Nicola's Story - Braces with Surgery :S

[revelvia]

I'm 22 (23 tomorrow!) and have been seeing an NHS hospital for about two years now getting ready for treatment involving jaw surgery. I had braces when I was about 12 but they didn't really do too much and apparently in some ways have caused more problems. Annoyingly I have since been told that the orthodontist originally wanted to wait and do the surgery on me but decided he would go ahead and give it a go - which has caused more problems as it is much harder for the hospital to do anything about it now! My top arch looks pretty much fine but my lower arch is awful as the teeth in the middle stick backwards into my mouth. I originally want to an orthodontist about four years ago to get it corrected and was told I'd need surgery. It was only really then that I realised just how big the gap I had was!

My teeth are truly horrendous, haha. I'm unsure if I have an overbite or an overjet, it seems to be some awkward combination of the two - but long story short, the measurement from my middle lower teeth to my upper middle teeth is 12mm. Those front teeth haven't served any purpose for quite some time!! Very few of my teeth actually connect. When I'm at home and no one is there my natural position is to have my lower lip resting behind my front teeth. And I'm also quite a dribbly person (only with drinks and with things like brushing my teeth, thank God) which I am hoping is something to do with it too

So, it's nearly time to commence the procedure!

I've been put off for a while as I had a meeting with three consultants and they were all arguing about what to do which made me quite nervous. They also worried that I wouldn't look very good with it and that it would alter my face too much. They unintentionally called me quite manly which I wasn't happy with They did eventually suggest I got braces, had SARPE, and then eventually went on to have lower jaw surgery with some kind of chin reduction.

I went home and considered it and eventually decided that I didn't think I could deal with having SARPE. I am a very insecure person, which I think is probably caused by my dodgy teeth! I go slightly out of my way to avoid looking in mirrors and sometimes seeing my reflection or a photograph of myself makes me genuinely very very unhappy and so I sometimes feel like I can't even leave the house because of it. So for me having braces was already going to be a very difficult thing to do but I knew it was a compromise I had to make - however, SARPE was too much for me. I really didn't think I'd be able to handle having such a big gap when I was already so insecure and upset about my appearance.

So I went back today and I said I was happy to go ahead but that I wanted to avoid having SARPE. The consultant went away and considered it for a bit using my moulds and on return said that he thought it could be done without SARPE. Instead I would have two teeth taken out from the lower arch instead (which I am much happier with) and then have a double jaw surgery later on. I decided that this was something that I felt much more comfortable with, because as much as I know I need to have all this done and that it will be better in the long run, the whole SARPE thing was just too much for me. Because of the previous work I have been told I am a complicated case, which is a bit worrying

Either way I signed the consent form for braces today and I'm suddenly very stressed that I may have made the wrong decision! But I should have them on within three months. I know for me that I have spent many years reading this site and the pictures have been what finally convinced me to go ahead, so I will be posting some of my own. However at the moment I'm still really really uncomfortable with even looking at them myself, but I promise you all they will be up as soon as the braces are on

[stepher7]

Good for you for finally deciding to do it! I can only imagine how stressful it would be to decided on SARPE, I don't know if I'd be able to do it either. I've seen some pics and it looks like it would be very painful, and I agree that being self conscious of one's teeth already, having a large gap would not really help lol when you do finally get braced you'll be so happy you did it (after the first couple of weeks, the beginning it's hard to remember why you did it lol) I look forward to following your progress, and hope to see some pics soon! I understand about being embarrassed by your befores, but everyone else on this board has them too and they'll be a distant memory once the braces have done their job. Good luck!

[Melody85]

Excuse my ignorance but what does SARPE mean?

[stepher7]

Surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion....used to expand the upper jaw. If you Google it you should be able to find some good info/pictures. I think people who go through it are incredibly brave, I don't know if I'd be able to handle it!

[revelvia]

Yeah, there's an active page about it on the oral surgery forum I wish I had the strength to have it but I really couldn't handle it.

In other news, got my dates today! I'm having something done on August 2nd and then the actual braces put on on August 9th. I have no idea what's going on in that first appointment, I remember him saying he'd be putting something on before the actual braces but I really don't know what

The problem is, that's enough time for me to change my mind I keep looking in the mirror and thinking that it doesn't actually look that bad. But I realise that every other day I look and think it looks awful, but I'm not sure :S I still can't bring myself to tell anyone so I think I'm just going to surprise everyone and see if anyone comments

[stepher7]

I also had to wait months before my braces went on, knowing it was coming and getting more and more nervous about it. the time will fly by and it will be August before you know! And trust me, once they're on and you start seeing movement you'll be so glad you did it!! And you'll wish you hadn't had to wait a few extra months! lol

[bridget51992]

The things he'll want to put on you before the initial bracing will probably be spacers! : D That's to make room for the metal thingies that go over your molars.

