Braces X3 + Surgery

Braces off!

2009-11-08T16:08:00.003-05:00

I FINALLY got my braces off a little over 2 weeks ago! It was a 2 hour appointment for the braces removal, teeth cleaning/smoothing and molds for my retainer. My teeth were so sensitive - it was almost painful! I only had to wear my retainer 24/7 for the first week and now I only have to wear it at night.

My jaw hasn't clicked nearly as much as it did when I was wearing my braces - I haven't really had any problems. I think I've only had a slight discomfort clicking once since my braces have been off. I have feeling all over now, but it's not the same feeling as before. My chin and lower lip is the main issue. The feeling is there, but it's almost like a tickling feeling. When I touch my upper lip and lower lip, there is a big difference!! I really hope over time my feeling will come back 100%.

Hope everybody is doing well! I doubt I'll post too much more, but if anybody has any questions please feel free to contact me. I'm happy to help everybody in this situation:)

Day 181 - Braces coming off!!

2009-09-15T20:48:00.006-04:00

Just a quick post to say that my braces are coming off next month! I saw my ortho last week and he felt that my teeth were in the perfect position (or at least as perfect as they are going to get). I'm not wearing any rubberbands either! I just pray that my teeth don't move - so far so good though. I'll be sure to post again when my braces are finally off!

Day 108 - Almost 4 months!!

2009-07-04T19:34:00.004-04:00

So, I saw my ortho about 2 weeks ago and he said everything was looking great. The goal last visit was to have two teeth on my right side move forward (to match the same teeth on my left side). One tooth moved perfectly, but the other was in the exact same spot as before. In order to really make it move, he put a hook for my rubberbands on the back of the tooth. Seriously, it only took about a week for that tooth to move in the correct position.

Right now, my left side and right side are matching identically. (Before, my left side was perfect but the right side of my teeth sat on top of each other - hard to explain, but the second 'Day 53' pic shows the problem). I'm hoping next time I see my ortho he can give me an estimate of when my braces will be removed; I hope soon!

Chewing food is definitely getting better everyday. Now I seem to be having problems with my left side - I only really notice it when I wake up from sleeping on that particular side. The feeling in my chin I think is getting better, too. I still can't feel the middle of it though (well, I can feel a little sensation, but not much). I guess that part is really going to take the full 8 months to heal like my doctor said.

That's all I have for right now. Happy July 4th! I'm off to celebrate:)

Day 77

2009-06-03T18:59:00.007-04:00

Not too much to report. I saw my surgeon a little over a week ago and he said everything looked great. He gave me the 'okay' to eat pretty much whatever I want (really, whatever I'm comfortable with). I asked him if the screws and plate in my chin would go off in a metal detector and he said no - thank goodness! The screws/plate are titanium.

I also asked if there was any possibility in the future if the screws/plate would come loose. He assured me they wouldn't and I have nothing to worry about. He's only had to do one corrective surgery before and that was because the screws were too long and the patient was starting to feel them. The screws he uses now are pretty small and there is no way I'd be able to feel them.

The lack of feeling in my chin is really starting to bother me now. I mean, how much longer until the feeling comes back? I know my surgeon told me it will take up to 8 months, but come on now! There is one small part of my chin that I cant feel - about the size of a penny. It doesn't bother me too much, but there are times where it really feels like a foreign object is on my face. I still have those 2 second shooting pains in my chin about once a day- I'm guessing those are the nerves trying to come back?

There are times when I'll look at myself and think that my face is too long. My face is definitely longer, but sometimes I think it's too long - like I'd be happier if it was just a tiny bit shorter. The swelling is pretty much gone and my face is a lot thinner now. I'm sure this is just a phase and I'll get over it, but who knows....

I hope everybody is doing well :)

Day 53

2009-05-10T16:36:00.009-04:00

I saw my ortho for the first time post surgery on Friday (5/8). He said everything was looking fine and was amazed how much my profile changed! I told him everything was going great, but my right side would bother me every now and then (that's the side that the surgeon moved the most). It only really bothers me when I wake up in the morning and even then it only last for about 5 minutes tops.

