SARPE Surgery
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kballing: Wow, no numbness? You're lucky! Do you think you've experienced more pain because of that or has it been pretty good? I can't wait until this numbness goes away.. I keep feeling all these little ticks and things so I know something is going on. The key turning is going fine! I find I get pain that lasts for quite a few hours afterwards but it's tolerable, I havn't succumbed to the painkillers yet lol
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K, you don't have any numbness? Not in your gums? Upper teeth? Nothing? My OS did an amazing job, but my upper gums are still pretty numb as are a lot of my teeth. I stopped expanding Wednesday and I'm starting to feel little bits of sensation starting to come back now. I don't see you you couldn't have any numbness in your mouth. Now with that being said, I have no numbness in my face at all, and haven't since the surgery was done. Numbness has only been in my mouth and limited to my upper palate/gum areas.
I can imagine your head must be killing you! I only turned twice a day and had to take like 4 Motrin every time we cranked the key. My headache lasted the entire time we were expanding. As for the pain in the lower teeth. When the pain receptors become inflamed pain can show up in other teeth. When I first got my archwire put back in on top, I had a few of my lower teeth that became rather sensitive for a few days. Myo ortho says this is not that uncommon, so perhaps that is what is happening to you. I can only imagine that your poor head must be just aching like crazy! That just seems like so much expansion. You are the only one I have found that has expanded that much or that fast. Two times a day seems to be the norm.
10101 The expansion was worse for me in the beginning. I would have pressure pain for about 3 hours after we expanded each time. As we continued though, it got easier and towards the end it would last maybe 10 minutes and thats it. From what I have gathered, numbness and feeling should start to return roughly around 2 weeks after expansion has stopped. The blood supply and bone have to catch up, then the nerves start to regenerate and fill in. They can't do this till the other two are in place first, so it can take a few weeks to get feeling completely back. Hope this helps!
Brandy
I can imagine your head must be killing you! I only turned twice a day and had to take like 4 Motrin every time we cranked the key. My headache lasted the entire time we were expanding. As for the pain in the lower teeth. When the pain receptors become inflamed pain can show up in other teeth. When I first got my archwire put back in on top, I had a few of my lower teeth that became rather sensitive for a few days. Myo ortho says this is not that uncommon, so perhaps that is what is happening to you. I can only imagine that your poor head must be just aching like crazy! That just seems like so much expansion. You are the only one I have found that has expanded that much or that fast. Two times a day seems to be the norm.
10101 The expansion was worse for me in the beginning. I would have pressure pain for about 3 hours after we expanded each time. As we continued though, it got easier and towards the end it would last maybe 10 minutes and thats it. From what I have gathered, numbness and feeling should start to return roughly around 2 weeks after expansion has stopped. The blood supply and bone have to catch up, then the nerves start to regenerate and fill in. They can't do this till the other two are in place first, so it can take a few weeks to get feeling completely back. Hope this helps!
Brandy
no, even the gums on my molars aren't numb. the only spot that i guess is sort of numb is in between my gap since i have been expanding, there just isn't any blood there.
i know, i really am the only one i have ever heard of that expands so much in such a short amount of time, maybe they're just trying to raise my pain tolerance with the headaches i am very happy that the process is over so quickly though.
i went shopping today first the first time and i just absolutely hated the odd looks i would get when someone would ask me if i needed anything and then i would have to open my mouth and show this HUGE gap. i felt like trying to tell everyone that i just got this procedure done to explain to them. my usual enjoyment of shopping at the saks make-up counter has lost all of the fun for now. i guess i should just consider all of the money that i will save.
so, it sounds like i have a month or so of this. ughhhhhhhh.
brandy - you are soooooooooooo lucky not to have to deal with the gap.
i wish they would have given me th eoption of getting the braces first. oh well.
so, for you recent sarpe post-opers, are you all having orthognathic surgery as well?
i know, i really am the only one i have ever heard of that expands so much in such a short amount of time, maybe they're just trying to raise my pain tolerance with the headaches i am very happy that the process is over so quickly though.
i went shopping today first the first time and i just absolutely hated the odd looks i would get when someone would ask me if i needed anything and then i would have to open my mouth and show this HUGE gap. i felt like trying to tell everyone that i just got this procedure done to explain to them. my usual enjoyment of shopping at the saks make-up counter has lost all of the fun for now. i guess i should just consider all of the money that i will save.
so, it sounds like i have a month or so of this. ughhhhhhhh.
brandy - you are soooooooooooo lucky not to have to deal with the gap.
i wish they would have given me th eoption of getting the braces first. oh well.
so, for you recent sarpe post-opers, are you all having orthognathic surgery as well?
