Lin's Story - Extractions, Canine Exposure, and Weirdness :)
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 5:32 pm
Once upon a time, there was a girl. She had a small mouth, and too many teeth to fit in it. So the teeth were crooked. And she had a slight overbite. When she was 17, she had all 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed. It was not fun. She vowed that she would not get braces because she would have to go through oral surgery again to get her impacted, unerupted top right canine removed first. And that would probably not be fun.
Now that girl is 25, and she's going back on her old vow and going for the braces and second oral surgery. Yeah, that girl is me. I'm going to keep a log of my adventure here, because spending time doing this is a bit more pleasant and productive than all those sleepless nights worrying about it all with nowhere to get thoughts off my chest.
I'm tired of being that girl who is afraid to show her own smile. My crooked teeth make me feel insecure, and I want to work on that now.
The culprit (my "before" photo, pre-braces):
I had my first consultation with my new orthodontist about a month ago. He said that we would have to pull two bottom premolars, my top right canine baby tooth, possibly some other normal top tooth, and also remove my impacted top right canine. All of this, though, would happen after 4 months of wearing braces and elastics. Then I would continue with the braces and elastics until I reach the 27-month mark or so. The braces will be ceramic on top and metal on bottom.
I wanted to get a more detailed story on the extractions, so I went to a consultation with an oral surgeon a week ago. He said that, to get the top right canine out (which is positioned in a diagonal line behind adjacent front teeth roots), he would have to cut through bone in my hard palate (roof of my mouth) and then fish around for the tooth, section it, and remove it. He would then stitch the gums back up, and the bone should take about 4 months to grow back.
Needless to say, I am quite worried about the oral surgery, for which I would go under general anesthesia. I do have a phobia of anesthesia, which manifested in something of a hysterical psychological breakdown at my last oral surgery. It is an understatement to say that I am facing almost all of my worst fears by choosing to do all of this. I was so happy to find this forum for others taking on similar challenges. It makes me feel like maybe I'm not so alone in all of this.
I know that everybody has a unique experience... some people heal well and handle the fear really well, recover fast, some people don't. I had a college buddy tell me before my oral surgery that he had all four of his wisdoms out in a day, ate a sandwich that evening, and was fine. I, on the other hand, had a mental breakdown, vomitted into the raw wounds in my mouth after my surgery due to nausea from the anesthesia and painkillers, and it took me until two or three months afterward to be able to eat solid foods again. I remember, about 6 weeks after the surgery, going out for pizza with some friends, absolutely starving to death and wanting to dig in. I was so hungry because I had lost at least ten pounds. And I cut that pizza up into little pieces and tried to chew and eat them. But the pain was too much, even then, I couldn't even chew it up. I remember crying over not being able to eat pizza. It was a pretty low moment.
I guess my point is, while experiences vary, they are subjective to the individuals experiencing them. And I think that if I go into all of this with an attitude more positive than the one I had last time (which was more abject terror than anything else), the struggle may not be quite as traumatic. Accordingly, the healing & recovery time may not be as dramatic, either.
So I'm going to try to have a little fun with this journey by writing my thoughts here. For those of you brave enough to read on... thank you I will always welcome your comments, perspectives, and advice.
I am getting my spacers put in this coming Wednesday. The following Tuesday, I am having the braces put on.
I keep reading the things people say on this forum, and apparently adjusting to all of this (the spacers & braces) is typically a bit painful, and eating soft foods becomes necessary... some folks even lose weight after it's all on, because it is more painful to eat foods that they are used to. It is also my understanding that while some people carefully manage to eat any kind of food they want with braces on, many others are limited in their diet.
So........
I have 5 days left to eat all of the hardest, gooiest, naughtiest foods known to humankind and pack on all the pounds I want before sitting back and "enjoying" the ride that is bracedom, surgery-sagaland, and all those savory rubber bands in between.
Pre-braces SinFest game plan:
1. Plan on going out for Thai curry tomorrow night. Can't stain any ceramics yet, baby!
2. Plan on having a big steak dinner Saturday night. My ortho said something about not being able to eat beef, at least tougher cuts. I'd better enjoy this one!
3. Eat lots of Doritoes.
4. Eat a bunch of apples.
5. Eat gummy bears.
6. Eat caramels.
7. Eat toffee bars.
I'm thinking I'll throw a Taco Bell run in there somewhere, too. And of course, if you have any last suggestions for "last chance before braces" ideas, hit me up.
My braces-unfriendly junk food binge tribute:
( or the hi-res version: http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/4928/jun ... ute4zb.jpg )
It's all fun and laughs now, but the real adventure starts Wednesday when they start to play slow-motion billiards with the rocks in my mouth. I'll keep you posted!
