Rivvie's Rollercoaster Ride (will include surgery)

[Rivvie]

Hi everybody!

After reading a lot of other peoples encouraging stories I decided to make a topic of my own. This site has been such a great support already and I hope it will be a support during my upcoming journey as well.

My name is Rivca (you can call me Rivvie), I'm from the Netherlands and I will be braced in two days time. I have posted my history story in the bracket club a few weeks back and I will be reposting it here as I feel it is more appropriate in this section. So here goes:

This will be my third time in braces, I started with braces first when I was 8 or 9. Had all (8) of my top and bottom "baby" molars pulled to make room for the adult teeth. Not a fun experience I might add. When the adult teeth appeared, I had all premolars extracted as well because there was insufficient room to fit everything in.
2.5 years later, my teeth were straight and the braces were removed.

When I was 13, the teeth had shifted/crowded again so much that I went into braces a second time. This time for approximately 2 years. I was told to consider lower jaw surgery in the future (at which I and my mom thought, no way!). On debrace day I was told that this was the best they could do for me. The teeth were straight though and for several years to come I was happy with the outcome.

When entering my twenties I started to become more and more self-conscious about my smile and appearance and started thinking about braces again. Some teeth had shifted and I still had a large overbite and lip incompetence. Due to me getting married/buying a house/moving and life in general I just gotten around to starting the process at the beginning this year (2011)

Long story short, I found a great orthodontist, got a consult and was a bit shocked with the outcome. I had two choices: Do absolutely nothing (braces alone could not fix my problems) or take the route of braces+surgery. I opted for the latter. A short summary of my "issues": Large overjet (10mm), lip incompetence, gummy smile. Also, receded chin, the upper jaw's shape is not good and I have severe crowding of the lower teeth (one of the canines is completely out of the arch and in front of the other teeth).
To correct these issues I will be needing expansion of both jaws (SARPE + MSDO) and later on a BSSO + Lefort 1.

Although I am very ashamed of posting pics of my teeth/smile I have decided to do so (having found courage in other peoples posts on here):

[klobird]

Wow! You really have been on a roller coaster ride!!! That's a lot of time in braces!

I totally understand your embarrassment. Your pics look almost EXACTLY like mine did in the beginning--(same 10mm overjet etc). If you look at my story very closely you can find a link that shows my pics that are about 1 inch x 1 inch--that's how embarrassed I was/am... .....

I guess I'm lucky--this is my 1st time in braces (at 55!) and in less than 6 months my overjet has come in from 10mm to 4mm. And I can see my lips becoming fuller, which is pretty cool!

I am so sorry that you are having to go through this very tough route, and hopefully you will get things good to go so that at my age (you look young-but you don't say how old you are now) keeping your own teeth for the rest of your life will not have to be an issue...

This site is great for support!

[Rivvie]

Thank you klobird for your support. I just spend the last 15 minutes browsing your topic for the pictures, but found them . You have made so much progress already!

I am 27 years old by the way.

I forgot to mention that I can not close my mouth at rest, so my front teeth are always (fully) on display. The last drop in getting braces again would have to be when I had to take photo's for my ID card two years back. You may not smile in those photo's and no teeth may show in the picture. Needless to say, it took a few attempt to get the picture right (I look like a frog in the final picture, with my lips pressed tightly together...). I felt so embarrassed at that time....

I also damaged my front teeth during a fall when I was youger so they have been chipped a bit. I may have them restored when this is all over, but that would be at least two years into the future.

[Rivvie]

And... I'm home. Just had braces fitted one hour ago. It was pretty uncomfortable lying there with my mouth spread open. The spreader was putting pressure on my gums and was quite painful at times. However, overall it went just fine. It just took over 1,5 hours.

I have brackets on all of my teeth, even my wisdom teeth, so that those can get a bit more function in future treatment (Since I'm already missing all premolars). I might post some pictures later today.

They do not intend to put pressure on the teeth to move them until the first surgery is done and over with, however my teeth are still feeling pretty tense. Not to mention that my lips are having trouble adjusting... I'm sure I will be sore in the morning. Luckily I have taken tomorrow off work, so that I can adjust a little.

