SARPE Surgery

Message

#91 Post by **decisionmade** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 9:05 am

Hey mic26 I'm going to submit a story too:) I remember first checking out "archwired" and it was so discouraging that I could find so little sarpe/rpe info..like joplin said..and now we are with lots of info to share with others..its just wonderful!...just got back from my orhto and got some bad news but its not THAT bad...just that my bite isn't lining up quite as pedicted following sarpe..although the surgery was a great success..just that my teeth haven't quite moved into the anticipated positions..oh well..all it means is i may have to have an additional tooth extracted but only after I get braced and we see if it is really neccesary..and also I'll probably need elastics..oh well...oh and as of today i am 8 weeks post op..! woohoo..I'll post my next photo in the series of my shrinking space..lol

#92 Post by **katemm06** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 1:07 pm

Joplin, DM, and Mic~Thanks for all of your kind words! It made me smile

Sorry to hear about the possible additional extraction DM. Hopefully you won't have to get it done. Also, good luck with your upcoming extraction next week!

Mic~you are sooo lucky to wear a mask around people at your job. If only I could do that and not look strange..hahaha How are your teeth able to separate being braced on the top?

I think sharing stories on the SARPE surgery experience is a great idea. Unfortunately, my experience will be ongoing for the next several years, since I need to have lower jaw surgery done too. It still seems like I have such a long way to go. Sometimes I wonder if SARPE is not as common a procedure. It doesn't seem like too many people get it done as compared with other jaw procedures.

#93 Post by **mic26** » Sat Sep 10, 2005 7:35 am

Kate,

I'm not sure how the expansion works with the arch wire being in on top. I feel more pressure now when I turn the key...it feels really tight inside, but the gap keeps getting bigger so I don't know. I meant to ask the ortho, but forgot and now he's on vacation for a week. So the next time I go in, I'll ask how that all works.

It does seem like lower jaw surgery is more common...I found tons of info on that when I was trying to search for SARPE related stuff. I found a lot of technical info on SARPE, but not stories and advice like this site has.

Anyways, things are looking good. I had one of the anesthesia doctors comment yesterday on how he thinks that gaps are sexy...I started laughing because there is now way a gap as big as mine is sexy... My boss told me that there was an actress from the 50's or 60's who had a gap and got it closed and lost her 'appeal' so she got the gap recreated. I guess they're all trying to make me feel better about how it looks. I just wish I could believe them when they say it's not that bad.

Just thought I'd share...I can't wait to stop expanding and close up the gap!

Good luck DM with the extraction....not too much longer til you get braced!

Talk to you all later

#94 Post by **katemm06** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 3:32 pm

Hi Mic,

That's great that your boss and coworkers are so supportive. It makes things so much easier. I love when I am able to be with my family because they make me feel like I'm "normal" even though I have this big gap.

I went to both the orthodontist and oral surgeon's today. The good news is that in six weeks I will get my upper braces put on. My gap is also supposed to get smaller in the next few weeks which is really thrilling! The hole in my expander was filled in today with cement and now it feels like a piece of gum is stuck to it when I run my tongue over it!

When I went to the oral surgeon, he measured my gap to be 5mm. I was kind of surprised because it looks so huge to me, but in reality, it is not really that big of a gap. Some people get ones that are 10mm or more!

He also said that I cannot have an archwire put over my two front teeth for at least three months from the date of surgery. He wants the teeth to move naturally back together without being forced. So, I'm not really sure what the point of putting upper braces on is if there is going to be no archwire for a while. Sometimes this process gets so confusing! At times I feel like I'm walking through the process blindfolded, although I am confident that everything will eventually fall into place. It's hard to entirely compare with others who have had this done, especially when all the SARPE procedures are not conducted in the same manner.

Talk to you soon.