And..... I really hope I don't regret all of this. I keep telling myself that 3 years from now I won't. And 20 years from now, I especially won't, when otherwise my impacted tooth might spontaneously decide to create some unexpected drama in my life. Right now, I'm not completely convinced of all this, though.
Well, here goes nothing...
Now that girl is 25, and she's going back on her old vow and going for the braces and second oral surgery. Yeah, that girl is me. I'm going to keep a log of my adventure here, because spending time doing this is a bit more pleasant and productive than all those sleepless nights worrying about it all with nowhere to get thoughts off my chest.
I'm tired of being that girl who is afraid to show her own smile. My crooked teeth make me feel insecure, and I want to work on that now.
The culprit (my "before" photo, pre-braces):
I had my first consultation with my new orthodontist about a month ago. He said that we would have to pull two bottom premolars, my top right canine baby tooth, possibly some other normal top tooth, and also remove my impacted top right canine. All of this, though, would happen after 4 months of wearing braces and elastics. Then I would continue with the braces and elastics until I reach the 27-month mark or so. The braces will be ceramic on top and metal on bottom.
I wanted to get a more detailed story on the extractions, so I went to a consultation with an oral surgeon a week ago. He said that, to get the top right canine out (which is positioned in a diagonal line behind adjacent front teeth roots), he would have to cut through bone in my hard palate (roof of my mouth) and then fish around for the tooth, section it, and remove it. He would then stitch the gums back up, and the bone should take about 4 months to grow back.
Needless to say, I am quite worried about the oral surgery, for which I would go under general anesthesia. I do have a phobia of anesthesia, which manifested in something of a hysterical psychological breakdown at my last oral surgery. It is an understatement to say that I am facing almost all of my worst fears by choosing to do all of this. I was so happy to find this forum for others taking on similar challenges. It makes me feel like maybe I'm not so alone in all of this.
I know that everybody has a unique experience... some people heal well and handle the fear really well, recover fast, some people don't. I had a college buddy tell me before my oral surgery that he had all four of his wisdoms out in a day, ate a sandwich that evening, and was fine. I, on the other hand, had a mental breakdown, vomitted into the raw wounds in my mouth after my surgery due to nausea from the anesthesia and painkillers, and it took me until two or three months afterward to be able to eat solid foods again. I remember, about 6 weeks after the surgery, going out for pizza with some friends, absolutely starving to death and wanting to dig in. I was so hungry because I had lost at least ten pounds. And I cut that pizza up into little pieces and tried to chew and eat them. But the pain was too much, even then, I couldn't even chew it up. I remember crying over not being able to eat pizza. It was a pretty low moment.
I guess my point is, while experiences vary, they are subjective to the individuals experiencing them. And I think that if I go into all of this with an attitude more positive than the one I had last time (which was more abject terror than anything else), the struggle may not be quite as traumatic. Accordingly, the healing & recovery time may not be as dramatic, either.
So I'm going to try to have a little fun with this journey by writing my thoughts here. For those of you brave enough to read on... thank you I will always welcome your comments, perspectives, and advice.
I am getting my spacers put in this coming Wednesday. The following Tuesday, I am having the braces put on.
I keep reading the things people say on this forum, and apparently adjusting to all of this (the spacers & braces) is typically a bit painful, and eating soft foods becomes necessary... some folks even lose weight after it's all on, because it is more painful to eat foods that they are used to. It is also my understanding that while some people carefully manage to eat any kind of food they want with braces on, many others are limited in their diet.
So........
I have 5 days left to eat all of the hardest, gooiest, naughtiest foods known to humankind and pack on all the pounds I want before sitting back and "enjoying" the ride that is bracedom, surgery-sagaland, and all those savory rubber bands in between.
Pre-braces SinFest game plan:
1. Plan on going out for Thai curry tomorrow night. Can't stain any ceramics yet, baby!
2. Plan on having a big steak dinner Saturday night. My ortho said something about not being able to eat beef, at least tougher cuts. I'd better enjoy this one!
3. Eat lots of Doritoes.
4. Eat a bunch of apples.
5. Eat gummy bears.
6. Eat caramels.
7. Eat toffee bars.
I'm thinking I'll throw a Taco Bell run in there somewhere, too. And of course, if you have any last suggestions for "last chance before braces" ideas, hit me up.
My braces-unfriendly junk food binge tribute:
( or the hi-res version: http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/4928/jun ... ute4zb.jpg )
It's all fun and laughs now, but the real adventure starts Wednesday when they start to play slow-motion billiards with the rocks in my mouth. I'll keep you posted!
And..... I really hope I don't regret all of this. I keep telling myself that 3 years from now I won't. And 20 years from now, I especially won't, when otherwise my impacted tooth might spontaneously decide to create some unexpected drama in my life. Right now, I'm not completely convinced of all this, though.
Well, here goes nothing...