Adriae's Brace Adventure

[Adriae]

Hello everyone - I'm so glad I found this forum because the past few months I've been lurking about reading different threads so I could prepare myself (somewhat) for this journey into ortho.

I'm 36 years old and even though I had braces and a retainer when I was younger I guess my bite/jaw reverted back to my original place since I really wasn't great about follow up care when I was younger.

I initially had issues with jaw pain on my right side and biting. I talked to my dentist about it and he referred me to an orthodontist that he works with. I set up the consult last year in September and went to see her and within 10 mins of her looking at my panoramic films and bite mold she told me that I needed upper and lower jaw surgery + 24 months in braces to fix my issue. I really didn't care to hear about how I needed surgery so I went to several more consults and they all came up with the same response. I went back with the original ortho and asked her if I didn't pursue the surgical route what were my other options and she said the best they could do is camo the problem but it wouldn't be worth the money since it wouldn't address the underlying problem. She told me to at least meet up with the Kaiser Maxillofacilial surgeon and get the information from him and then decide what I wanted to do.

So off I went to see the surgeon at Kaiser and he told me that I definitely need surgery on the lower jaw and perhaps upper but I had to do a bunch of tests first. I did an airway study (CT Scan) and I did a sleep study to see if I had sleep apnea. All my tests came back with bad news. My lower jaw is so set back that I have a restricted airway and my sleep study showed that I have severe sleep apnea and that I stopped breathing on average 67 times an hour. Once my surgeon got all the results of the tests he had me come back in and he took measurements of my face and told me that Kaiser would pay for the upper/lower jaw surgery and also I would need a SARPE (Surgical Adult Rapid Palate Expansion I believe) - and that I would need to start my braces to get my teeth into "surgical position" and then I would have all the surgeries done all at once with my braces on and then I get wired shut for a couple of weeks and then ortho will finish up when I've healed enough to start closing all the gaps and etc. I think they plan on moving my lower jaw 8 mm's forward and my upper jaw is going to be moved backwards but I'm not sure how far back. All I know is at 36 I'm still a "baby" about pain and I'm seriously not looking forward to having surgery in the least but he thinks it will fix my sleep apnea issues and my bite issues so I'm willing to try to deal with all this discomfort and pain for what lies on the other side of this journey, which is hopefully a great bite and no more sleep apnea. I'm just really hoping that they don't install a palate expander for a few months cause I can't imagine trying to talk with a palate expander and my braces. Adjusting to braces has already been a hard time as it is.

I went last Thursday (1-13) and was braced on my upper and lower and they couldn't fit the the bands on so I go back next week and try to fit those on. Since I'm having surgery they have to install two molar bands on each side (upper and lower) so they can put on the surgical hooks right before surgery and them hold. Right now I have about 8 spacers in my mouth and I think they are worse than the actual braces.

I'm about 7 days in and right now I'll find myself forgetting I have braces a little at a time. I'll go 10 mins and forget about them so I guess it's a start. A few days ago I couldn't imagine forgetting about having them in my mouth ever! I can't floss at all though, so it's a little discouraging that my gums are rebelling now and very tender and red. I can't fit the floss between many teeth at all to make it worth the effort so I've just been brushing about four-five times a day (after every meal) and water pik'ing and rinsing alot and I think not flossing is really causing my gums to be somewhat irritated. I'll check next week when I go in to get banded if I'm doing a poor job cleaning everything.

I'm so glad to meet everyone here and thank you for taking the time to read my story!

[Ellebraced]

Hi Adriae

WOW, the sleep apnea thing is a little scary, that is definitely a great reason to have the surgery and nice that it is paid for. They wanted me to have lower jaw surgery but I never went for a consult because (in Canada) it would properly be considered cosmetic not medical and I really wanted to get this show on the road. I didn't have $3000 lying around to pay for it. So as long as they can get my bite better I will be happy.

Flossing does get easier, I am 35 days in today and can easily floss in under 5 minutes, I use CREST GLIDE (best floss ever) my teeth are really tight and I use the threader.

SPACERS SUCK!!!! I had a nightmare last night that I had them again, that was the worst part of this whole thing. I did have 2 last week but they did not bother me but before my braces they were EVIL!!!!

Good luck with your journey I look forward to seeing pics and seeing how your surgery goes.

elle

[GRILLZ]

adriae:

welcome! you do have quite the journey ahead of you....you've come to the right place for support and info. keep us posted!