My ortho told me that the right side of my bite is a bit off. My teeth on the right side of my bite sit on top of each other. So, I now have to wear 2 rubberbands on that side to help bring my teeth over. I have to wear them 24/7 (unless to eat & brush my teeth) and then wear 1 rubberband on my left side for 12 hours at night. The rubberbands he gave me are tiny & thick.....so yeah, I'm in some pain right now! I'll be happy when my teeth get used to them because even the slightest touch to those teeth hurt. My ortho then shaved the side of one of my bottom teeth. He told me that it will help give my bottom teeth room to move or something like that - I can't remember the reason for it. The sound killed me and I was praying that I wouldn't feel it (which I didn't and he told me I wouldn't). My bottom teeth have been so sensitive lately.

So, here I am today at 53 days post surgery. I feel great and I'm enjoying my "new face" more everyday. I've received nothing but positive reactions from everybody and that helps tremendously. I just can't believe how much I look more like my sister now - we actually look like sisters! I hope everybody is doing well and Happy Mother's Day:)

Profile

2009-04-29T16:46:00.009-04:00

Today it has been 42 days since surgery and I'm doing a lot better. Before last night I thought I could open my mouth as wide as before surgery, but I'm wrong. I was coming home from the Fleetwood Mac concert last night (amazing!!) and I tried to eat a double cheeseburger from McDonalds. That's mushy foods, right?! :) Well, I couldn't open my mouth wide enough to get the burger in - I had to pick it apart to eat it. I've also noticed that when I eat "real" food (i.e., not yogurt, pudding & oatmeal that I mostly eat throughout the day) my jaw gets really sore afterwards. It also still doesn't feel natural when I chew food. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely better but not like before at all. I wonder when it will feel natural to chew again? I hope everybody is doing well! Everyday definitely gets better:)

1 Month and 4 days

2009-04-22T21:16:00.003-04:00

Okay, not much to report. I saw my surgeon last Friday and he said everything looked great. He told me to keep with the soft foods diet and continue to wear my rubberbands the same way. I no longer have to sleep in a semi-upright position anymore! (thank God, because that was uncomfortable). He also told me that my face is definitely still swollen and that it will get a lot thinner in about 3 months. I still have no feeling in my chin; everyday gets better though. I can feel somewhat of a sensation (a small one) in my chin when I wash my face, but that's about it. I have an appointment with my ortho in about a week, so I'll post after that. Hope everybody is doing well!! :)

1 Month!!

2009-04-15T21:32:00.007-04:00

I seriously can't believe its been exactly one month since surgery!! Its been a heck of a journey let me tell you. Thinks are so much better though. A lot of the sores in my mouth have cleared up thanks to putting wax on some of my brackets. I can open my mouth almost as wide as before surgery. The only time I remove my rubberbands is when I brush my teeth and now it's starting to feel naturnal to open my mouth and move my jaw around (not strained like before).

My face still feels really stiff; I can really feel it when I smile (or attempt to smile). I'm not happy with my smile at all, but it does get better with time I've noticed. My chin is constantly throbbing, but not nearly bad as it was. I take 800mg of Motrin in the morning and night - that seems to help a little. I'm still having to sleep in a semi-upright position, but I'll wake up in the middle of the night and I'm laying on my side! I hope I'm not doing any damage!! I have my next appointment with my surgeon in two days, so I'm hoping he'll tell me I can sleep normal now. The rubberbands haven't been too bad, but my teeth are a little sore at the moment. I'll post again after my appointment.

