Hey there jma295psu (Jean),
My top teeth looked almost similar to yours before surgery, except behind my two front teeth there was a little more crowding! What a difference eh?! U'res look great, sorry you had to turn again. Seeing yours made me realise the immense changes that take place. Were u told you just had to have the SARPE done & nothing more? Thats gr8, i was told, i would need the lower jaw surgery, but after seeing the results of the SARPE, my ortho told me I won't need the bottom jaw surgery, I am very relieved about that. Good luck with the rest of your journey.
Hey there Michelle & Ward
Thank u for the support, really appreciate it. I'm seeing my gap close some more. I actually did a double take in the mirror yesterday & and am sure it's getting smaller & smaller, going on the 11th for my next visit to the ortho, he'll want to start to bring the tooth that is the farthest in the back to its position hopefully. That should make those front 2 teeth miss each other a little more! Lol!
Sauerkraut,
Yh the expander had me dribbling for the 1st couple of hours & sucking my saliva, lol!! Not a very pleasant thought, lol! It did only last that day though, if i remember correctly. Hope everything went well on your visit to the hospital.
Naz
SARPE Surgery
Moderator: bbsadmin
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sauerkraut
- Posts: 573
- Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:57 pm
- Location: Germany
I'm back folks! Had the op on Thursday and got out Saturday. Thank you for all your good wishes. I've started expanding already. In fact they wouldn't let me out of hospital until I could demonstrate that I can turn the key OK. I couldn't, but hubby came to the rescue!
It's very odd having a mouth with a roof to it, now the enormous ridge has been removed. The surgeon was still going on about that when he came to see me after the op. He's taken photos, apparently, so I daresay I shall appear in some journal or other one of these days.
So far things seem OK. The pain is manageable and the dribbling is under control. The worst thing is having a terribly stuffy nose, which makes breathing such an effort especially at night. I'm sleeping virtually upright.
But I'm very glad to be back home.
It's very odd having a mouth with a roof to it, now the enormous ridge has been removed. The surgeon was still going on about that when he came to see me after the op. He's taken photos, apparently, so I daresay I shall appear in some journal or other one of these days.
So far things seem OK. The pain is manageable and the dribbling is under control.
The worst thing is having a terribly stuffy nose, which makes breathing such an effort especially at night. I'm sleeping virtually upright.But I'm very glad to be back home.
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sauerkraut
- Posts: 573
- Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:57 pm
- Location: Germany
That's really good news for you, and I'm taking some encouragement from it, too, because I also might or might not need lower jaw surgery later, depending on how things go. It's great to hear what's achievable!na2r4 wrote: i was told, i would need the lower jaw surgery, but after seeing the results of the SARPE, my ortho told me I won't need the bottom jaw surgery, I am very relieved about that.
Naz
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wardenclyffe
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 9:34 pm
Just wanted to say hello and see how everyone is doing.
Sauerkraut,
How's the recovery? I hope you are feeling well.
Ward,
When is the next Ortho. appt?
Lisa,
Where are you??????
na2r4 & jma295psu,
How's the progress?
I also wanted to share with you my blog address. I regretfully started it after surgery but, it seems to be going well anyhow. I figured I can talk about my current status and my upcoming surgery. If you would like, check it out. http://www.myorthojourney.blogspot.com/
Take care
Michelle
Sauerkraut,
How's the recovery? I hope you are feeling well.
Ward,
When is the next Ortho. appt?
Lisa,
Where are you??????
na2r4 & jma295psu,
How's the progress?
I also wanted to share with you my blog address. I regretfully started it after surgery but, it seems to be going well anyhow. I figured I can talk about my current status and my upcoming surgery. If you would like, check it out. http://www.myorthojourney.blogspot.com/
Take care
Michelle
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wardenclyffe
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 9:34 pm
GAP GONE!!! My two front teeth had a reunion last night. After seemingly stalling for weeks, my teeth began moving again in the past couple of days. Now I have no gap in the middle. I have a gap on either side of those teeth, which is new, but the gaps are small and barely noticeable.
Hopefully, this means I'll get my expander out at my next appt. on the 18th.
Michelle, don't have time to check out your blog right now, but I will later today and report back.