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Hey K,
Believe me I feel your pain with the gap. Mine did not get that big 3.5mm was the max but I found that I was much more self conscious then I thought I would be when I went to the store with it. I found I didn't even want to talk, and tried really hard to just smile with my lips closed. When I did talk, between the gap, and my slurred speech people gave me some pretty strange looks also.
Closing of the gap is so individual. Mine is closing very fast and they other girl on my blog (Amy's) close really rapidly also. Hers was very large like yours and it only took a few days after she stopped expanding to return to normal. Mia's took about 4 weeks. Can't remember about DM's and some of the other, but perhaps since you are expanding so fast maybe your gap will close fast too! Mia would squish wax between her gap from behind her teeth. She said it made a pretty good disguise while she was waiting for her gap to close, perhaps that might work for you also?
I don't know if the braces make a difference or not in the size of the gap. My archwire is just a flexible wire, not really moving the teeth at this point just loosening them up to get ready for movement. My ortho said they cannot apply any pressure until the bone is fused or you risk root reabsortion by getting into the area that is not boney or fully healed yet. I just think my teeth don't like being apart. Even 3 days after finishing expansion I can still feel a lot of pressure between my teeth to get back to where they were, and I still have pressure through my sinuses. I think my front teeth are having seperation anxiety and trying to find there way back to each other as quickly as possible! LOL...
Wow, I can't believe you don't have any numbness....that is amazing! Like I said mine is definitely starting to come back now, but I have been pretty numb for the past 3 weeks. I just know I had headaches everyday and while they were pretty low grade, they were irritating. I can't imagine the headaches you must be having, but I totally hear you about getting the expanding over quick. My OD said I could turn once a day or twice a day. I was like, I will turn twice a day, I want to get it over as quickly as possible. Even still it took 17 days which seemed like freakin eternity!
Brandy
Believe me I feel your pain with the gap. Mine did not get that big 3.5mm was the max but I found that I was much more self conscious then I thought I would be when I went to the store with it. I found I didn't even want to talk, and tried really hard to just smile with my lips closed. When I did talk, between the gap, and my slurred speech people gave me some pretty strange looks also.
Closing of the gap is so individual. Mine is closing very fast and they other girl on my blog (Amy's) close really rapidly also. Hers was very large like yours and it only took a few days after she stopped expanding to return to normal. Mia's took about 4 weeks. Can't remember about DM's and some of the other, but perhaps since you are expanding so fast maybe your gap will close fast too! Mia would squish wax between her gap from behind her teeth. She said it made a pretty good disguise while she was waiting for her gap to close, perhaps that might work for you also?
I don't know if the braces make a difference or not in the size of the gap. My archwire is just a flexible wire, not really moving the teeth at this point just loosening them up to get ready for movement. My ortho said they cannot apply any pressure until the bone is fused or you risk root reabsortion by getting into the area that is not boney or fully healed yet. I just think my teeth don't like being apart. Even 3 days after finishing expansion I can still feel a lot of pressure between my teeth to get back to where they were, and I still have pressure through my sinuses. I think my front teeth are having seperation anxiety and trying to find there way back to each other as quickly as possible! LOL...
Wow, I can't believe you don't have any numbness....that is amazing! Like I said mine is definitely starting to come back now, but I have been pretty numb for the past 3 weeks. I just know I had headaches everyday and while they were pretty low grade, they were irritating. I can't imagine the headaches you must be having, but I totally hear you about getting the expanding over quick. My OD said I could turn once a day or twice a day. I was like, I will turn twice a day, I want to get it over as quickly as possible. Even still it took 17 days which seemed like freakin eternity!