#95 Post by **decisionmade** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 4:20 pm

Hi mic and Kate...Glad to see your spirits are up ..My family makes jokes about me being lauren hutton..and oh so sexy..I roll my eyes and laugh too...I reallly was funny looking for a while there:) That is great news for you Kate about the stabilization period getting on its way...as I think I told you it was about two weeks into stabilization when the space started shrinking for me !...when I was in your position people kept telling me that "the time will fly" and i wanted to belt 'em!

but now here I am telling you two the same thing..how obnoxious of me!..
tomorrow is my last cleaning before braces and I'm wondering how much the dentist is going to hate that with this awful expander in the way..I hope its not too awful...continued luck with your progress!

#96 Post by **mic26** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 4:59 pm

Well, not so good news today. I started getting this little piece of bone showing through between the gap in my front teeth. The ortho told me not to worry about it unless it got worse, and if it did get worse to call the oral surgeon. Well, it got worse over the weekend, so I called the oral surgeon who told me to stop expanding and to come see him on Thursday. He said it's not normal but wouldn't go into detail over the phone. I wonder what's going on?

I so wish I could get this over with and start stabalizing. I'm all worried now about what if I can't expand any more, my molars are end to end touching, on one side, but on the other side they don't touch, what if I'm stuck like that?

I wonder what could be wrong and what'll happen to fix it?

Anyways, thanks for all of your support. I'm excited for you Kate to being stabalizing...I had my brackets on about 3 weeks before the surgery...just to have them on and out of the way after surgery is what the ortho told me.

I'll update you guys on what happens this week after I see the oral surgeon, but if anyone has ever heard of this happening before...let me know.

Thanks

#97 Post by **decisionmade** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 4:54 am

Hi mic, I've never heard of it happening..but that means little..I'd never even heard of sarpe before I was told I'd need it...Take care and Good luck and of course keep us posted.....sending you lots of positive energy!

#98 Post by **katemm06** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 10:34 am

Mic~Sorry that I can't offer any helpful information about why the bone is sticking out between your teeth. I can't even imagine how that's making you feel right now. It may be hard to do, but try not to worry or think of the worst case senario. It's good that you stopped expanding until the oral surgeon can take a look at it. It's possible that it may not be as serious as you think.

A few weeks ago, I had to skip a day or so of turning because my oral surgeon was really concerned about how white my gums looked. At the time, he really scared me about the severity of what could happen if my gums remained white. My orthodontist on the other hand, viewed it as only a minor hindrance. My gums remained white until I completely stopped turning for good.

Hang in there!

DM~I went to get my teeth cleaned with my expander cemented in my mouth before the SARPE surgery, and I felt like the technician barely touched my teeth. But maybe that was just the dentist that I went to!

#99 Post by **mic26** » Fri Sep 16, 2005 7:15 pm

Well,

I went to the oral surgeon's yesterday and I did have a little piece of bone that was sticking out, very easily removed. The other section that looked like bone was my gums turning white from expansion. So overall it was a relief. I can keep turning and the I'm supposed to turn for another 12 days. The little piece of bone that was sticking out was causing my gums to be inflammed and slightly infected, it feels much better having that out.

I also went to the ortho today for an adjustment. They put power ties (not too sure what those are, but they're suppoed to turn and rotate some bottom teeth quickly) on my bottom teeth. The ortho said the upper arch wire is for support to help stabilize my upper jaw. It felt a little loose and wiggly about 2 weeks ago. It has helped...my jaw doesn't wiggle when I brush my teeth anymore. Those power ties have made my teeth hurt really bad though. I feel like such a wimp sometimes...these teenagers act like it's no big deal and then I go in and almost start crying cuz it hurts so bad. Oh well.

Anyways, good news....hope everyone has a great weekend!

