yikes! i really respect that you got through that.
even with the ~3mm gap i have right now... i hate it. i'm not embarrassed about it and i still do all my normal stuff i just... i dunno. my teeth weren't THAT bad before, just had like one tooth not quite right, and i'd flash my smile all the time. now i just dont... as much. lookin' forward to letting it close and moving on to braces!
SARPE Surgery
Moderator: bbsadmin
I've read through some of these posts and still can't name what I had done! I had my palate expanded but didn't have an expander put in at any point with a key to turn it. They just cut my palate in three - the cuts were made either side of my canines and second front teeth and cut into a v-shape then cut down the middle and a bone graft was put in from my hip.
I still have a loose teeth sensation 3 months on and the gaps by my canines haven't closed up much. Is this normal for the surgery I had done?
Has anyone else had this particular type of surgery performed? Be great to hear from you.
Thanks!
I still have a loose teeth sensation 3 months on and the gaps by my canines haven't closed up much. Is this normal for the surgery I had done?
Has anyone else had this particular type of surgery performed? Be great to hear from you.
Thanks!
I felt the same, I had a 2mm gap and am super self-conscious about my smile, although now that the braces are closing the gap (it's been 2 weeks and there's already a noticeable difference) I feel better about it. Hang in there!35ksmile wrote:yikes! i really respect that you got through that.
even with the ~3mm gap i have right now... i hate it. i'm not embarrassed about it and i still do all my normal stuff i just... i dunno. my teeth weren't THAT bad before, just had like one tooth not quite right, and i'd flash my smile all the time. now i just dont... as much. lookin' forward to letting it close and moving on to braces!
32 years old, total time in braces=30 months
-Braces and palate expander on 4/15/10
-RPE Surgery 9/15/10
-Expander removed 3/11
-Braces Removed 9/7/12
-Retainers in 9/7/12
-Braces and palate expander on 4/15/10
-RPE Surgery 9/15/10
-Expander removed 3/11
-Braces Removed 9/7/12
-Retainers in 9/7/12
well, update i guess.
it's been almost 3 full weeks since i had the surgery.
went to the orthodontist yesterday after having completed 30 full turns (7.5mm). he said it looked great and that it was exactly where he wanted it to be, but told me to do another 10 turns over the next 5 days. so that's 40 turns (10mm!) in total. double what i was expecting. he said he's overcorrecting in anticipation of a little relapse and also my molars have "winged" out a little bit, so when he corrects their angle i will lose some space.
my gap is sitting around 6mm now (i'm now at 8mm expansion). it has just exploded in the last week of expanding.
to be honest, the gap doesn't bother me too much. i'm just excited for the final product. i know it'll close. my ortho gave me the option of 1 turn/day for 10 days or 2 turns/day for 5 days until i finish expanding... the first option would keep the gap smaller... i opted for 5 days... dont care about the size of the gap, if it's there it's there, just want to be done crankin my jaw apart so i can start the stabilization and healing process.
i guess there has been a noticeable change in my face, my parents who havent seen me throughout the expansion process commented that my face looks fuller, not as sunken in, more manly or something to that extent. i can kind of tell but it's just a minor difference.
my only issue with the gap is that i feel too silly to smile at cute girls when i see them. hahah. somethin i used to do frequently
it's been almost 3 full weeks since i had the surgery.
went to the orthodontist yesterday after having completed 30 full turns (7.5mm). he said it looked great and that it was exactly where he wanted it to be, but told me to do another 10 turns over the next 5 days. so that's 40 turns (10mm!) in total. double what i was expecting. he said he's overcorrecting in anticipation of a little relapse and also my molars have "winged" out a little bit, so when he corrects their angle i will lose some space.
my gap is sitting around 6mm now (i'm now at 8mm expansion). it has just exploded in the last week of expanding.
to be honest, the gap doesn't bother me too much. i'm just excited for the final product. i know it'll close. my ortho gave me the option of 1 turn/day for 10 days or 2 turns/day for 5 days until i finish expanding... the first option would keep the gap smaller... i opted for 5 days... dont care about the size of the gap, if it's there it's there, just want to be done crankin my jaw apart so i can start the stabilization and healing process.
i guess there has been a noticeable change in my face, my parents who havent seen me throughout the expansion process commented that my face looks fuller, not as sunken in, more manly or something to that extent. i can kind of tell but it's just a minor difference.