Ward
Hopefully, this means I'll get my expander out at my next appt. on the 18th.
Michelle, don't have time to check out your blog right now, but I will later today and report back.
Ward
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chipmunkcheeks
- Posts: 206
- Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2007 3:59 pm
- Location: Long Island, NY
update
hey all,
sorry, long time no response. its the beginning of the school year and i teach first grade, so its a lot fo work. i got my braces on the frist day of school and have another appt with the ortho on oct 18th. right now he is trying to close my gap caused by taking out an incisor and rotate my biscupids, which i never realized how rotated they were until the brackets went on since they were in line with the rest of the teeth on my bottom.
however, i feel like the odd one out with my expander and whats going on on the top. i asked the OD when id get top braces and he said january. i asked if id be ready for surgery if we start then and he said he plans on it. he figures that the gap will close by the time i get braces anyways. right now its down from about 7mm to 3mm at the gumline and 2mm at the bottom of my teeth in less 3 months. it gets better though. i hear that usually people get the expander out in 5-6 months...i will have mine for at least 8...arent i lucky?!?!?!? he is taking everything slowly because he doesnt want to have a problem and lose what we gained considering my impending surgery this summer.
anyways, braces seem to be moving on the bottom, but very slowly. my teeth didnt really have many issues to begin with, more liek the jaw. i guess that is why the difference is not as dramatic as those who have severe rotation/crowding/unlevelness/or combos of issues.
Well, i cant wait to look at michelles blog spot and hear about everyone elses progress, so keep me posted. ill get pics up when something cool happens. talk to you soon.
lisa
sorry, long time no response. its the beginning of the school year and i teach first grade, so its a lot fo work. i got my braces on the frist day of school and have another appt with the ortho on oct 18th. right now he is trying to close my gap caused by taking out an incisor and rotate my biscupids, which i never realized how rotated they were until the brackets went on since they were in line with the rest of the teeth on my bottom.
however, i feel like the odd one out with my expander and whats going on on the top. i asked the OD when id get top braces and he said january. i asked if id be ready for surgery if we start then and he said he plans on it. he figures that the gap will close by the time i get braces anyways. right now its down from about 7mm to 3mm at the gumline and 2mm at the bottom of my teeth in less 3 months. it gets better though. i hear that usually people get the expander out in 5-6 months...i will have mine for at least 8...arent i lucky?!?!?!? he is taking everything slowly because he doesnt want to have a problem and lose what we gained considering my impending surgery this summer.
anyways, braces seem to be moving on the bottom, but very slowly. my teeth didnt really have many issues to begin with, more liek the jaw. i guess that is why the difference is not as dramatic as those who have severe rotation/crowding/unlevelness/or combos of issues.
Well, i cant wait to look at michelles blog spot and hear about everyone elses progress, so keep me posted. ill get pics up when something cool happens. talk to you soon.
lisa
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sauerkraut
- Posts: 573
- Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:57 pm
- Location: Germany
Congratulations!!wardenclyffe wrote:GAP GONE!!!
Ward
You must be thrilled to bits about that. Hope the good news continues and you finally get rid of the dreaded expander at your next appt. For me of course that's still a l-o-n-g way off!!Michelle
I'm plodding along, thanks, taking things a day at a time. I have a weird autoimmune disease which makes me tired all the time anyway, so surgery really knocks me out. But the family tells me I'm looking better every day so I guess I have to believe them!
I had a quick look at your blog - very interesting to see how someone's doing who's several steps ahead of me. From the pics it looks like you've made tremendous progress already. I share your problem of being a mouth breather and getting terribly sore lips. In hospital they actually gave me a kind of steroid cream to put on them, but I use it very sparingly. I'm not a great medicine taker at the best of times.
Here's hoping you're rid of your expander soon, too! Ward,
That is so awesome!! I have to ask though... is the top of your front teeth by your gums closed?? Mine still isn't. The bottom is completely closed so I have this little triangle opening. It isn't budging.
I am so jealous you might get your expander out on the 18th. I want mine out so badly! This expander and I, just do not work well together!