Brandy
Hi Everyone,
10101
I think you might have had the same procedure as me. My face hurt really bad as well, especially in my nose area. It has gotton a lot better, but it does not feel completely normal yet. My surgeon said it takes about 3months to get all the feeling back in you face and gums. He said that they severed my nerves and all the nerves have to heal.
Oh and your face will change shape. I didn't think mine did at first, but not looking back the the old pictures i can really tell. My cheek bones stick out... which i think is crazy. Maybe people will start thinking I'm 22 and not 16 anymore, lol. I might have to get a chin operation to make the shape of my face better. To be honest, I will do anything i think is necessary to get a perfect end result. I've already been through the worst part so i can't imagine it could be that bad. Before this, I thought the shape of my face was good, but this surgery has really changed my face... I think you'll end up liking the change.
Kballing,
Try using dental wax to fill in the gap. That is what I have been doing for the past few weeks. You take like a stick of wax and run warm water. Squish the wax up until it is soft. Roll the wax into a ball (still under the warm water). Then take the ball of wax and put it behind your teeth. Use you thumb to squish it through the gap and use your first finger to shape the front part of the wax. The wax will squish behind you front teeth and provide some support to the gap. Then shape the bottom straight across. It sounds weird, but after a while you will get the hang of it. Not to mention you will get better at making the wax fit. I'm so good at it now that most people don't even notice. You will go through a TON of wax, lol.
Well, good luck to everyone! If you want to feel better about your gap, you can check out my link, lol!
10101
I think you might have had the same procedure as me. My face hurt really bad as well, especially in my nose area. It has gotton a lot better, but it does not feel completely normal yet. My surgeon said it takes about 3months to get all the feeling back in you face and gums. He said that they severed my nerves and all the nerves have to heal.
Oh and your face will change shape. I didn't think mine did at first, but not looking back the the old pictures i can really tell. My cheek bones stick out... which i think is crazy. Maybe people will start thinking I'm 22 and not 16 anymore, lol. I might have to get a chin operation to make the shape of my face better. To be honest, I will do anything i think is necessary to get a perfect end result. I've already been through the worst part so i can't imagine it could be that bad. Before this, I thought the shape of my face was good, but this surgery has really changed my face... I think you'll end up liking the change.
Kballing,
Try using dental wax to fill in the gap. That is what I have been doing for the past few weeks. You take like a stick of wax and run warm water. Squish the wax up until it is soft. Roll the wax into a ball (still under the warm water). Then take the ball of wax and put it behind your teeth. Use you thumb to squish it through the gap and use your first finger to shape the front part of the wax. The wax will squish behind you front teeth and provide some support to the gap. Then shape the bottom straight across. It sounds weird, but after a while you will get the hang of it. Not to mention you will get better at making the wax fit. I'm so good at it now that most people don't even notice. You will go through a TON of wax, lol.
Well, good luck to everyone! If you want to feel better about your gap, you can check out my link, lol!
thanks for the suggestion about the wax. it will take a lot to close this HUGE gap though. also, since i don't have braces yet, i don't have any wax. does anyone know if you can buy it somewhere?
i am having one of those MAJOR frustration days. everything just aches! the gap between my teeth now has one side on the gum where it looks like a tooth has been pulled. has anyone had this experience? it is like an open wound although it doesn't bleed. it looks as thoughh my tooth has pulled so far away from my gum and my gum just decided to stay stationary, so there is almost a hole there. i think this whole process is made even more frustrating by not knowing what is "normal" and what is a real problem. every day is something new and different and often a little different type of pain. i am crossing my fingers that after tonight's expansion (which is the last. YAY!) things will settle in. i see both my os and od on tuesday - wish me luck with moving on to the next step. if i have to go back to expanding for some reason, i think i might cry.
sorry to be a venting maniac today. it is just one of those days.....
thanks again for all of the suggestions and support. i am sure tomorrow will be a better day. for now, i will take another advil and do a little meditation.
