Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey everyone, new to the site. I was told on Friday that I will need SARPE surgery to correct the narrowness of my palate. This site has been informative thus far, but I'm looking for information on how exactly the surgery is done, could anyone please help me.

SARPE seems to have different approaches, although they strive to achieve the same result. If you go through this thread you'll see several conversations about this. In most situations it is pretty much done exactly as a LeFort I without the downfracture. Meaning, incisions are made along and behind the upper jaw, and the mid-palate is split. Some people seem to only have the mid-palate split. The procedure is usually done in a hospital setting, although I know some people have it done in an oral surgeons office. You will be given general anaesthesia for the procedure.

About a week post-op you will activate your expander and start turning to create the space. You'll end up having a large gap between your front teeth that will close on its own if you are lucky, or it may not close until you start active orthodontic treatment. Nobody knows if your gap will close by itself. Luckily mine did, and if I had a secret I'd gladly tell you

Recovery is all over the map...I had a pretty rough time but I also had a lower expansion done at the same time. I'd take at LEAST a week off of work/school, but you're likely to need 2 to 3 weeks if you are one that bruises and swells a lot.

You should talk with your OS to find out exactly what they have planned for you. They will walk you through exactly what they will do during the procedure.

Thanks for the good info, luckily being a military member all the time of work/cost is covered. I guess it can be a rough process, but it'll all work out. Thanks again, and like most i'll keep the thread updated on my journey. I've had spacers put in, and they are going ahead with bottom braces on the 2nd, i'll find out then when my surgery is.

I have to say, spacers for me were the worst thing of the whole process! Nevermind a surgery- spacers are evil

Just giving this thread a little bump

It gives me an excuse to show off the super new tickers in my sig as well. I'm rather proud of them: (a) because I'm usually too technically challenged to make such things work and (b) because I think I must be making the slowest progress of anyone in this thread so I might as well show off about it

sauerkraut wrote:Just giving this thread a little bump

It gives me an excuse to show off the super new tickers in my sig as well. I'm rather proud of them: (a) because I'm usually too technically challenged to make such things work and (b) because I think I must be making the slowest progress of anyone in this thread so I might as well show off about it

Cool tickers, how DO you add them to your sig?
I'm one day post-op from SARPE.
-K

Bonneville wrote:
Cool tickers, how DO you add them to your sig?
I'm one day post-op from SARPE.
-K

Thanks

Create the ticker on the ticker factory website and copy the code. Then paste the code into the signature line section of your profile on this board.

There's a "How Do I..." section on the main message board which probably explains it better than I have! There's also a "Testing 123... " section where you can try out if it works. For some reason the tickers only appear on posts you make after you've edited your profile, which threw me at first.

I'm impressed at you home and posting here within a day of SARPE. I was in hospital for 4 days! But then, as I've said, they seem to do things at a more leisurely pace in my neck of the woods

Like your tickers, sauerkraut

Bonneville- you're up and posting already? Bloody hell, like sauerkraut I was still in my hospital bed
Hope your recovery continues well! How much are you hoping to expand?

I just had my expander taken out and I've had braces on for about four months. How long will it take for a 10mm gap to close?

Hi happy teeth and congratz on the expander removal. Sorry I can't really answer your question, though, because everyone is different. My gap closed on its own while I still had the expander and before I even got braces, whereas some folks simply take longer, unfortunately...

Just got back from an ortho appointment and got some disappointing news. Here is a little history… I had SARPE in Sept 2008 to widen my upper arch in order to make room to straighten my crowded lower teeth. I have had my uppers braced since Dec 2008 and lowers since March 2009. I have a 1.5 mm gap on each side between my upper lateral and cuspid (since Sept 2009).

My ortho told me today that he will try his best to close the gaps but might not be able to get rid of them completely. He suggested that I got to the dentist and get white fillings on my teeth to get rid of the gaps. I am still quite shocked by this news as this was never discussed as a possibility during my consultation, and I have a hard time imagining fillings in my front teeth, especially after going through the surgery and braces.

Thanks for reading.

thanks sauerkraut. i appreciate your words

shari,

Unfortunately sometimes teeth just won't move (I believe this is called an "ankylosed" tooth), or if you do move them, it has a chain effect that will jeopardize stability.

1.5mm is pretty small and can likely be fixed by bonding or a veneer. I'm not sure what your ortho may have meant by a "filling".

I know we all want perfection (especially us surgical patients) but if your bite is nice and stable, that's the important part. Your aesthetic issue can be handled quite easily.

Best of luck.

-Chicago29

I've just updated my blog along with some pics

I made it!




(Through all 91 pages, that is! )

Was just told I need SARPE at my consult, I'm bummed. I guess next on my list is to consult with an oral surgeon. It's already rough, because I'm getting the "why would you put yourself through that/looking for trouble/maybe mineral-rich mouthwash would combat the wear on your teeth ( )" thing from my mom. I'm pretty happy with the ortho I've been seeing, but I guess it's only prudent to seek a second opinion there, too. He actually said that treating me without the surgery would do more harm than good in the long run, and that he, in fact, wouldn't treat me without it....sigh.

I guess I just need advice...or a hug! Thanks for all of the great information, everyone.