SARPE Surgery

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#121 Post by **decisionmade** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 5:39 am

congratlations RachelP! That is wonderful news..I wish you well with your surgery and let us know how things go..I was in and out of sleep those first days after due to pain meds and just exhaustion..My body was working overtime dealing with it all...but honestly I took the meds more to sleep than for the pain..Make sure you have someone to watch over you..I broke down in tears a couple times due more to the emotional challenge of it all ..but they were tears of rlief too.. that I wa son my way to overcoming a lifelong obstacle for myself...I am so happy with my results and I hope you will be too..good luck

3 1/2 weeks with braces

#122 Post by **joplin** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 6:48 am

Hey, DM, looking goooooood!!!

Rachel, good luck! It's a tough step to take, but you can do it

#123 Post by **katemm06** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 10:03 am

Hi everyone,

My top braces were put on yesterday. Just the braces, no wire, which means right now the braces are doing absolutely nothing

My orthodontist and oral surgeon had a difference of opinion on my treatment. The ortho wanted the wire put in and the oral surgeon did not. I thought they had communicated betweeen each other, but when I heard the tech say she was about to put in the wire, I stopped her and told her what the oral surgeon had said, that he would cut the wire off himself if it was put in. My orthodontist was not happy but he did call the oral surgeon and respected his opinion. My oral surgeon believes in letting the body heal itself (i.e., let the teeth close by themselves) and my ortho believes in letting the wire finish the job.

I guess if I had spoken up sooner the braces would not have been put on. The braces look very strange without a wire. So now I'm back to feeling self-conscious again, just when I thought I was starting to regain some of my feelings of being "normal". The wire will not be put in until December 19th, so I have a long wait

And to make things worse, I chose the bone colored elastics because I was told that it would be less noticeable for the times when I drink coffee and can't brush my teeth. Unfortunately, the opposite happened. The bone makes my upper teeth look really stained looking. I learned my lesson and will go with the clear elastics next time. It really sucks having to wait until Mid december before I can get them changed. Yesterday was such a disappointment! So sorry for the long rant!!!!!!!

#124 Post by **decisionmade** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 10:27 am

Kate, so sorry things have been difficult ..what is up with the ortho and os not being on the same page with things? Haven't they worked together with other patients like you?..how frusturating for you!!..also i'm wondering .. so you have brackets on but no wire so then when you say you have "elastics" are you talking about the ones to improve your bite or are you refering to ligs which i wouldn't think you would have if you don't need them to hold a wire on?..just confused

anyway what a dissapointment for you at no fault of your own....Hang in there and rant all you want..its healthy...DM

#125 Post by **RachelP** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 9:21 pm

katemm - That really stinks - I would be really upset too. My ortho and oral surgeon are also not on the same page about some stuff, and they have worked together on many clients. I want invisalign braces - my ortho said that would be no problem...my oral surgeon thinks its a mistake. He said I will just be a "guinea pig." but my ortho says he has done invisalign with SARPE before...I just have to wait 4-5 months post surgery to get the invisalign...

So the point of this note is to say that I will be right there with you soon. I won't have the brackets on with no wire...but I will be waiting for my teeth to come back together naturally...and if they come back sort of funny there will be no braces on there to straighten them out until the expander comes off. I'm really nervous about how I will look...I keep telling myself not to be vain, but hey....It's my FACE! It is what makes me recognizable. Of course I am going to be self-conscious. And of course you will be too... Don't be hard on yourself about it. Just remember that a couple years from now this will all seem like a distant memory.

Good luck!

One week and counting for me!!!

#126 Post by **decisionmade** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 3:52 am

As you both may know form my posts..my teeth came back together beautifuly and naturally without braces..its really amazing..so there is much hope for you and if you look at my early photos after surgery you can see it was not a pretty sight and waiting for them to come together was hard but they did!..i'm jealous of yur invisilign Rachel..wasn't an option for me with my complex case but I wish it had been:)

#127 Post by **mic26** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 1:04 pm

Hi everyone,

Good luck with your surgery Rachel. I had some ups and downs like DM, crying one minute and glad that the surgery was over the next. You'll be glad to get it over with and move on. Please let us know how it goes.