i am having one of those MAJOR frustration days. everything just aches! the gap between my teeth now has one side on the gum where it looks like a tooth has been pulled. has anyone had this experience? it is like an open wound although it doesn't bleed. it looks as thoughh my tooth has pulled so far away from my gum and my gum just decided to stay stationary, so there is almost a hole there. i think this whole process is made even more frustrating by not knowing what is "normal" and what is a real problem. every day is something new and different and often a little different type of pain. i am crossing my fingers that after tonight's expansion (which is the last. YAY!) things will settle in. i see both my os and od on tuesday - wish me luck with moving on to the next step. if i have to go back to expanding for some reason, i think i might cry.
sorry to be a venting maniac today. it is just one of those days.....
thanks again for all of the suggestions and support. i am sure tomorrow will be a better day. for now, i will take another advil and do a little meditation.
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K, That doesn't sound good! I think I would contact my doctor and see what he says. I wouldn't wait til Tuesday. You are expanding very rapidly (more than anyone I have heard) and perhaps your body is not being able to keep up with that rate of expansion.
An open wound is something in all my research I have not heard of from anyone. My thought is better safe than sorry! Call your doctor and see what he says.
As for venting...OMG vent away. I can imagine that you are very achey your poor thing! Like I mentioned, I was achey with only 1/2mm expansion a day, I cannot even imagine double that! To me that just seems like way too much! I had a day in my blog where I vented too....No one has surgery and is all sweetness and light with no issues. We all have days when we are like "what the heck did I get myself into?" That is what this board is here for. SUPPORT! so let it all out girl! It will make you feel so much better just to share it with other who have been there and can relate! I hope you start feeling better soon! and Call you Doctor ok?
Brandy
An open wound is something in all my research I have not heard of from anyone. My thought is better safe than sorry! Call your doctor and see what he says.
As for venting...OMG vent away. I can imagine that you are very achey your poor thing! Like I mentioned, I was achey with only 1/2mm expansion a day, I cannot even imagine double that! To me that just seems like way too much! I had a day in my blog where I vented too....No one has surgery and is all sweetness and light with no issues. We all have days when we are like "what the heck did I get myself into?" That is what this board is here for. SUPPORT! so let it all out girl! It will make you feel so much better just to share it with other who have been there and can relate! I hope you start feeling better soon! and Call you Doctor ok?
Brandy
Thanks so much, Brandy!!
This is really so helpful. I actually called the oncall surgical resident and he said it should be fine as long as it isn't bleeding or having a wonderful discharge (uck). I took some advil and now feel a little better, I guess I shouldn't be so reluctant to take pain reliever. Thanks again for letting me vent. It's hard to do so with family or friends who are just so confused about why I am doing this. When I was saying I was still in a little pain the other day, my friend, actually replied, "you had such a beautiful smile before." Needless to say, this just didn't help me feel better.
Fortunately, my frustrations are somewhat temporary AND EXPANSION HAS CONCLUDED. woooo hoooooooooooooooo. Now, hopefully, the healing can really begin. I am starting to take some bone maximizer supplements tomorrow in addition to all of the other supplements that I began taking pre-surgery to be able to hopefully heal more quickly.
In any case, thank you a million times for your support. Back to full day at work tomorrow. All the other students are on spring break, so hopefully won't be too busy. Happy Monday everyone.
This is really so helpful. I actually called the oncall surgical resident and he said it should be fine as long as it isn't bleeding or having a wonderful discharge (uck). I took some advil and now feel a little better, I guess I shouldn't be so reluctant to take pain reliever. Thanks again for letting me vent. It's hard to do so with family or friends who are just so confused about why I am doing this. When I was saying I was still in a little pain the other day, my friend, actually replied, "you had such a beautiful smile before." Needless to say, this just didn't help me feel better.
Fortunately, my frustrations are somewhat temporary AND EXPANSION HAS CONCLUDED. woooo hoooooooooooooooo. Now, hopefully, the healing can really begin. I am starting to take some bone maximizer supplements tomorrow in addition to all of the other supplements that I began taking pre-surgery to be able to hopefully heal more quickly.
In any case, thank you a million times for your support. Back to full day at work tomorrow. All the other students are on spring break, so hopefully won't be too busy. Happy Monday everyone.