I hope to get a phonecall to schedule the first surgery this week and I hope I can plan something in January.

[Rivvie]

In advance: sorry for the whiny post, just have to let off some steam.

Eating is proving a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. My teeth are pretty sore, and in addition to that they had to put some glue on my lower molars to keep me from hitting the top brackets, so chewing is a challenge to say the least. Brushing my teeth is painful too, so went to the store to buy a childrens brush + mouthwash. Will try again tonight.

My usual morning cereal is out of the question, and I can forget eating anything crunchy for a while (sigh). Tried to eat some chocolate to lighten my mood, but that was no success either, I could not bite anything off and the molten chocolate messed up all the brackets....

Anyway, took a picture today to show off the braces. Positive sidenote: they polished my teeth prior to placing the braces, so they look a lot whiter than my first post . I have Damon braces on lower and upper, brackets on all teeth and molars, including the wisdom teeth.

[klobird]

Hey Rivvie---You have the kind of teeth that are going to look absolutely fabulous when your journey is over!!
I'm jealous of those whities!!! And you look totally good in braces!!!

Do you have your waterpik, and proxabrushes, and dental pics (like stim-u-dent). Oh ya, and Oral-B Glide Pro-Health Threader Floss? They will all help tremendously! And don't forget the mouthwash!! (I guess I'm the resident mama )

By next week you should really be getting the hang of it!

Congratulations!

[Rivvie]

Thanks @klobird for the encouragement! I did buy a waterpik this weekend actually. It took a few tries to get comfortable with it, but I got the hang of it now. I must say that it works great and it is worth every penny .

Today marks my 1 week braces anniversary. The pain has mostly subsided, so I can eat relatively normal again, yay for that!. I am developing a canker sore next to one of my braced wisdom teeth though, since it is constantly rubbing the inside of my cheek, so that was to be expected. Otherwise, no sores yet. I am loving the smooth surface of these damon braces . I think I can even see some changes already. One of my front upper teeth has been brought in a bit, and a tiny gap has appeared between my lower front teeth.

Reactions of my colleagues have been (mostly) positive, some didn't even notice until today. Many make comments about the braces bringing my front teeth back. Even when it is not that simple, it confirms that I am not the only one noticing my overjet.

I am so glad I made the decision to get braces again, although I am getting anxious regarding the surgeries... The hospital could not get me a future date yet, since they do not yet have a schedule for 2012. I will get a call when they do and I suspect the first surgery date is in January.

[Rivvie]

Haven't updated in a while, so it's about time.

In the meantime, I got used to the braces. I can eat everything that I used to eat, speaking is (almost) normal again

Had my first adjustment today. Initially I thought that I would not need any adjustments prior to my first surgery, but I got a call last week to make an appointment.
I did not get any stronger wires today since some more improvement could be made with the current wire. One of my lower front teeth was tied to the wire, since they could not get the wire in the bracket the last time. This tooth had shifted enough now to pop the wire in the bracket, so that is an improvement. This does put a lot of pressure on my lower teeth now though, so I guess I will be sore again in the morning.

My surgery date for the SARPE and MSDO procedure is 18 january 2011. On 17 january my wires will be cut by the orthodontist in preparation of the surgery. I also heard that I will be the first in my othodontist's office to have an MSDO (it is a relatively new office). I was told it is quite rare. Oh well, someone has to be the first, right?

I will post some updated pictures soon

[revelvia]

Hi Rivvie Our teeth look really similar actually. My gap is slightly bigger than yours but I'm having the surgeries for all the same reason. Not SARPE though - they wanted me to have that but you're braver than I, I refused it! Ours look really similar so it'll be interesting to see how they compare as they go along

[Rivvie]

Hi revelvia! I will be looking forward to reading your story too, I will be posting in your topic in a sec

As for the SARPE, I was/am a bit scared for that too. The orthodontist initially didn't think it was necessary for me, however, after seeing the molds and pictures he changed his mind. Apparently the shape of the jawbone is not ok (in addition to it being narrow), and he was not able to correct it sufficiently with braces alone. Extractions were also not an option since I already had all premolars removed and he didn't want to pull any more healthy teeth. The MSDO was an idea of my surgeon and was added later to the treatment plan. If I would choose not to have these surgeries, they would not have another option for me, and so I would not be able to start treatment then.

