My McStory - 7 Extractions!
Moderator: bbsadmin
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vgmessenger
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Sun Nov 26, 2006 11:08 pm
- Location: Alabama
Hey seriosly, lol I love greys anatomy, anyways i have the In-Ovation clear on the top. I love them I am 29 and It does not bother me at all to have my braces. I had my uppers and lowers put on on November the 1st 2006 My BSSO is scheduled for June 19th. I am so ready. My ortho said my teeth have move quickly and they look great. I guess I should put some pics up. Good luck with all. I love this site too. The closer you get to your date the more you will appreciate this site!!!
Hi and welcome! We have (or had) a lot in common (in my 30s with my second set of braces, overbite, no chin, sleep apnea, nose issues, etc.) Unfortunately they didn't correct my nose stuff during my jaw surgery last year so I'm jealous that you'll be having that done all at once. As far as looking like a teenager in braces, I hear you. If it helps, noone ever in the two years I've had them has said anything about me looking like a teen but plenty of people said it to me before the braces. Anyway it goes by quicker than you think it will and is totally worth it. Good luck, welcome again and I'm glad you found us!
Braces on July 2005
Upper/Lower/Genio July 2006
Braces off June 2007
Upper/Lower/Genio July 2006
Braces off June 2007
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vgmessenger
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Sun Nov 26, 2006 11:08 pm
- Location: Alabama
Seriously good luck with your braces Meryaten gives great information!! I did use alot of wax and I did swallow alot of wax. Totally take something if you need it my ortho prescribed some darvocet. I took that before I went to bed if I felt like I needed it and during the day I took Excedrin which worked fab. I have 2 little girls running around so i did not want to be in pain or sleepy from the drugs. Victoria
My apnea improved to an extent--the apnea that was caused by too narrow an airway improved after my lower jaw was advanced (my before and after x-rays of my airway are pretty amazing--so tiny before and so opened up after) but then I realized I also had nose problems that were also causing snoring. Overall, though, my sleep is better.
Braces on July 2005
Upper/Lower/Genio July 2006
Braces off June 2007
Upper/Lower/Genio July 2006
Braces off June 2007
Wow, your teeth are so straight and pretty! Maybe it won't take you long at all to get finished! I can't believe it would take a year to get you ready but what do I know. I mean I know it takes more than just getting the teeth straighter. Originally my OS told me it usually never takes more than 6 months in braces to get people ready for surgery, though.
Braces on July 2005
Upper/Lower/Genio July 2006
Braces off June 2007
Upper/Lower/Genio July 2006
Braces off June 2007
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Brandyleigh35
- Posts: 1018
- Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:25 pm
- Location: Alaska
- Contact:
Not to be rude, but does your surgeon have a lot of expereince working with people who have sleep apnea or is his specialty just oral maxillofacial surgery? It really is important to have someone that specilizes in sleep apnea. What your doctor is suggesting regarding possible MMA, later is not that simple. Your bottom jaw would have to be moved again and re-bolted. this would totally compromise your lower jaw bone, and might not even be possible depending on how things go. MMA is a big deal (having just gone through it I think I can speak pretty knowledgeably about it.) I was originally scheduled to have BSSO and genio, then my doctor said that he was not sure that this would fix my problem. He said it might, but if it didn't then I was pretty much screwed as it would not be recommended to go back and do more surgery. He suggested that we do the MMA from the get go. Attack all the possible problems at once. Moving the maxilla forward would stretch the tissue of the palate and open the airway, moving the mandible forward would open it, and then the genio would change the pull on the tongue muscles. He said it would give me the most bang for my buck. I'm very glad I did this as it has totally eliminated my apnea.
Reading your story has me a bit concerned. First was the suggestion of the UPPP. I've done literally tons and tons of research on apnea and most of the research does not support favorable outcomes with the UPPP. Even doctor Kasey Li, who is the world reknown expert in the sleep apnea field and does litereally 30 MMA's a week doesn't support that procedure. If you visit my blog there are several other people on there who have had MMA's. You might want to read their stories and see what it involved. You might also want to consider forgoing the UPPP, and just doing he MMA from the beginning. Also, please do your research and be very aware of the possible complications that can come from this type of surgery. In particular the risks of genioglossus advancement. Also, be aware that the sliding genioplasty, genioglossus, and BSSO present risks to your tongue. My tongue has been very numb and burny since my surgery 7 weeks ago. I also know another guy who had this surgery 2 years ago who has no feeling or tastebuds on the whole left side of his tongue and the tip. There are several other accounts on the internet itself of people who suffered long term tongue issues after these surgeries.
I'm certainly not trying to discourage you against this surgery just for you to be very very informed and to get more then one opinion. I was consulting with a dental sleep medicine doctor, my ENT, my ortho, two dentists, and my Oral surgeon. I contacted a ton of people regarding his credentials and experience, and also saw the competing oral surgeon in town and investigated him too. I also talked with several of his previous patients to make sure they were happy with their results. My doctor has been doing this surgery for 29 years now. In my town he is considered phenomenal, and all of the other professionals had nothing but overwhelmingly positive comments to say about him. He had a lot of experience with the whole sleep apnea angle, whereas the other doctor had done a lot of surgeries to improve peoples bite but not specifically for correction of apnea.
