Why . . .

When the subject of my surgery arises, the number one question people ask me is simple; "why". As in why are you having the surgery and why on earth would choose to go through this kind of surgery!!

Why exactly would a person voluntarily choose to have both jaws broken, experience prolonged discomfort, drink *food* through a syringe, and generally have a relatively miserable (read: different) experience for a few months as compared with simply living with what you have . . .
 
I am sure everyone who has undergone, or who is thinking of undergoing, such surgery can answer this question in a myriad of ways. For me, it is relatively simple:

Medical Necessity

First and foremost, this surgery is something I need to have; having misaligned jaws, crossbites, etc., have resulted in a loss function where chewing is concerned. If I do not have surgery, chewing will prove to be a rather interesting exercise to say the least later in life. I am reminded here of Mr. Ed and how they showed him talking. That would be me in a few years if I did not have the surgery :)

Chewing on all teeth is preferable than eating on just a few teeth.

My jaw is so misaligned that I really only eat on my back teeth. Tiresome to say the least, not to mention the impact it had one my molars.

Not breathing through my nose

I would quite like to breathe my nose – rather useful in the arena of olfaction.  Having my mouth permanently open (unless I consciously keep it closed which I have learned to do) causes a person to breathe through their mouth rather than their nose.

Physical looks

Clearly not the primary driver behind my surgery but nonetheless I look forward to not have both the frontal and side profiles that I experience presently. Despite what people may think, orthognathic surgery is not something that the majority of people choose to undergo simply to rectify what they may consider cosmetic issues.

That said, I am looking forward to both not having my mouth hang open all of the time and my upper jaw protruding the way it does. Is this vanity? Like I said, I have lived with this profile for almost 40 years so I am used to it (heck, it is my face after all) but medically I need to have the surgery, I am not having the surgery for cosmetic reasons.

For a hindsight point of view (six weeks post-surgery) and some more background, click here.

Being from England. . .

Finally, being from England, and living in the U.S, it is fair to say there is a stereotype about British teeth. I hear lots of so-called British dental humour and I came across this clip that made me smile. It is a clip of a dentist trying to convince a kid why they need to brush their teeth . . .

If you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh it!