I am an insecure person as well, I hope to get through the SARPE surgery ok, with the expansion and the resulting gaps...

[Rivvie]

So, it is finally here, the day before the first surgery. Time to post some updated pics. I feel that a lot of progress has been made already. Ofcourse because of the SARPE and MSDO to come, things will get worse again before it will improve further.

Anyway, updated pics:
I added one of the lower jaw as well, since I had not posted that one (the yellow blobs are bits of glue to prevent me hitting the top brackets)

[Rivvie]

And to demonstrate the progress, some pics of the top arch (displaying the overjet gap).

[libbylou]

Yours is going to be a fantastic and really inspirational story Rivvie. Good luck with the surgery - bet your outcome is going to be absolutely amazing.

[Domino]

Hey Rivvie. Just came across your story today and, wow, must say you've been through a lot! I admire your determination and dedication! I can tell from your pictures that your teeth will look great once everything is over with!

I'm not sure I could have started my journey with the idea of surgery—the idea of extractions was bad enough and almost put me off. The possibility of surgery was never discussed during my consultations even once (I don't even know anything about the surgery options!), so I assume I don't need it. I do need 4 extractions, though (I've had the first, so far. Will have the other three next week).

Good luck with your surgery tomorrow! I look forward to hearing/seeing your progress

[Rivvie]

Hi everybody again It has been a while since I posted, I had to keep some distance from it all for a while. Anyway, I am doing very well. The last few months have been very eventful. I haven't even posted pictures of the post-op me (or at least the teeth).

Surgery day itself was very hectic. A week prior to the surgery they had called me that my surgery had been postponed by an hour, so I had to come in a little later than they had said at first. So on the day itself I came on the time they had told me to, only to get scolded for arriving too late. Guess they did not communicate the later time to the people at the ward, sigh.
I had to put on the pretty hospital gown and then I had to wait. There was one other person in the same room as me and ofcourse, this person started vomiting while I waited. I felt really sorry for her, however this did not really help my nerves, since I was already scared of getting sick after the surgery.

after some more I finally got rolled toward the pre-op room, it was finally going to happen! My nerves only got worse though...
I was so nervous that I even developed a small fever. This spiked some concern with the anesthesiologist and he was contemplating if he was going to allow the surgery or not with the fever and all. To make matters worse, they had forgotten to draw blood during the pre-op examination a few weeks earlier. They did not have blood ready for me and had to draw blood and perform the needed tests with haste so that they could still do surgery. Luckily after some discussion and additional examinations, they decided that I was healthy after all and the surgery could start. Phew...

Surgery itself went smooth, also did not have any nausia, so yay! Looked like dracula though.
After a week of rest, I had to start turning both devices. While the upper one did not hurt, the bottom one did, really hurt. Trying to talk and eat with both those monsters was a challenge too, since I could not close my mouth at all. Luckily all that is in the past, the devices were removed about 10 weeks after the surgery (which is incredibly fast, luckily I heal really quick) and in the additional time up to now, my teeth have come back together on their own. My bottom teeth need a little help in getting together again, but that is a work in progress.

Time for some pictures! These are pictures taken after surgery, with both devices in place. The gap is not at it's max, I had to turn a few more times after these were taken, but sadly I did not take more pictures after these.

First, the "gaps"


The devices, top and bottom:
The bottom one was actually twice as big, You can see only the top bar in the picture, there was a second one below the first...
Please do not pay attention to the brown teeth, they had been stained by the rinse I had to use.



and finally, a picture of the "tools of torture" (with which I had to turn both devices)



Long post, sorry for the gory pictures, hope to post some more recent (and prettier pictures of the current me very soon )