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Hey K,
No problem, I'm glad you called your doctor and that they are not worried about what is going on. If it were me, that would sorta be freaking me out, but then I'm neurotic about this whole process. I have just been watching like a busy bee, for anything that seems out of the ordinary. Even though I know it only happens to a very few people I'm like terrified of root reabsortion and losing any teeth!
Now with all that said, let me complain a little today! Can I say that I absolutely HATE this freakin RPE! I mean hate hate hate it! Seriously if I could just not eat anymore things would be just fine. I despise eating with it, and in fact hardly eat at all anymore because it is just too much work and aggravation. I know I need to eat, so I do so I can survive, but I can only eat a little bit before the aggravation drives me nuts, and since I can only chew on one side right now (since they extracted the molar on my other side) and my teeth are all out of alignment, it is like some kind of subtle torture to make me do it. Also one of the prongs from my RPE is sitting on top of my tooth on the left side....So everytime I chew on my right side, the prong gets pushed about and makes my teeth on the left side ache! Ok....enough ranting I guess.....I just hate this RPE more than usual today! I'm going to see my ortho tomorrow morning so hopefully he will be able to do something about this prong situation.
See...your not the only one suffering! LOL!
Brandy
No problem, I'm glad you called your doctor and that they are not worried about what is going on. If it were me, that would sorta be freaking me out, but then I'm neurotic about this whole process. I have just been watching like a busy bee, for anything that seems out of the ordinary. Even though I know it only happens to a very few people I'm like terrified of root reabsortion and losing any teeth!
Now with all that said, let me complain a little today! Can I say that I absolutely HATE this freakin RPE! I mean hate hate hate it! Seriously if I could just not eat anymore things would be just fine. I despise eating with it, and in fact hardly eat at all anymore because it is just too much work and aggravation. I know I need to eat, so I do so I can survive, but I can only eat a little bit before the aggravation drives me nuts, and since I can only chew on one side right now (since they extracted the molar on my other side) and my teeth are all out of alignment, it is like some kind of subtle torture to make me do it. Also one of the prongs from my RPE is sitting on top of my tooth on the left side....So everytime I chew on my right side, the prong gets pushed about and makes my teeth on the left side ache! Ok....enough ranting I guess.....I just hate this RPE more than usual today! I'm going to see my ortho tomorrow morning so hopefully he will be able to do something about this prong situation.
See...your not the only one suffering! LOL!
Brandy
definitely, rant away. i hope i can be of some support. oh, i am so sorry to hear that you are growing frustrated with the rpe as well. we'll have to get through this together.
i know how you feel with the effort it takes to eat anything. one of my favorite indulgences is fresh fruit and i'm like, wow, i can't even eat an orange right now (although i keep trying). i am still eating ALOT of calories, but i am still only eating liquidy types of things (yogurt, whey protein, cup of soup, etc.) because i just can't even bear the thought of chewing or trying to get things out of the expander and the roof of my mouth is also still very sensitive. i never get full though so i just keep eating. interestingly, i am still down in weight to about 110lbs. that's only a couple of pounds, but i am shocked that i haven't been gaining like crazy. since i am not working out or walking 1 mile back and forth to my office 4 times a day and all of that. i am going to see if i can integrate my work-outs in a little more tomorrow. it hasn't been 2 weeks like he suggested i should wait before the intense work-outs, but maybe i won't do as long of time. have you tried to exercise again? if so, was it okay for you? also, can you eat some things that don't get stuck in the expander like yogurt or something? remember, you have to keep up your calories to heal.
also, yes, i think it is odd that they aren't more worried about all this stuff that is going on in my mouth as well. the resident at the hospital tonight also wasn't shocked about the number of times that i am expanding. i keep telling them all of the different elements thinking they will be like "whoa, why are you doing that?" or something. but, he was like, oh, your gums are just having trouble staying caught up. he said, as always, you can come in and have us look at it if you want, but it's just as well to come in on tuesday. i work with a campus health service and we have dental clinic downstairs so i think i might just see if i can catch one of the dentists and ask them to take a quick look. maybe it will help me get through the day quicker.
