So, finally, as I promised a long time ago, here are some before and after pictures. The whole jaw-operation has been a long journey. I was first asked by my dentist to have the operation when I was 16, then I would have had to have braces etc until I was 19, before my sceleton would have been ready. But I decided not to go through with it. I did not have any big physical problems so I did not feel that it was necessary.
But after 9/11 I started having a lot of pain, probably due to phsycological stress, that resultet in me pressing my jaws together at sleep. After this experience I felt very worried that I would experience more or similar pain again so I contacted the dentist when I moved back to Sweden in the summer 2002. Since then this process has been ongoing, unbelievable but true, it took 5 years before I had the operation!!!
I was very worried about the operation, the operation itself and that something might go wrong (loss of feeling or facial expression), or that it would be a big physical change in my appearance. The operation could have been made in three different ways, luckily for me they chose the one that was the "simplest" one to do. It took only 5 hours!!! I do have pictures of me directly after the operation and let me tell you that is a freaky sight, but I will not share them!
However, after it all, after 3 days of heavy medication at the hospital and then 3,5 weeks of recovery, and now almost 6 months later, I'm very happy with the result. It did not change my appearance in any big way from the front and from the side it only adjusted what was "wrong", I have a much better bite and so far no physical pain. So now it feels OK to be 30 and have a retainer, atleast I can take it out whenever I feel like it!
