Jaw/teeth bite issue

[kennyj]

Hello all, Im new to this forum, and yesterday found out that I would need surgery on my jaw to correct my bite. My back teeth come together though my front teeth have a gap between the top and bottom. The orthodontist told me this is in no way urgent, or serious, though it could cause problems later in my 40's or 50's (I'm 22 now) This does not affect my speech or anything at all, just mainly a slight comfort issue right now.

My main goal is to fly in the military, and I was wondering if anyone knows if this is something that I should wait to do well into my career, or if this needs immediate attention. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Edited April 13, 2010 by kennyj

[Guest HerkRacer]

Hello all, Im new to this forum, and yesterday found out that I would need surgery on my jaw to correct my bite. My back teeth come together though my front teeth have a gap between the top and bottom. The orthodontist told me this is in no way urgent, or serious, though it could cause problems later in my 40's or 50's (I'm 22 now) This does not affect my speech or anything at all, just mainly a slight comfort issue right now.

My main goal is to fly in the military, and I was wondering if anyone knows if this is something that I should wait to do well into my career, or if this needs immediate attention. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

I had the same issue when I was 21 and my orthodontist told me that I should get braces first, then expect my bite to get worse in two years at which point, I will need to get a jaw surgery to correct it. Having braces sucked, especially when you're in your prime age (21-23), and the jaw surgery was stressful for the first month, and it actually changed the shape of my face a little bit. Expect to lose a lot of weight, because the surgeon may wire your teeth shut (luckily for me he didn't). But even with all that pain, it was the best decision I have ever made. I no longer have under bite, and my teeth look great (and it was all FREE courtesy of the USAF). I went on to pilot training 1.5 years after my jaw surgery and it didn't bother me at all nor did the flight surgeon ever care to know about it.

My advice is to take care of it immediately before you goto UPT. You will definitely go DNIF for few months if you get the surgery done after you become a pilot. Good luck!

HerkRacer