One-year review of double-jaw surgery for malocclusion (including orthodontics)

Ever since I was young, my side profile has been very stressful for me. I do not know if it was just me, but it did not show much from the front; from the side, though, my chin looked especially long and projected forward, which made my overall impression look different and bothered me. In particular, my chin seemed to protrude more when I smiled or spoke, so I even felt self-conscious about making facial expressions comfortably in front of people. As those feelings kept piling up, I thought I should just have surgery once and get rid of the stress. In the end, on August 5 last year, I had double-jaw surgery and two types of facial contouring surgery (square jaw and chin) at [Clinic A]! It has already been 12 months since surgery! In the beginning, there were many hard days because of swelling, stamina, and being unable to eat, but after several months, I can barely remember them. I think nearly all the swelling has gone down now, and I have gotten much more used to chewing. However, perhaps because I am still undergoing orthodontic treatment, there is still a slightly awkward feeling when chewing or speaking. I expect it will become much more natural once the orthodontic treatment is finished, so I am looking forward to that. I am still undergoing orthodontic treatment, and the clinic said the total duration would take about one and a half to two years, so I plan to keep watching it! When I first got the braces, they ached and hurt more than I expected. In particular, chewing was uncomfortable for about the first three days. It felt awkward simply having something in my mouth, and it felt like my pronunciation was slightly unclear, but I gradually adapted over time. The dentist told me to clean thoroughly with dental floss or an interdental brush after meals and brushing, and because food tends to get caught in the braces often, I pay a lot of attention to brushing. Also, if orthodontic treatment lasts a while, they later use things like elastic bands for fixation; from that point, you have to be careful not to let food stain the elastics. At each orthodontic appointment, they check whether everything is progressing well, and fortunately the progress has been good, so they said it may be finished around next spring. At first, when I heard two years, it truly felt far away, but now that time has passed, it seems to be going faster than I expected. I hope it finishes well soon! People around me say very often that my face has become smaller. I met friends for the first time in a while recently, and once the swelling had gone down a lot, every one of them said my face seemed smaller. Whenever I hear that, I feel that all the hardship was worthwhile. Also, my side profile photographs beautifully now, which makes me happy, and lately my side profile actually feels more natural than my front view. In the past, I was conscious of my chin every time I smiled and smiled awkwardly, but now I smile much more comfortably. There are still some slightly awkward parts because of the orthodontic treatment, but thinking it will improve further once treatment ends helps me wait well through the remaining time. Before surgery, since it was major surgery, I deliberated a great deal and thought about it for a long time, but now that it has been nearly a year since surgery, I think it was good that I did it sooner. It is not completely over because orthodontic treatment remains, but I am sufficiently satisfied with the changes so far~