Metal Mouth Message Board

If I remember right, your surgery is scheduled for Wednesday. I won't be able to check into this board before then, so best of luck and I'll be keeping everything crossed for you! Let us know how it goes.

Genevieve.

Aw, thanks!

Yep, I am due to have my surgery on Wednesday - I have been stocking up on soup, yogurt, smoothies, protein powder, vitamins etc and have tried to get things sorted out so I can be comfortable/entertained.

I must admit I am starting to feel a little bit nervous, but I also have a slight "holiday" feeling about it too. I think this is because this has been such a distant goal on my horizon for such a long time (I was braced in May 2005) that I'm just excited that it's finally happening!

I will indeed be posting updates. I haven't really been using the 'my braces story' section on the board, but will be keeping a blog throughout so I can document the ups and downs:
http://zeocin.livejournal.com

It will all be fine, just looking at all the posts on this site for many months makes me realise that we are not alone!

I'll be following your progress, as I'm only a couple of months behind you.

All the best,
TG

Wow, good luck to you ! I hope it all goes perfectly. I read your blog, you are having upper and lower done. You and mamabracita can compare notes !

I'm so impressed that the docs are not wiring jaws regularly any more. I had upper done in 1980 and my jaws were wired. I figured out my skull was wired together, I don't have plates and screws. It was very inconvenient to have the jaws wired for such a long time (I think it was 6 weeks, might have been 8, will find out when I get copies of my medical records). But also, it hurt sometimes when my mandible would suddenly try to open and I would feel the jerk on my maxilla and oooooooooheeeeeeee, it didn't hurt so much as freak me out, I was paranoid that my face would break ! Plus, I was not wearing braces and when they removed the wires it hurt a lot. I think they had wires wrapped around my teeth, I remember the doc told me it would be least painful if they yanked them out. He did half of the upper and I had to take a break. Tried gas and that just made everything worse, I was high AND in pain ! So we waited til the gas wore off and went again, finished the rest of the uppers, took a break, did half the lowers, took a break, and then finally finshed. I suppose if you have braces they take advantage of the existing brackets to wire the jaws together.

Anyway (I'm reminiscing and rambling), best of luck to you !

If all has gone according to plan, you're in recovery.

HERE's to a quick and speedy recovery with minimal swelling!

Mike

Hiya dubnobass

Yep, should all be over now - hope it went well and that you are doing fine. Looking forward to seeing those progress pics.

Also wondering whereabouts you had your treatment? I am having mine at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel

Best Wishes
Happysmiler

Hello - I am back!

Well, obviously I made it. I'm not feeling too bad now, and am learning how to feed myself, clean my teeth, rinse my mouth, swallow etc.
I am not i pain but I am very swollen, but I think it may actually have gone down a little bit since yesterday. I wasn't iced at all at the hospital and only got to apply ice-packs when I got home yesterday about 5pm.
I'm on soluble paracetamol (Tylenol), soluble diclofenac (Voltaren), liquid co-amoxiclav (Augmentin) and a strict regime of cleaning and rinsing with chlorhexidine after every meal. This is quite nice actually - cleaning my teeth and being able to rinse my mouth with cold water feels lovely. In the hospital they gave me patient-controlled analgesia (fentanyl) but I was not really in any pain, just discomfort - so all it did was make me sweaty and nauseous. They all seemed terribly put out that I barely touched my PCA!

I had a pretty uncomfortable day on Wednesday, after the op. My throat was -very- sore and I didn't stop bleeding until about 6am on Thursday. This meant that I was constantly either drooling bloody saliva or trying to swallow it with a very sore throat, and swallowing blood always makes you feel horrible. I also kept bleeding from my right nostril.
What was really worrying me was that on Wednesday, one of the consultants said they'd be right on Thursday to tight-band me, but on Thursday morning my nose was totally blocked and I was terrified of having my mouth closed up because I wouldn't be able to breathe.

Then, when they came round, they said the bands were already on and that was all the tight-banding they were going to do. I have class II guiding elastics on, and unfortunately, they left the bite wafer attached to my top teeth. How the hell to you keep that thing clean?? I'm doing my best but it's already messed up with old blood and everything I've eaten since Wednesday

In terms of numbness, my lower lip and chin are numb, as are my cheeks either side of my nose, right up to my eyes. My nose was numb but has now gone tingly, and my tongue was tingly but seems more or less back to normal. Thankfully my top lip is doing OK, and I keep getting tingling in my lower lip, which I take as a sign that feeling will return there at some point.
My lips aren't too chapped at all, whcih surprised me. The only real damage there is in the corner of my mouth on one side, where it's cracked and bled a bit.

Anyway, blah blah blah. In summary, I feel OK. My husband took photos but they're still on his camera, I will post them up later.

dubnobass,

So glad that you are home and on the mend. Your hospital stay sounds pretty typical.

Keep icing your face, and get plenty of rest!

I'm definitely getting plenty of rest - I have to have a nap after every hour or so of watching TV

Some pictures:
Before:


After:


I have to try quite hard to keep my mouth shut, as it prefers to hang open and for dribble to come out, which of course, I can't feel because of the frozen chin/lower lip. What a hottie, eh!

dubnobass,

Looking good! Thanks for sharing the photos.

Believe it or not, your swelling is not as bad as some I've seen, although I'm sure that you feel like your face is huge.

Hang in there!

Welcome to the other side!

I'm glad your not in too much pain, as for the drool it is probably because of the splint, your brain thinks you're eating!! I spent the first few weeks constantly wiping my mouth just in case and I never had a splint! I'm sure things will improve when they remove it.

All the best!

Congratulations dubnobass! I think you have an amazing attitude and being "a hottie" is definitely going to be in your near future since you were one before surgery!

With all that has been going on, how are you sleeping? Especially since you aren't taking all the pain meds?

Andi