I have a question here.....and it may take awhile to ask this question completely, so please bear with me, and try to read thru the whole posting...it's kinda complex.

As a child, my parent had to make the choice between orthognathic surgery( for an under-devolped lower jaw) and braces.

Or just braces....since my jawline was not that bad....at the time

Parents chose the least envasive of the two, which was braces alone, and for about 18 yrs--everything looked and felt fine---teeth were picture perfect, and I have never had any sort of TMJ pain

I wore braces as a kid.... had 4 teeth removed at the time-permanent adult teeth, wisedom teeth have never come up above the surface of the jawline.....they are there, but are very small( just 3, not 4) and I have no pain what so ever.

In my late twenties....I started to get some slight popping in my jaw when eating, but once again, no pain problems. Top teeth started to become somwhat *buck* .

So we used an expander on the top jaw, and went though orthodontics once again

And, YES, I always wore my retainers!!

Once again everything was perfect....always had people ask me if my teeth were *real*

And now that I am quite close to being fossilized(justified and ancient)....something more needs to be done here with the good teeth and jaw bone

This is were it gets complex

I still have the impacted wisedom teeth that have NEVER been a problem.....so NO ONE wants to remove them.....with all that I have read here on Lymenet.....that may not be bad advice!

But every dentist/ orthodontist/maxifasial surgeon I have been to since the good ole' days of perfect teeth as been telling me that I NEED this jaw surgery for the underdeveloped lower jaw, that this can no longer be fixed though orthodontic means without the correct surgicial procedue being done in conjuction with the braces.

ORTHONGNATHIC SURGERY IS TOUGH SURGERY--it's where they literally extend your jaw using screws or other such impliments to get the jaw to grow new bone to lenghten the jawline

Everybody probaly knows someone who has had this surgery...if it is needed, it is done quite young now.You all know the high-school kid with the jaw wired shut for 6 wks due to surgery, don't you?

That's what I am being told needs to be done to me

Right, with lyme disease---seems like those little buggers would burrow what into the bone while it was healing and create havoc!!!!!

I'm lucky, I don't have any of the dental issues talked about with borrelia....believe it or not, I have had only one cavity in my long life---nothing esle. The 4 teeth removed with the braces in childhood--but other teeth were moved into the spaces of those extracted teeth.

With regards to the jaw surgery----I have seen 6 doctors....in different states that told me if I did not eventally get this surgery done, two things would happen.

I will develop some nasty arthitis in the jaw--I already have some limitation on movement--but no pain-yet.

My facial profile will change( not for the better!)....and it could effect my sinuses( already has!!)

I will start having much more pain--hasn't happened yet

And I'm not getting any younger(darn) and the older you are...the tougher time it is to heal

So I've been waiting to get rid of the lyme.....and I'm MUCH better than when I started out with this diseae

But surgery seems chancey right now---but if I don't fix this somehow....I could end up waiting till I am much older, and not be able to handle the surgery.

Has anyone heard of alternative ways to handle this type of problem???

Some new, introvative why to deal with this without doing surgery??

You guys are *up* on the lastest in dentistry, do tell if you know anything.....or can point me in a direction where I can find out more information!!!

Or have stories to share,

Or tales from the front.

i'm very sorry to hear of your dental hardships. I don't have any advice though. I've had plenty of dental problems, but not along your issues.

Just wanted you to know that I did read all of your post and I wish you the best going forward with this difficult decision. my heartfelt best wishes for good health and recovery

About 4 years ago when I was at my worst with Lyme..I mean barely walking, I had appendicitis and had to have emergency surgery.... I actually came through that fine as well....a little set back, but all in all it went ok.

So its hard to tell.... I have needed some other "elective" type surgeries in the past 2 years that I have renegged on....

I guess you have to weigh the pros and cons...

One thing that helped me through my surgeries was keeping well hydrated...IV fluids etc...

I have not pursued this farther since having the DX come in of an immune deficientcy-CVID, so I am to believe no one would touch me with a ten foot pole these days.....plus I run fevers...which is another *no-no* with any type of surgery!

I would just like them to straighten it out through orthodontics and bit splints ....worked before( for 20 yrs--not bad in my opinion), will most likely work again

Yes, I will have to pay for it, but that's life in the big city!!

I'm going to head back into the orthdontists office and tell him about the CVID--he had felt that he could correct them without the surgery.......but wanted to guarantee permantecy this time, so had suggested the surgery.

There are no guarantees in life, on teeth or otherwise....so I will just go back into the braces....it's not uncommon now at days to see people needing them more than once in a lifetime

Maybe threes' the charm

And if my profile suffers due to the underdeveloped jaw( usually all that means is a slightly double chin) it would seem much safer to have that taken care of than going thru Major surgery

I justed wanted to throw out the fishing line and see if anyone was familiar with this in LymeLand