DM, your teeth look so beautiful! There is hope for me after all! To compare your before surgery and after surgery photos to now is totally amazing! They look so nice and straight already!

Kate, I also had brackets on with no wire for a few weeks after my surgery. I have the clear brackets on top with metal on the bottom. So I understand your dilema. I chose the bone colored ligatures as well, and mine got stained really bad those first few weeks after surgery. When the ortho finally decided to put the top arch wire back in, I got colored ligs so that they wouldn't stain and make my teeth look yucky.

Anyways, since the expander has come out, the gap has closed just a tiny bit. I try not to be obsessed with it, but I am. I measure the space each night before I go to bed. Oh well, I know that before too long, it'll be gone.

Well, it was nice to see new posts and find out how everyone is doing. Have a good week

#128 Post by **katemm06** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 5:49 am

DM, Rachel, and Mic,

Thanks for all of your support and well wishes. At this point, I just have to accept the situation and move on. I'm not happy about it, but there is nothing I can do. It really is important though to be assertive with your doctors, ask questions and don't be afraid to speak up. If I had done that, my top braces would not have been put on. Both my orthodontist and oral surgeon have worked together on many SARPE surgeries, they just happened to have a different outlook on my particular treatment. However, for a variety of reasons, I trust the advice of my oral surgeon a lot more than my orthodontist, so whatever he says is what I'm going to do.

What are ligs? I had elastics put around the braces because the tech said they would make the braces feel less irritating to my mouth. They are not serving any other purpose for now.

Rachel, I wish you the best on your upcoming SARPE surgery. I know you have been anxiously waiting for this day to come! The most exciting part of the process is when you can finally see your gap become smaller. I'm 10 weeks postop now, and my gap has closed a lot. Hopefully by mid-December it will be completely closed!!

Congrats Mic on seeing your gap start to close. The best is yet to come!

Have a great week all

#129 Post by **katemm06** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 11:15 am

By the way, if your interested, here is the newest picture I added of myself:

http://community.webshots.com/user/katemm06

#130 Post by **decisionmade** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 3:03 pm

Katem..I just checked out your pics and you look great!!! Excellant progress!..and now I understand your situation..those little elastics are called ligatures..I get it..and I guess maybe they would smooth out the feeling of the bravkets..I have wire ties but may switch to ligs next time...Anyway just had to let you know you are looking great!

#131 Post by **katemm06** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:35 pm

Thanks so much DM! I couldn't be happier with my smaller gap

#132 Post by **RachelP** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 8:32 am

DM and Katemm,

I have been looking at both of your pictures. How many mm were each of your gaps in your teeth at their widest? I was just wondering how your pictures will compare to how I will look. I need a 7mm gap.

Just a couple more days until my surgery!!

Rachel

#133 Post by **decisionmade** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 10:12 am

Hi Rachel, actually I have no idea..I never asked about the measurement....you will feel very awkward having the gap but I am proof that things get better..i went out last night and my friend said that I look better with braces than I did without them before surgery so that made my night....Good Luck!..Your excitement and anxiety must be big..you are on your way

#134 Post by **katemm06** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 9:06 am

Hey Rachel,

My gap was 5mm. As you can tell it was quite large! But once the turning stops, the gap really does start to close quickly and look more normal. Judging by the pics of DM, I think that gap was smaller than 5mm.

A funny story is that my oral surgeon had a picture hanging in his office of a patient with a 12mm gap (an extreme case). He ended up taking it permanently down after I had a horrified look on my face thinking that I was going to look like that after SARPE!!!

Good luck with the surgery this week. Your almost on the other side!

#135 Post by **mic26** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 8:46 am

Hey everyone,

When I checked in today, there were so many posts! I seem to be getting really busy as the holidays approach and I don't have as much time to check in as I used to. Anyways, Kate, your progress is amazing! Yours and DM's smiles give me hope.

Rachel, my gap was about 7mm wide. It was huge. It is slowly starting to close. I had one of my co-workers comment on how much it has closed already. I didn't think it had closed that much, but the comment made me feel better.

I feel like my bite is changing everyday. My teeth have been really achey the last week or so. DM, have you got any feeling back in your top jaw? There are spots were the feeling is back in mine, but others it is still numb.

Well, I'll go for now...not much to report.

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