing. She loves to sing but struggles to do so because of her breathing pattern. She felt like she was spinning her wheels and getting no where.

When she found us she had already been in orthodontic treatment with another doctor who had spent three years opening up about 3 mm.of space in each upper bicuspid space. She was completely discouraged. Her throat always felt blocked, all of her facial and cervical muscles were tender to palpation, and the movement of her lower jaw was quite limited. Despite 3 mm. spaces having been created in the upper arch bilaterally, she still had a trapped lower jaw with her anterior teeth hitting tightly and causing her lower jaw to be pushed back. The pain pattern was not a surprise. In fact, I expected it.

We told her in 2-3 months we could open the remaining 4 mm. of space where teeth had been extracted in the upper arch to give her a 7 mm. bicuspid width. Getting the roots apart for implants would take a bit longer. Surgery would likely be needed to open her airway enough to give her relief. Her whole face had been retracted and her chin was not forward where it should be resulting in her airway being reduced at the base of the tongue.

She agreed to the treatment plan, and we delivered! She felt we made more progress in 3 months than in the 3 previous years of her treatment. She began breathing better…..but not great. We were not surprised. She wanted to be able to breathe easily and to sing and so the surgery was scheduled.

We’ve recommended surgery for patients hundreds of times in my career, and it is interesting to see the reaction on their faces. Many dismiss it before I even finish saying it. Most consider it carefully and make a decision. A few are like this patient and can’t wait to have the surgery done! Amazing what the desire to breathe will do to someone. She won’t be eating turkey on Thanksgiving, but my bet is she will finally get her wish and will be breathing easily!