maybe your od can help make things a little easier for you tomorrow. will you eventually be getting one of the temporary expanders. i hear that some people get them and really like them better.
hope you are able to get a good night's sleep and that tomorrow is a better day.... know that we are all sending you good thoughts.
keep focusing on the small steps in the process.
i know how you feel with the effort it takes to eat anything. one of my favorite indulgences is fresh fruit and i'm like, wow, i can't even eat an orange right now (although i keep trying). i am still eating ALOT of calories, but i am still only eating liquidy types of things (yogurt, whey protein, cup of soup, etc.) because i just can't even bear the thought of chewing or trying to get things out of the expander and the roof of my mouth is also still very sensitive. i never get full though so i just keep eating. interestingly, i am still down in weight to about 110lbs. that's only a couple of pounds, but i am shocked that i haven't been gaining like crazy. since i am not working out or walking 1 mile back and forth to my office 4 times a day and all of that. i am going to see if i can integrate my work-outs in a little more tomorrow. it hasn't been 2 weeks like he suggested i should wait before the intense work-outs, but maybe i won't do as long of time. have you tried to exercise again? if so, was it okay for you? also, can you eat some things that don't get stuck in the expander like yogurt or something? remember, you have to keep up your calories to heal.
also, yes, i think it is odd that they aren't more worried about all this stuff that is going on in my mouth as well. the resident at the hospital tonight also wasn't shocked about the number of times that i am expanding. i keep telling them all of the different elements thinking they will be like "whoa, why are you doing that?" or something. but, he was like, oh, your gums are just having trouble staying caught up. he said, as always, you can come in and have us look at it if you want, but it's just as well to come in on tuesday. i work with a campus health service and we have dental clinic downstairs so i think i might just see if i can catch one of the dentists and ask them to take a quick look. maybe it will help me get through the day quicker.
maybe your od can help make things a little easier for you tomorrow. will you eventually be getting one of the temporary expanders. i hear that some people get them and really like them better.
hope you are able to get a good night's sleep and that tomorrow is a better day.... know that we are all sending you good thoughts.
keep focusing on the small steps in the process.
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Thanks K,
Yeah I will try and focus on the little milestones and get over it! Today was just a bad day, tomorrow will be better!
I would stop by the dental clinic and just have them take a look see. I mean worse they will do is just say its no big deal, but I would need the reassurance for myself personally!
Brandy
Yeah I will try and focus on the little milestones and get over it! Today was just a bad day, tomorrow will be better!
I would stop by the dental clinic and just have them take a look see. I mean worse they will do is just say its no big deal, but I would need the reassurance for myself personally!
Brandy
Hi K,
Actually its funny that you mention the "wound". I actually have it. It made me nervous for a while until I went to the Ortho office. I actually still have it just littler now. I wouldn't be too worried about it. You might have had a surgeon very experienced in this type of field and I doubt they would let you overexpand.
As far as the wax, there is a link at the top of this page to www.dentakit.com. This website provides tons of stuff to help with all mouth problems. They ship very fast too.
Brandy and K,
UHHHH I totally feel you on the RPE!! Everyday I hate it a little more. I read about some appliance they can actually put in AFTER expansion and it does not go across the roof of your mouth. When I go in on the 21st of April I'm going to ask about this.
NO ONE can understand when I say woulds that begin with S,D, T, G, U... you get the idea, lol. I WISH I was done with the RPE, and I'm hoping time will fly faster than I'm expecting.
Oh on Saturday 5 of us decided to play cards and stay in... well, we ordered 3 pizzas. All of them finished the pizza before I had managed to finish one piece!!! Ahhh, I was devestated because I really love pizza more than anything but right now I HATE eating it even though it is delish!!
I find the best thing to eat is fish. It rarely gets stuck anywhere and it is so soft! However you HAVE to brush you teeth after because c'mon it is fish and it smells funny, lol.
I also am experiencing my gums sticking to the brackets of my braces. They put braces on me before the surgery and I still do not have a upper wire. I find that the brackets get stuck in my gums in the morning. It irritates me to death!
Well, hope everyone has a better day!