For everybody just out of surgery, hang in there!! I promise it will get better, trust me! Just be patient and get plenty of rest. :)

Day 18

2009-04-05T15:32:00.009-04:00

For starters, my wires were removed on Friday!! That was the one of the happiest days of my entire life, let me tell ya! It took my surgeon maybe all of 5 minutes to see me and I was out the door eating (well, more like slurping) lunch with my Mom. As soon as the wires were removed, he had me open my jaw and that kinda hurt. Not too bad, but just sore really. I could only open it a tiny bit (and I mean tiny). He then put 2 rubberbands in the front and told me to wear them 24/7. I still have to sleep in a semi-upright position, but I no longer have to wear the head wrap at night. My next appointment is in two weeks. As soon as I left the surgeons office, my Mom and I went to our regular mexican restaurant. I had refried beans, sour cream and a side of guacamole. That was the most amazing thing I have ever put in my mouth!! I had to eat with a baby spoon and I was kinda embarrassed because this one lady from across the restaurant kept staring at me!

Now, two days later, I can open my jaw a lot wider than before.....and I mean a LOT wider. I don't try to push it though; I'm scared as to what might happen. The constant throbbing/tingly feeling has minimized, but now it's more of a burning feeling. I asked my surgeon about this and he said that's a very natural feeling after surgery. He prescribed me a different medicine, but it hasn't been helping very much.

Yesterday I upgraded to sweet potatoes and mac & cheese.....even more amazing! I can't really chew yet, so I tongue chewed it with the roof of my mouth. I had spaghetti for dinner that night and that was a little more challenging. It took me about 30 minutes to eat half of it. My stomach must have shrunk because I get full pretty quickly - not really complaining about that because I did need to loose weight. So far I've lost 11 pounds. I'm actually surprised I haven't lost more because pre-surgery I used to eat all the time (well, not all the time but I do love food!).

It's really hard for me to open my mouth to eat because of all the sores. I can feel them with my tongue and they're all over the back of my mouth. It almost feels like my gums are growing over my back molars. I don't know if that's because the sores are so huge that they're rubbing against my molars or what? Needless to say, it's very painful! I rinsed my mouth with hydrogen peroxide, but I don't know if that really helped. Any suggestions?

My lips have become insanely chapped. The corners of my mouth seem to bleed constantly, too. I think because my face is so tight, its caused my lips to chap & bleed (especially when I laugh).

On the plus side, I can feel the right side of my lower lip! Not 100%, but maybe 75%. I really hope I regain the feeling in my chin soon - it feels like a foreign object is on my face!! Also, my skin is back to normal now. A couple of days after surgery my face became really dry and oily.

I have to go back to work tomorrow :(. I so don't want to go back - another week off would be nice!! I'm worried about what I'm going to eat at work. I'm thinking about yogurt and pudding maybe; something I don't have to chew.

Overall, I feel a lot better. If I didn't have these sores in my mouth, I'd feel great! I really hope they go away soon and I hope the hydrogen peroxide helps. I'm sure I'll update at least once before my next appointment. For everybody pending surgery - GOOD LUCK:)

*I got a haircut, too. My hair was just wayyy to long for me to handle at the moment.

2 Weeks Update

2009-04-02T01:46:00.005-04:00

So, today it has officially been 2 weeks since surgery.....well, 2 weeks and a day since it's already 1:48am. Anyways, my mom took a random photo of me on her phone to send to my sister - oh, I LOVE this angle now. Before surgery I would have deleted a pic like this so quick, but not anymore!!

I'm still swollen (and more so on one side than the other) and now my face is extremely tight; it actually hurts to smile. I can barely close my mouth, too. My jawline is sore and I can definitely see where I'm still swollen there. I actually think my upper cheeks are swollen, too. Even touching my face hurts.

There is a constant throbbing and tingly feeling 24/7. It's not necessarily painful, but every now and then it is. I never get headaches and now because of this, I do. I'm guessing the pain is the nerves trying to come back? I have absolutely no feeling in my chin and lower lip whatsoever. It feels like there is a foreign object on my face! When is the feeling supposed to come back? I'm seriously thinking about getting acupuncture - I'm going to ask my surgeon on Friday what he thinks.

I have had the worst time sleeping. I can't sleep in an upright position....especially wearing a face wrap at the same time. I'm hoping I wont have to continue this after Friday. We'll see.

I'm so ready to get these wires removed, it's not even funny!! I'm not necessarily hungry (my stomach has gotten used to the liquid diet), but my face is sore because of it. I pray I have no problems after getting my wires cut.....like my mid line shifting again.