#100 Post by **decisionmade** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 5:17 am

what a relief mic26!..I had been wondering what had happened with that...so you are turning for 12 more days? how many turns will that be in total?..Hearing of your pain makes me glad not to have the braces on during all of this..My extraction was relatively easy..but now i have a huge space where the premolar used to be...although others (I think) can ony see it when I do an exagerated smile..but its gross....so I have been on soft foods again and lost another couple of pounds.. The worst of it all is over (I think).now I just have to get through the first couple of bad weeks in braces as of the 28th ..From what I have read on here it is pretty rough in the beginning. Are you having much pain or discomfort with the expanding?...Oh and Kate, my dentist appt..unfortunately wasn't as easy as yours..I have a cavity and also my dentist talked lots about cavities while having the braces on...said my teeth are very suseptable ..so cleaning them will be of high priority..flouride rinses etc etc...Again mic26, I am so glad that problem has been resolved..take care everyone!

#101 Post by **katemm06** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 2:39 pm

Hi Mic~That's great news that the bone thing wasn't too serious. I've heard that the power ties are more painful because they are applying more force to the teeth. I hope the pain stops soon for you!

DM~ Are you getting the arch wire put on your upper teeth or just the brackets? I've been wondering if the hooks might be pushed even further into the cheeks of my mouth when I get the upper braces. Has that happened to you Mic? If so, I'll be using a ton of wax.

The Colgate fluoride rinse Phos-Flur is really important to use when you have braces because it protects against cavities. Your orthodontist will probaly give you some free samples of it. I use it every night. My dentist also told me to buy a waterpik but I know realistically that I would never use it.

#102 Post by **mic26** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 3:12 pm

Hey everyone,

DM you were wondering how many turns of the expander, well today marks the 28th turn...I still have 8 more to go...the gap is bigger than ever. At the ortho's on Friday it was almost 6mm...so it'll be HUGE when I stop. Not much pain from expanding. It just feels tight and I feel some pressure, but it's not bad. The braces I thought were much easier to deal with and adjust to than the expander. You'll do fine...

Kate...about the hooks on top...I used wax the first few days, but I found it to be annoying...I kept thinking I had food stuck in my braces and would try to dislodge it with my tongue only to find a big clump of wax...my cheeks toughened up pretty quickly though. It's funny...I have a straight line indent in my cheek from the bottom arch wire...it looks and feels pretty weird.

Anyways, just replying back...hope everyone has a good week.
Thanks for all your encouragement

#103 Post by **katemm06** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 6:24 pm

Mic,

I see there are not too many more turns left for you to go, which is great

Mine ended up being 5mm.

Take care and happy turning!

#104 Post by **decisionmade** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 3:30 am

Hey everyone!
As far as I know I will be getting the whole deal..brackets and wires on next thursday...today is spacers day....I already have sore spots where the expander molar brackets cut into my cheeks so bring on more hardare I say

I think my cheeks became wider along with my upper jaw so hopefully braces won't be any worse than if I'd nevr had the surgery...mic I had mine turned 27 times total but I know thay over turn a little to allow for some relapse...I have no idea what my space was at its widest but it was big and now it is just a little bigger than the width of my thumbnail....

for those in my neckof the woods...Happy first day of fall!

#105 Post by **mic26** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 7:30 am

Hello all,

DM, you're getting braced today! I hope all goes well. You'll have to let us know how it goes.

I went to the ortho yesterday. I can finally stop turning, but I have to wait a few more weeks before he lets the gap close. He said the bone has to fill in the gap before they can start moving the teeth together. I am glad to stop turning though.

I was quite sad yesterday though. It just seems like such a long process and I'm so anxious to pull everything together that it's hard for me to wait. The ortho originally told me about 3 more months of the expander and then yesterday he said more like 6 months. So I was sad about that. I hate that the treatment plan keeps changing and that there is nothing I can do about it. At my next appointment in October, I get new arch wires and ligs, more power ties.....to try and get the bottom teeth to move to where they are supposed to go quicker.

Anyways, overall, I should be glad that the surgery is over and I am on the way to getting everything fixed. I just need to keep reminding myself that this is only temporary. It's sometimes hard though when people stare or look as if they can't understand a word you are saying....

sorry...just wanted to vent...I seem to do that alot...

Have a great week everyone. Good luck DM