Lisa,
Easy for me to say...NOT but, just be patient. There must be a reason as to why he's doing things in the order he's doing them. It bothers me too. I can't figure out why I can't have my bottom ones on. To me, it seems like we're wasting time.
Sauerkraut,
I also have an autoimmune disease, something to do with my thyroid. I try to be very careful with what I take too. Does the steroid cream work? I have tried everything and they still really burn/hurt. One of the other girls that I chat with told me to try Burt's Bees with pomegranite. I'll try it and let you know.
Take care everyone!!
Michelle
That is so awesome!! I have to ask though... is the top of your front teeth by your gums closed?? Mine still isn't. The bottom is completely closed so I have this little triangle opening. It isn't budging.
I am so jealous you might get your expander out on the 18th. I want mine out so badly! This expander and I, just do not work well together!
Lisa,
Easy for me to say...NOT but, just be patient. There must be a reason as to why he's doing things in the order he's doing them. It bothers me too. I can't figure out why I can't have my bottom ones on. To me, it seems like we're wasting time.
Sauerkraut,
I also have an autoimmune disease, something to do with my thyroid. I try to be very careful with what I take too. Does the steroid cream work? I have tried everything and they still really burn/hurt. One of the other girls that I chat with told me to try Burt's Bees with pomegranite. I'll try it and let you know.
Take care everyone!!
Michelle
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sauerkraut
- Posts: 573
- Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:57 pm
- Location: Germany
Yes the steroid cream worked when they splatted it all over me in hospital but I don't think it's a long-term solution. I'm now using Bepanthen eye and nose salve which does quite a good job. It works on crusted-up noses, too (which is actually what it's meant for) though you should really have 2 tubes on the go at once so lips and nose aren't treated from the same tube.MGood wrote: Does the steroid cream work? I have tried everything and they still really burn/hurt. One of the other girls that I chat with told me to try Burt's Bees with pomegranite. I'll try it and let you know.
Take care everyone!!
Michelle
I haven't heard of Burt's Bees with pomegranite. Wonder if it's available in Germany??
Hey everyone.
Naz, I was never told that my lower might need surgery. I think if they had told me that I might have just said forget it. As it was, my insurance did not cover the SARPE saying that it was not medically necessary. So, last year, we spent $11,000 on my mouth alone. Not to mention that I have numerous other medical problems in parts of my body. We could not have afforded lower surgery as well.
As for me, I am just playing the waiting game for now. I have no expander. I still have pokey wires (or should I say again, I got them clipped once already this adjustment and had them ground down by a dentist at school). I continue to load up on the wax and wait for my next adjustment. That comes on the 16th of this month. I am assuming I will get a new powerchain as well as a new wire to try and finish the closing of the gap. It seems like everyone else is ahead of me there for some reason. My ortho must like to make my self-esteem lower than normal or something...
I can't wait for the day that my two front teeth meet again. They haven't visited in almost a year now. I can handle the braces, they are no problem. It's just this gap thing that is getting me now.
Anyway, I have much to do as I have an exam in the morning and I had another one tonight. I have much more preparation to go. I just wanted to touch base and let everyone know I am still around.
Jean
Naz, I was never told that my lower might need surgery. I think if they had told me that I might have just said forget it. As it was, my insurance did not cover the SARPE saying that it was not medically necessary. So, last year, we spent $11,000 on my mouth alone. Not to mention that I have numerous other medical problems in parts of my body. We could not have afforded lower surgery as well.
As for me, I am just playing the waiting game for now. I have no expander. I still have pokey wires (or should I say again, I got them clipped once already this adjustment and had them ground down by a dentist at school). I continue to load up on the wax and wait for my next adjustment. That comes on the 16th of this month. I am assuming I will get a new powerchain as well as a new wire to try and finish the closing of the gap. It seems like everyone else is ahead of me there for some reason. My ortho must like to make my self-esteem lower than normal or something...
I can't wait for the day that my two front teeth meet again. They haven't visited in almost a year now. I can handle the braces, they are no problem. It's just this gap thing that is getting me now.
Anyway, I have much to do as I have an exam in the morning and I had another one tonight. I have much more preparation to go. I just wanted to touch base and let everyone know I am still around.