I'll be sure to post again after my next appointment :)

(I know this is kind of a Debbie Downer post, but it's really not as bad as it seems! I just pray that the pain stops before I go back to work in 5 days.)

Post-Op Appointment

2009-03-27T19:23:00.013-04:00

I saw my surgeon today and the first thing I did was sit for an x-ray. He said everything looked great and my midline was in the perfect position (thank God!). I can't get over the screws in my chin. Look at that gap from the detachment - I sure hope those screws don't ever come loose!! The 2 wires in the middle on my bottom teeth are the wires that are closing my jaw shut. He said those will be removed next Friday!! When he wired me shut 4 days ago, he said I'd be wired for about 2 weeks. This will be 3 days earlier, so I am extremely excited!

He then took the pressure bandage off my chin. Let me tell you, that was pretty painful! That bandage was glued to my skin...and I mean GLUED! When he was taking the bandage off, the top layer of skin underneath my mouth was also removed.....ugh, it was disgusting. The nurse joked that a free chemical peel came with this visit! He told me to apply neosporin on it and it should heal just fine since it was just a thin layer. Does anybody remember the episode of Sex & the City when Samantha gets a chemical peel that goes wrong? Well, that's exactly what it looks like now.

Of course, he said I'm still swollen and that most of it should come down by next week. I asked him about the numbness in my lower lip and chin and he said that it takes anywhere from 2 months to a year to get it back 100% (I pray it doesn't take that long!!). I still have to wear the head wrap at night and continue to sleep in an upright position. I've also mentioned that the heavy duty Tylenol he prescribed me is no longer doing it's job. He told me that Motrin would be fine to use, so I'm now taking the childrens liquid Motrin. The pain is not as bad as it used to be. Now its a trobbing and tingling feeling in my lower lip and chin. Is it the nerves trying to come back, maybe?

I'm scheduled to see him again next Friday to get my wires removed (yay!!) and I'm sure I'll be getting rubberbands put on. I can't wait for this appointment! I'm starving!!

Day 8

Day 9

Wired

2009-03-23T17:22:00.010-04:00

I had my appt with my surgeon today and he had to wire me shut. Right after surgery my mid line was perfect. When I threw up in the hospital, it somehow shifted my teeth a little. So, he had to put me under (great....another IV) and he inserted 2 wires. Now my midline is perfect! It's really not as bad as I thought it was going to be......well, that or the pain hasn't really kicked in yet! He said it's probably going to be wired shut for a couple of weeks. I see him again on Friday (3/27/09) and I'll see if he can give me an actual date of removal.

Over the last couple of days I've had the worst sore throat - worse than I've ever had in my life! Let me tell you, that has been the most painful thing of this entire process. Not only does it feel like knives when I swallow, but the back of my throat is swollen. I've tried to gargle with warm salt water, but it's easier said than done.

My left arm is still sore from my IV in the hospital and now from the IV today. FYI: In the hospital, when the nurses give you your medicine through the IV, ask if they can spread it out versus giving it to you all at once. I had 2 different medicines given to me through my IV every 4 hours. One to help with nausea and the other was a painkiller. The nurse would give both medicines right after each other and that caused me to throw up 75% of the time. She then realized that maybe she should've spread it out by 5 mins or so. We tried that the next time and it worked like a charm!

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Surgery & Day 1

2009-03-19T20:20:00.010-04:00

Post Surgery:

Well, I made it through! Not as bad as I thought it was going to be, but still not great. Surgery lasted 4 hours and my surgeon said everything went as planned. I remember waking up in the recovery room and apparently I was in there for an hour. There was a lot of blood in my mouth so they gave me a suction tube to remove it all.

Finally I was wheeled to my room (not a private room like I was hoping, but nobody ended up staying in there with me so my sister slept in the extra bed). My mom, dad and sister were in the room and as soon as the nurse got me settled in I started crying. I wasn't in that much pain or anything, I just think there were so many emotions going through me all at once.

