Success Stories

“I really had been seriously exploring jaw surgery for pretty close to 10 years. I think I decided in the first five minutes when I met Dr. Nordstrom that I was going to do the surgery with him. He made it feel a lot easier than it had felt with other physicians that I have met with,” begins Dr. Larry D., an Alaska Center for Oral + Facial Surgery patient.

James underwent lower jaw reconstruction.  Post-surgery, James remembers waking up and feeling hungry. “No pain, just hunger! I was on a liquid diet for a little while. After the first day, I didn’t use any pain medication. It surprised me that there wasn’t really any pain with the surgery. It was more comfortable than having wisdom teeth taken out!” relates James. “I was also surprised at how quickly the swelling went down; it was just about four days.”

“I was born with a cleft lip and palate,” begins Dr. Terin M., a jaw surgery patient of Alaska Center for Oral + Facial Surgery. “I had multiple surgeries beginning as an infant through my early childhood. When I was 10 years old, my mother passed away and as a result, my medical care wasn’t as aggressively pursued as it would have been. I still had issues with my upper palate and jaw but was not able to look into a remedy until I became an adult.”

“The first time my jaw dislocated and got stuck, I was so scared and didn’t know what to do,” remembers JJ. “That was the beginning of a six-year orthodontic treatment journey that we always knew would end with a need for jaw surgery.”

“My insurance company rejected a few of the charges, but the amazing front desk staff at Alaska Center for Oral + Facial Surgery were tenacious & successful in getting everything paid for in the end. Dr. Nordstrom himself even wrote a letter to my insurance company explaining the procedure, why it was necessary, & why it should be covered. It’s that level of outstanding customer service that has me singing the praises of everyone on the team!”

“Kate had skeletal malformations such as mandibular hypoplasia and an open bite. She had orthodontic treatment since she was 11 years old, but by the time she was 15, all of the orthodontic options had been exhausted; therefore, she was referred for a possible surgical solution. We found Alaska Center for Oral + Facial Surgery. We immediately felt comfortable at AOFS. After all of the research and consults, there was no doubt we wanted to go with AOFS.”

“When Leah was eight years old, we realized something was truly wrong with her jaw and we were desperate for help. Her face looked off-center. People stared. It was heartbreaking. When we found Dr. Nordstrom, we felt like, ‘We finally found someone who is willing and able to help us!’ It was a huge relief but there was still a lot of uncertainty.”

“I’ve always had poor teeth. I grew up in a place without fluoridation in the water supply. I feel like I’ve spent my entire life in a dental chair! As an adult, my teeth would crack and then they would have to be extracted. Chewing food was difficult, as I only had one place in my mouth where my molars matched up. It finally got to the point where my remaining teeth were in such bad condition I had to do something,” begins Steve H., a dental implant patient of Alaska Center for Oral + Facial Surgery. “I consulted with Dr. Nordstrom and together we chose implant bridges.”

“A toothache may seem like a simple condition that happens once in a while, but it is extremely frustrating when it happens. There are reasons why this pain exists and there are solutions to it – you just have to talk to the right people!”