Good luck today Brandy!!
Good luck tomorrow K!!
Oh PS I find rewarding yourself is the way to go with this procedure. Since I rarely shop or go out anymore, I am saving a ton of money. I think I'm going to buy a new car, lol... and than this whole process will seem worth it.
Actually its funny that you mention the "wound". I actually have it. It made me nervous for a while until I went to the Ortho office. I actually still have it just littler now. I wouldn't be too worried about it. You might have had a surgeon very experienced in this type of field and I doubt they would let you overexpand.
As far as the wax, there is a link at the top of this page to www.dentakit.com. This website provides tons of stuff to help with all mouth problems. They ship very fast too.
Brandy and K,
UHHHH I totally feel you on the RPE!! Everyday I hate it a little more. I read about some appliance they can actually put in AFTER expansion and it does not go across the roof of your mouth. When I go in on the 21st of April I'm going to ask about this.
NO ONE can understand when I say woulds that begin with S,D, T, G, U... you get the idea, lol. I WISH I was done with the RPE, and I'm hoping time will fly faster than I'm expecting.
Oh on Saturday 5 of us decided to play cards and stay in... well, we ordered 3 pizzas. All of them finished the pizza before I had managed to finish one piece!!! Ahhh, I was devestated because I really love pizza more than anything but right now I HATE eating it even though it is delish!!
I find the best thing to eat is fish. It rarely gets stuck anywhere and it is so soft! However you HAVE to brush you teeth after because c'mon it is fish and it smells funny, lol.
I also am experiencing my gums sticking to the brackets of my braces. They put braces on me before the surgery and I still do not have a upper wire. I find that the brackets get stuck in my gums in the morning. It irritates me to death!
Well, hope everyone has a better day!
Good luck today Brandy!!
Good luck tomorrow K!!
Oh PS I find rewarding yourself is the way to go with this procedure. Since I rarely shop or go out anymore, I am saving a ton of money. I think I'm going to buy a new car, lol... and than this whole process will seem worth it.
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Thanks Mia!
Today is going better. I have some throbbing in my front teeth area but hopefully that means things are healing and my teeth are working on getting back together.
I saw my Ortho this morning. He said I was done expanding and that everything looked good. We got 9mm of space. He also told me that I only have to wear my appliance for 8 weeks then he is going to take it out and put in a less invasive one (TPA?) that holds it. I was so happy I could've just kissed him, as I was sure I had to wear this beast for at least 4-6 months! So that just made my day! He asked me if I wanted him to chain my teeth and get rid of my gap, and I told him no...not yet. My front teeth are still so tender and I believe the gap will close on its own in the next few weeks so I said I wanted to wait. He fixed/bent the prong down that was bothering me on my RPE so things feel a lot better on top now, and as expected he put two springs on my lower teeth. He said he was going to wait til my next visit, as it is going to make my lower teeth sensitive, but I said....Nah! bring it on, that is just 8 weeks of treatment time wasted. So he said if I felt like I could handle it he was fine with that. He says they are going to hurt later on, but at the moment I don't really notice them at all! I'm taking advil regularly anticipating any pain though. I think my front teeth hurt more today for some reason!
I had a smoothie for breakfast and will probably have something soft and light in a couple of hours. Other than that I don't much feel like eating!
I will check back in a bit!
Brandy
Today is going better. I have some throbbing in my front teeth area but hopefully that means things are healing and my teeth are working on getting back together.
I saw my Ortho this morning. He said I was done expanding and that everything looked good. We got 9mm of space. He also told me that I only have to wear my appliance for 8 weeks then he is going to take it out and put in a less invasive one (TPA?) that holds it. I was so happy I could've just kissed him, as I was sure I had to wear this beast for at least 4-6 months! So that just made my day! He asked me if I wanted him to chain my teeth and get rid of my gap, and I told him no...not yet. My front teeth are still so tender and I believe the gap will close on its own in the next few weeks so I said I wanted to wait. He fixed/bent the prong down that was bothering me on my RPE so things feel a lot better on top now, and as expected he put two springs on my lower teeth. He said he was going to wait til my next visit, as it is going to make my lower teeth sensitive, but I said....Nah! bring it on, that is just 8 weeks of treatment time wasted. So he said if I felt like I could handle it he was fine with that. He says they are going to hurt later on, but at the moment I don't really notice them at all! I'm taking advil regularly anticipating any pain though. I think my front teeth hurt more today for some reason!