I agonized over whether or not I should get braces for months too - I knew I had jaw problems, but I wasn't sure if I really absolutely needed to fix my teeth until I read other posts on this site about how people can have so many problems down the road if they don't fix their teeth now. I think you will be glad if you go through with it : ) Best of luck to you! Try to stay busy until August so that you won't worry about your teeth the whole time

[revelvia]

Yesterday I met a guy around my age with braces and it was very reassuring, as he was very cute despite the metal! Annoyingly he is about to have his taken off, I was looking forward to having a support buddy haha.

I'm still not entirely sure. I am heavily leaning towards having it done and I would be surprised if I changed my mind! I'm mostly just worried about how bad it will look afterwards. They were a bit worried during my consultation as they feared it could make my face look worse, so I don't want to go through everything just to end up a bit disfigured

[stepher7]

I'm just curious, why do they think your face might change? Do you need to have extractions? I realize that your teeth moving position might alter your face a little, but I would think it would be for the better and would be so slight that only you would see any difference. Honestly, I think the benefits of braces far outweigh any risks that there may be. Only you can decide what's right for you, but from my own experience and from what I've read on other people's posts it's totally worth it. Good luck with the next few months, make sure to use this forum for support when you need it!

[revelvia]

I'm just curious, why do they think your face might change? Do you need to have extractions? I realize that your teeth moving position might alter your face a little, but I would think it would be for the better and would be so slight that only you would see any difference. Honestly, I think the benefits of braces far outweigh any risks that there may be. Only you can decide what's right for you, but from my own experience and from what I've read on other people's posts it's totally worth it. Good luck with the next few months, make sure to use this forum for support when you need it!

I am having extractions, but mostly because my jaws are going to be moving a total of 10mm! I'm having double surgery to try and minimise the difference but I think it's inevitable that it's going to look at least somewhat different!

[stepher7]

Well I'm sure that any changes will be for the better!! Good luck

[revelvia]

Hello there! There's been a bit of a delay since my last post. I have had some issues with the NHS - I was supposed to get everything done in August, but the NHS forgot to tell me which teeth I needed to have removed. It got to the stage where I was literally calling the secretary on a daily basis and couldn't get through to her, or if I could she said she would call me back the next day with a reply - and of course didn't! It's actually been SIX MONTHS I've been trying to get this information.

Anyway, it's finally through. I just had my second tooth removed yesterday. Eating is awful! It's too lower teeth I had removed. It's really painful to eat, but more than that it just feels uncomfortable.

Today I'm going in to have the spacers put in, which I'm really not looking forward to.

In other news I have a lovely supportive boyfriend now who has been great through the whole thing, and has come along to hold my hand while I look disgusting and drool all over myself after having teeth removed I've also just moved to London and have a job there. I'm due to have my braces put in next month so I'm really glad I got all this BEFORE having the braces.

Anyway! Spacers later today. I also have some horrendous photos to show you all which I'll upload asap!

[revelvia]

Well, I guess that post was a bit too early! I just got a phone call while I was already on the two hour journey to the hospital that they've cancelled my appointment. I'm furious right now! Now I'm going to have random gaps in my teeth for who knows how many months, I wasted a day off on it and now I'm going to have to take more time off which my work really isn't happy about, and of course the hospital won't answer the phone and absolutely never calls me back so I can't even sort out my new appointments - which, of course, they will put at a completely inconvenient time and then say I cancelled it if I try to make changes.

I feel like I finally get in the right mindset to have it all done and now I'm going to have to sit around and wait for months again.

[stepher7]

That sounds really frustrating I can only imagine how annoying it must be to never be able to get in touch with someone, especially when you have questions that you need answers to. Hang in there! The waiting game can be a real pain, but once you get the braces and see the changes, you'll be so glad you stuck it out. Good luck, keep us posted!

[revelvia]

That sounds really frustrating I can only imagine how annoying it must be to never be able to get in touch with someone, especially when you have questions that you need answers to. Hang in there! The waiting game can be a real pain, but once you get the braces and see the changes, you'll be so glad you stuck it out. Good luck, keep us posted!

Thanks! I hope so, it's just so frustrating as they estimate at least another 6 weeks for my next appointment, and I'd finally managed to get myself into the right frame of mind to almost actually be looking forward to the things!