my only issue with the gap is that i feel too silly to smile at cute girls when i see them. hahah. somethin i used to do frequently
i guess the strangest thing about this whole experience is i really didn't think there was anything really wrong with my face before this. i knew my teeth weren't perfect (but hey they weren't that bad at all, only one lateral incisor that wasn't in correct position) and my dad convinced me to go get it fixed.
so i went to the ortho and he basically told me my best option was to get my crossbite and underbite corrected as well because it would save me hassle in the future, and if im gonna invest in a perfect smile the two surgeries only ended up being an additional $3500 (yay canada?) on top of my braces which are like $8000. i hesitantly agreed, but i knew it would be for the best in the end, my underbite did kind of bother me.
lo-and-behold with just my expanded jaw i'm suddenly being told by people how much better i look. it's kind of surprising. so i guess all i wanted was perfect teeth and i'm getting a better looking jaw out of it, too. lol
so i went to the ortho and he basically told me my best option was to get my crossbite and underbite corrected as well because it would save me hassle in the future, and if im gonna invest in a perfect smile the two surgeries only ended up being an additional $3500 (yay canada?) on top of my braces which are like $8000. i hesitantly agreed, but i knew it would be for the best in the end, my underbite did kind of bother me.
lo-and-behold with just my expanded jaw i'm suddenly being told by people how much better i look. it's kind of surprising. so i guess all i wanted was perfect teeth and i'm getting a better looking jaw out of it, too. lol
hahah, i also love the following lines to say to people:
when somebody mentions i look better, i LOVE to make them all awkward with "what is this, are you saying i was ugly before??"
or if somebody asks about my teeth "why, do i have broccoli stuck in there or something?"
i kinda just view it as a big joke, none of this really is all that intimidating. before i got the procedure i was a little bit anxious about how it might affect my confidence/attitude/etc. but it really hasn't impacted it much at all. i kinda feel like a kid a couple days before christmas. i know there are things to do but i just want the day to go by so i'm one day closer to my presents.
when somebody mentions i look better, i LOVE to make them all awkward with "what is this, are you saying i was ugly before??"
or if somebody asks about my teeth "why, do i have broccoli stuck in there or something?"
i kinda just view it as a big joke, none of this really is all that intimidating. before i got the procedure i was a little bit anxious about how it might affect my confidence/attitude/etc. but it really hasn't impacted it much at all. i kinda feel like a kid a couple days before christmas. i know there are things to do but i just want the day to go by so i'm one day closer to my presents.
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Van'braces
- Posts: 54
- Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:15 pm
Hi Everyone!
I just had my RPE appliance fitted this morning ready for SARPE on Friday and my teeth on one side are killing me, well.. hurting me like when I had the spacers fitted before braces... Just wondered if anyone else had this? Ive not seen it mentioned before but maybe thats because it pales in comparison to all the surgery "stuff" !
I just had my RPE appliance fitted this morning ready for SARPE on Friday and my teeth on one side are killing me, well.. hurting me like when I had the spacers fitted before braces... Just wondered if anyone else had this? Ive not seen it mentioned before but maybe thats because it pales in comparison to all the surgery "stuff" !
i didn't have it with the RPE, the RPE was rather comfortable compared to the spacers, but the bars on the RPE def tore up my tongue a but for the first couple of days.Van'braces wrote:Hi Everyone!
I just had my RPE appliance fitted this morning ready for SARPE on Friday and my teeth on one side are killing me, well.. hurting me like when I had the spacers fitted before braces... Just wondered if anyone else had this? Ive not seen it mentioned before but maybe thats because it pales in comparison to all the surgery "stuff" !
they may have made it a little tight in preparation for your surgery... i wouldnt worry about it. and actually the spacers are prob the most painful ordeal of the whole process! after surgery your face swells and hurts substantially... but you get painkillers so its not so bad. before you know it most of the swelling is gone and youre fine.
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Van'braces
- Posts: 54
- Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:15 pm
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foxparadox
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2010 2:23 pm
I had SARPE on November 8th and should be done expanding (to 10mm) on November 30th. This thread is so crazy long... I was wondering what people's stabilization times were after they finished expanding...? I can NOT WAIT to get my braces on. haha. I have been wanting them for 4 years... but because of details with the surgery and insurance/watching bone growth... I've had to wait. 