I had a smoothie for breakfast and will probably have something soft and light in a couple of hours. Other than that I don't much feel like eating!
I will check back in a bit!
Brandy
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- Location: Alaska
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Thanks Mia!
Today is going better. I have some throbbing in my front teeth area but hopefully that means things are healing and my teeth are working on getting back together.
I saw my Ortho this morning. He said I was done expanding and that everything looked good. We got 9mm of space. He also told me that I only have to wear my appliance for 8 weeks then he is going to take it out and put in a less invasive one (TPA?) that holds it. I was so happy I could've just kissed him, as I was sure I had to wear this beast for at least 4-6 months! So that just made my day! He asked me if I wanted him to chain my teeth and get rid of my gap, and I told him no...not yet. My front teeth are still so tender and I believe the gap will close on its own in the next few weeks so I said I wanted to wait. He fixed/bent the prong down that was bothering me on my RPE so things feel a lot better on top now, and as expected he put two springs on my lower teeth. He said he was going to wait til my next visit, as it is going to make my lower teeth sensitive, but I said....Nah! bring it on, that is just 8 weeks of treatment time wasted. So he said if I felt like I could handle it he was fine with that. He says they are going to hurt later on, but at the moment I don't really notice them at all! I'm taking advil regularly anticipating any pain though. I think my front teeth hurt more today for some reason!
I had a smoothie for breakfast and will probably have something soft and light in a couple of hours. Other than that I don't much feel like eating!
I will check back in a bit!
Brandy
Today is going better. I have some throbbing in my front teeth area but hopefully that means things are healing and my teeth are working on getting back together.
I saw my Ortho this morning. He said I was done expanding and that everything looked good. We got 9mm of space. He also told me that I only have to wear my appliance for 8 weeks then he is going to take it out and put in a less invasive one (TPA?) that holds it. I was so happy I could've just kissed him, as I was sure I had to wear this beast for at least 4-6 months! So that just made my day! He asked me if I wanted him to chain my teeth and get rid of my gap, and I told him no...not yet. My front teeth are still so tender and I believe the gap will close on its own in the next few weeks so I said I wanted to wait. He fixed/bent the prong down that was bothering me on my RPE so things feel a lot better on top now, and as expected he put two springs on my lower teeth. He said he was going to wait til my next visit, as it is going to make my lower teeth sensitive, but I said....Nah! bring it on, that is just 8 weeks of treatment time wasted. So he said if I felt like I could handle it he was fine with that. He says they are going to hurt later on, but at the moment I don't really notice them at all! I'm taking advil regularly anticipating any pain though. I think my front teeth hurt more today for some reason!
I had a smoothie for breakfast and will probably have something soft and light in a couple of hours. Other than that I don't much feel like eating!
I will check back in a bit!
Brandy
Brandy,
That is awesome! Congrats... I feel like you are way furter along than me. Hopefully on the 21st I will get some better results, until than I will live through you, lol.
I know how your feeling, my teeth are still sensitive.
I don't know who it was, but someone said that their lower teeth were hurting. I just want them to know that I have 1 tooth on the bottom that just kills me! MY ortho explained that when they move teeth, sometimes nerves are hit and a tooth or 2 teeth might experience pain for a few weeks because of it. So not to worry!
Well I'm out! Have a great day everyone!
That is awesome! Congrats... I feel like you are way furter along than me. Hopefully on the 21st I will get some better results, until than I will live through you, lol.
I know how your feeling, my teeth are still sensitive.
I don't know who it was, but someone said that their lower teeth were hurting. I just want them to know that I have 1 tooth on the bottom that just kills me! MY ortho explained that when they move teeth, sometimes nerves are hit and a tooth or 2 teeth might experience pain for a few weeks because of it. So not to worry!
Well I'm out! Have a great day everyone!