Jean
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wardenclyffe
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 9:34 pm
Hey everyone,
I wrote a pretty long post the other day (mostly about Michelle's blog) and my computer crashed as I was posting it and I lost it. I'll try and reproduce it (but I'll make it shorter).
First, my gap has closed completely. Like Michelle's, they met at the bottom first, but then in 24-48 hours they zipped up to the top. I had a long stall before then, though. I just think Michelle is having her stall in mid-meeting.
Now about the blog. I think it's great, but I'm going to make a suggestion. That suggestion is that you duplicate your blog posts here. You don't need to add the photos here or anything. If you think back to when you first discovered this board; you'll remember how useful it was. I don't think it will harm your blog traffic to post here. In fact, I suspect that if you post your blog entries here and include a link to your blog, it will increase traffic. That's how I discovered Brandy's blog and other resources. The more often you post here (even if it's just a duplicate of the blog entry), the more help you can be to others.
That's the much shorter, less nuanced argument.
That's it,
Ward
I wrote a pretty long post the other day (mostly about Michelle's blog) and my computer crashed as I was posting it and I lost it. I'll try and reproduce it (but I'll make it shorter).
First, my gap has closed completely. Like Michelle's, they met at the bottom first, but then in 24-48 hours they zipped up to the top. I had a long stall before then, though. I just think Michelle is having her stall in mid-meeting.
Now about the blog. I think it's great, but I'm going to make a suggestion. That suggestion is that you duplicate your blog posts here. You don't need to add the photos here or anything. If you think back to when you first discovered this board; you'll remember how useful it was. I don't think it will harm your blog traffic to post here. In fact, I suspect that if you post your blog entries here and include a link to your blog, it will increase traffic. That's how I discovered Brandy's blog and other resources. The more often you post here (even if it's just a duplicate of the blog entry), the more help you can be to others.
That's the much shorter, less nuanced argument.
That's it,
Ward
Ward,
I am so jealous. I think the upper part of my gap has stalled indefinately. It's been quite a while since the bottom of my front teeth made contact and the tops aren't budging! I can't wait for my appt. on Tuesday, I have a TON of questions!
Good luck to Ward and Lisa at your appt's on the 18th!
I am so jealous. I think the upper part of my gap has stalled indefinately. It's been quite a while since the bottom of my front teeth made contact and the tops aren't budging! I can't wait for my appt. on Tuesday, I have a TON of questions!
Good luck to Ward and Lisa at your appt's on the 18th!
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wardenclyffe
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 9:34 pm
Don't feel too bad. My gap comes and goes. It's really weird. When I first wrote, my gap had closed completely. In fact, it had closed so much that I felt like there was too much pressure pushing them together. A couple of days later, it was completely open again (just slightly). Then, just the bottoms came together (like yours), then the gap opened again. Right now, it's pretty much closed again, but I wouldn't count on it staying that way. Who knows what's next?
Ward
Ward
Sarpe
Hello I just wanted to say that I have officially like Most of you on here just read all 47 pages of this forum and i have given this site to my oral surgen which he was quite intrested that it would help people like me. Just A brief I had My Sarpe 9/18/07 and i go into the ortho oct 15th I have a slightly diffrent expander than the rest of you and i also have a shwartz appliance on the bottom that i expand 1 time weekly pulling my teeth on the back bottom upright. I too had my last wisdom tooth pulled out same time as sarpe my ortho rated me 9 1/2 difficulty out of 10. no extractions planned at this time. I got my expaner the day before surgery and the plan is about 4 months from the surgery and i turn my 1 time daily and i have a pretty narrow upper jaw. I have been in the planning works for this and had went to see numerous ortho's for the last 2 years and the highly recommended ortho was the last i went too see! My ortho doesnt like too pull teeth unless its aplsolutley nesessary which i am thankfull but we will see because i have a whole lot of crowding on my bottom. reading this has made me soo happy in my decision and has already answered alot of questions i would have asked. Thanks to everyone and hopefully we can keep this going for others like us! Just a couple of tips my ortho gave me that i did not see here if you talk a lot like i do your tongue hurts i was told i could put wax on the appliance(expander) I would also have to clean it off or i was told to use chloroseptic throat numbing spray if i needed too. Thanks Joy