Not sure how much research you have done but here are a couple of sites with a wealth of information.
http://www.sleepnet.com/noncpap21/noncpap21.html
http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/message-boards/
(click on sleep apnea board)
If I have found one thing throughout this whole journey it is this: No matter how great you think your doctor is, the burden of responsibility falls on you to manage your own health care. This is a job for your doctor, and while he cares about your treatment it really is about making money for himself. You need to know the right questions to ask, and what the whole process es involves. Don't be afraid to ask about his credentials etc. I went to my initial appointment with 3 pages of questions for my doctor. He went through every single one of them with me (1.5 hours of his time) and my second appointment I came back with 2 more pages. I also sent him several emails in between that he always very thoughtfully answered. He loved that I knew so much, and there were several times I brought up stuff that he was very surprised that I knew. At one point I talked to him about a tooth issue I had been having and a possible concern I had about what it might be. He said "you know...you are right, I had not thought about that, but you are right! It could very well be that" I have nothing but the utmost respect for my OS, he is a great as doctors get, but reality is that I was just another mouth to him.
Do the research and be fully educated regarding this procedure. It would totally suck to go through all of this to not fix the problem, or come out of it with residual numbness etc and still have apnea issues. I hope this helps......I was not trying to say your doctor is not competent, but what he is suggesting, epecially about doing the MMA later if the BSSO doesn't work is not consistent with any of the research regarding this subject. No good doctor would recommend re-breaking someones jaw, or a do-over when they could avoid that all together. You bones can only take so much. If your overbite is not huge even a 3mm advancment on top could improve your apnea and then you would not have to go back and have anything else done later. It really is about fixing the problem in the way that is going to have the most likely, positive results.
Brandy
Reading your story has me a bit concerned. First was the suggestion of the UPPP. I've done literally tons and tons of research on apnea and most of the research does not support favorable outcomes with the UPPP. Even doctor Kasey Li, who is the world reknown expert in the sleep apnea field and does litereally 30 MMA's a week doesn't support that procedure. If you visit my blog there are several other people on there who have had MMA's. You might want to read their stories and see what it involved. You might also want to consider forgoing the UPPP, and just doing he MMA from the beginning. Also, please do your research and be very aware of the possible complications that can come from this type of surgery. In particular the risks of genioglossus advancement. Also, be aware that the sliding genioplasty, genioglossus, and BSSO present risks to your tongue. My tongue has been very numb and burny since my surgery 7 weeks ago. I also know another guy who had this surgery 2 years ago who has no feeling or tastebuds on the whole left side of his tongue and the tip. There are several other accounts on the internet itself of people who suffered long term tongue issues after these surgeries.
I'm certainly not trying to discourage you against this surgery just for you to be very very informed and to get more then one opinion. I was consulting with a dental sleep medicine doctor, my ENT, my ortho, two dentists, and my Oral surgeon. I contacted a ton of people regarding his credentials and experience, and also saw the competing oral surgeon in town and investigated him too. I also talked with several of his previous patients to make sure they were happy with their results. My doctor has been doing this surgery for 29 years now. In my town he is considered phenomenal, and all of the other professionals had nothing but overwhelmingly positive comments to say about him. He had a lot of experience with the whole sleep apnea angle, whereas the other doctor had done a lot of surgeries to improve peoples bite but not specifically for correction of apnea.
Not sure how much research you have done but here are a couple of sites with a wealth of information.
http://www.sleepnet.com/noncpap21/noncpap21.html
http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/message-boards/
(click on sleep apnea board)
If I have found one thing throughout this whole journey it is this: No matter how great you think your doctor is, the burden of responsibility falls on you to manage your own health care. This is a job for your doctor, and while he cares about your treatment it really is about making money for himself. You need to know the right questions to ask, and what the whole process es involves. Don't be afraid to ask about his credentials etc. I went to my initial appointment with 3 pages of questions for my doctor. He went through every single one of them with me (1.5 hours of his time) and my second appointment I came back with 2 more pages. I also sent him several emails in between that he always very thoughtfully answered. He loved that I knew so much, and there were several times I brought up stuff that he was very surprised that I knew. At one point I talked to him about a tooth issue I had been having and a possible concern I had about what it might be. He said "you know...you are right, I had not thought about that, but you are right! It could very well be that" I have nothing but the utmost respect for my OS, he is a great as doctors get, but reality is that I was just another mouth to him.
Do the research and be fully educated regarding this procedure. It would totally suck to go through all of this to not fix the problem, or come out of it with residual numbness etc and still have apnea issues. I hope this helps......I was not trying to say your doctor is not competent, but what he is suggesting, epecially about doing the MMA later if the BSSO doesn't work is not consistent with any of the research regarding this subject. No good doctor would recommend re-breaking someones jaw, or a do-over when they could avoid that all together. You bones can only take so much. If your overbite is not huge even a 3mm advancment on top could improve your apnea and then you would not have to go back and have anything else done later. It really is about fixing the problem in the way that is going to have the most likely, positive results.
Brandy
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allysakiss
- Posts: 35
- Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 2:30 pm
- Location: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
im a little late but...
Hello! i am also a little late but glad to be caught up on your story! 
i also had my 4 impacted wisdoms removed, (b4 being braced) and now i have been told i need 2 bicusp. removed. i look forward to hearing about your mandibular advancement surgery it seems we are in the same boat only you get to do it first! good luck with everything expecially the chin (i know exactly how you feel!) cheers!
i also had my 4 impacted wisdoms removed, (b4 being braced) and now i have been told i need 2 bicusp. removed. i look forward to hearing about your mandibular advancement surgery it seems we are in the same boat only you get to do it first! good luck with everything expecially the chin (i know exactly how you feel!) cheers!
Birthday coming up! August 22!