That first night was really rough. I think I threw up at least 4 times. The first time I threw up blood and the next three times I threw up the soup I had eaten for dinner. The elevator ride to take my x-rays was not pleasant at all. As soon as I returned to my room, I threw up.

Here are pics right after surgery:

Next Day:

I didn't sleep much at all. Maybe a total of 3 hours the whole night. My surgeon came in around 7:15am and looked at my jaw straight away. He told me to make a bite and I couldn't- It was way too painful. I honestly think I was too swollen to. He told me to come see him in 4 days and he might have to wire me shut to get the correct bite. Apparently my midline is a bit off. I really hope I don't have to be wired shut. As much as it hurts to open my mouth just a little bit to get a pill in, I don't think I could take not opening my mouth at all.

I left around 2 hours later and went straight to bed. I only slept about 45 minutes. It's kind of hard to sleep in an upright position with the feeling of bricks laying across your face! My face has swollen a good bit, but less than expected. My bottom lip is crazy huge (well, at least it feels huge). I haven't been decongested at all and I am so thankful for that! I hope it stays that way because I don't think I would be able to breathe out of my mouth nearly as well.

Next Day:

Day Before Surgery

2009-03-17T20:24:00.007-04:00

I have less than 12 hours before surgery! I seriously can't believe it's finally going to happen. I had my pre-op with my surgeon yesterday and he made molds of my upper and lower jaw, a mold of my bite and took before pictures. He was staying late that night and actually perform the surgery on my molds so he'll know exactly what to do tomorrow. I thought that was pretty cool.

He's planning on banding me shut and there is only a slim chance that I'll be wired (thank God!) I was scarred that he would keep the splint in, but he assured me that it will be removed. Surgery should last about 3 hours.

I've been 'okay'ed to be out of work for 19 days. I hope that will be enough time for me to recover....well, at least for all of the swelling and bruising to go down.

Here are my last before pics:

Intro

2009-03-13T22:18:00.007-04:00

Okay, where to begin? So....I've been in braces three times since 5th grade. I'm 25 now, so that makes it 15 years of orthogoodness - yeah, just kidding! Three times is a bit much, dont you think? Well, now I'm currently in my third (and last) set of braces awaiting my mandibular advancement surgery scheduled for next week.

Come to find out my first orthodontist (who did my first two sets of braces) never mentioned that I needed to fix my lower jaw situation and that's why I kept relapsing. My current orthodontist told me they would have caught it right off and had me in a Herbst Appliance to correct it - I almost started crying right on the spot!!

First let me just say that it took FOREVER for insurance to approve everything. Did anybody else have major issues with their insurance? My oral surgeon applied for my surgery to Blue Cross and it got denied. They told me not to worry because they deny almost all of these type of cases right off the bat, we just need to appeal. So, we did just that. They sent X-rays and molds of my mouth and that did the trick! I received an approval a couple of months later. As soon as we knew the surgery was approved, I was at the ortho getting my ceramic braces put on. Well, my approval for surgery expired last November and I wasn't ready to go under the knife just yet. So, we then had to re-apply for surgery and of course they approved it (yeah, they better!).

As soon as we got the okay for surgery my ortho and surgeon decided that I needed to have an additional procedure: genioplasty. So, that took another month for it to get approved and let me tell you.....that month took FOREVER. By this time I was ready for surgery and I was having to wait for this one little "okay" from Blue Cross to get the show on the road. I'm thinking about sending the girl from insurance at my surgeons office a BIG thank you card for all her hard work! After all of this, I was told that EVERYTHING is covered by my insurance - I don't even have to pay the $100 co-pay......holla!

Well, this leads me up to today. I'm scheduled for surgery on the 18th (Wednesday) at 7:00am. My pre-op is on Monday and I'm so ready to talk to my surgeon about everything. I'm mostly concerned if I'm going to be banded or wired shut. Dear God, please let me not be wired. It seems that the older I get, the more claustrophobic I become. I realize that it's going to be pretty much the same thing, it would just make me feel better being banded.

I'll be sure to update after my pre-op and post more pictures. If anyone else has any helpful info, please let me know!