I'm also, of course, anxious to get this massive gap closed. haha. I was told that they could start moving my front teeth back together immediatley after I stop expanding... but I'm not sure if that's true or not. :/
I'm also, of course, anxious to get this massive gap closed. haha. I was told that they could start moving my front teeth back together immediatley after I stop expanding... but I'm not sure if that's true or not. :/
my ortho is just letting my teeth come together naturally. he doesn't wanna mess with them too quickly, but i have pretty straight teeth already. btw, we're almost surgical twins hahah. my surg was on nov. 4th and i'll be done expanding to 10mm by nov. 27th.foxparadox wrote:I had SARPE on November 8th and should be done expanding (to 10mm) on November 30th. This thread is so crazy long... I was wondering what people's stabilization times were after they finished expanding...? I can NOT WAIT to get my braces on. haha. I have been wanting them for 4 years... but because of details with the surgery and insurance/watching bone growth... I've had to wait.
I'm also, of course, anxious to get this massive gap closed. haha. I was told that they could start moving my front teeth back together immediatley after I stop expanding... but I'm not sure if that's true or not. :/
btw stabilization time is around 6 months. some people here have had braces and i believe powerchains(?) pulling their teeth together as quickly as a couple weeks. others have waited 3-4 months for braces. i know my ortho wants to wait at least 3 months for braces and im cool with that.
my advice to you is don't rush anything, let your ortho/surgeon do their job. these are your teeth, they are with you for the rest of your life if you take care of them, you don't want to have to mess with them again. if you're investing all this time/money into a perfect smile you might as well have it done right. if you can try and turn your anxiety into excitement for your end result - it's how i deal with it every day. my gap is still expanding and each day i get happier and happier knowing im closer to the end.
my advice to you is don't rush anything, let your ortho/surgeon do their job. these are your teeth, they are with you for the rest of your life if you take care of them, you don't want to have to mess with them again. if you're investing all this time/money into a perfect smile you might as well have it done right. if you can try and turn your anxiety into excitement for your end result - it's how i deal with it every day. my gap is still expanding and each day i get happier and happier knowing im closer to the end.
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foxparadox
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2010 2:23 pm
Yeah, that is a good point. I'll try to look at it that way. It is definitely expensive and an investment that takes time. I don't want to move anything too quickly and risk throwing off my expansion... but I am super self conscious about the giant gap in my teeth. I guess that is my own issue though... I am working as an intern currently and doing counseling in a clinical setting... so I'm already a tad self conscious of how I'm perceived. It almost looks like I'm missing and tooth and someone punched me, and I'm worried what my supervisors think. I also hate having to explain what is going on to patients because self disclosure is not looked at favorably, at all. :/35ksmile wrote:btw stabilization time is around 6 months. some people here have had braces and i believe powerchains(?) pulling their teeth together as quickly as a couple weeks. others have waited 3-4 months for braces. i know my ortho wants to wait at least 3 months for braces and im cool with that.
my advice to you is don't rush anything, let your ortho/surgeon do their job. these are your teeth, they are with you for the rest of your life if you take care of them, you don't want to have to mess with them again. if you're investing all this time/money into a perfect smile you might as well have it done right. if you can try and turn your anxiety into excitement for your end result - it's how i deal with it every day. my gap is still expanding and each day i get happier and happier knowing im closer to the end.
My ortho said that he'll only pull the first two teeth together, if anything, and only if my surgeon agrees that it won't impact my stabilization. It was originally the surgeon's idea though because he thought that the gap looked really bad. LOL! so I guess we'll see...
Surgical twins. I love it
Yeah, I was told 4-6 months before braces, probably... but they seem to change the time spans around a lot- originally they thought I would be expanding for 2 months... and then it would heal for 1 before braces... and I ended up only needing to expand for like... 2 weeks. LOL. so I have no idea at this point.well good luck! keep us updated.
i had to give a presentation on monday to some people in my department and all i did was casually explain the gap as a result of jaw surgery, mentioned their might be some inconsistencies in my speech, and then presented away. i know it's easy to be self-conscious of and i'm not completely immune to that either but the best way to deal with it is to just not care.
nobody is gonna think youre a bad person or vain or anything for getting your teeth fixed... everybody appreciates a nice smile. most will actually think of you favourably for it. the only people who are gonna judge you negatively are those who are jealous... and they dont matter. any worthwhile human being is going to be supportive and understanding.
i had to give a presentation on monday to some people in my department and all i did was casually explain the gap as a result of jaw surgery, mentioned their might be some inconsistencies in my speech, and then presented away. i know it's easy to be self-conscious of and i'm not completely immune to that either but the best way to deal with it is to just not care.
nobody is gonna think youre a bad person or vain or anything for getting your teeth fixed... everybody appreciates a nice smile. most will actually think of you favourably for it. the only people who are gonna judge you negatively are those who are jealous... and they dont matter. any worthwhile human being is going to be supportive and understanding.