Never posted to a board...never kept a journal...but it seems this could be a bit therapeutic, so here goes...
I had braces for 4 years as a child, but when the ortho started talking about cutting out a piece of my tongue and breaking my jaw, Mommy said, "No way,"" and the braces came off. 20-something years later, I still have trouble eating (although I have found a way to stay ovrweight all these years) and breathing. I have been told that due to the state of my jaw and teeth, that I better keep all my teeth because dentures would be almost impossible to fit. And so I follow the recommendation of my new dentist and head for the ortho and OS.
After the consult, the plan is to move things around a bit, expand the palate, and move the upper jaw forward. I'm not too excited about the surgery bits, but after reading all the posts from the folks who "been there, done that," I'm feeling a bit better about it.
Went to do the records, X-rays, and molds thing on Monday the 16th and was surprised by the lovely blue spacers. I'm currently in the dark as to what's coming next, but it's coming Feb. 1. I'm not sure if the braces will go on or if they are making room for the expander, but we'll see what happens. I love to go into new experiences with as much information as possible, but it's also nice not to have to think about it approaching.
The expanders made the teeth a bit tender, so it's been lots of soup and yogurt lately. Got really frustrated yesterday when I thought some fries would be soft enough to mash with the tongue, but no such luck. My sweet wife is having a little get-together tonight and is preparing pizza - my absolute favorite, but I'll probably just scrape the cheese and stuff off the top.
That's enough for my first entry, I suppose. To anyone reading this...especially decisionmade, Metal Mouth Guy, joplin, and a few others I have forgotten...thank you very, very much for sharing.
Slawdawg's Journal
Moderator: bbsadmin
Here we go...
Spacers went in on January 16th. I have finally gotten used to them and I am eating pretty much normally, but tomorrow, all that changes. From what the ortho's assistant tells me, I'm in for a fun day. I'm going to be braced and fitted for the expander. It takes about four weeks for the engineers to construct the appliance and then comes the SARPE. I don't know what kind of apliance is coming or when the SARPE will take place, but the ball starts rolling tomorrow and I guess there's no turning back after that. I just took a couple of pictures for my own "before" shots, but I don't think they came out too well. My teeth really look yellow! Maybe time for the whitening after all is said and done. I also got wonderful news last week when I had things cleaned...I got a smallish cavity on a tooth that will be banded tomorrow. So I get to start the day with a filling and then drive to the ortho for bracing. What a fun day! I will be eating several bags of popcorn tonight and have steak for supper. It may be awhile before that happens again. I'm going to be working on finding out how to post some images to share with the world, so don't go away!
The journey has officially begun...
I have returned from the ortho and am now fully braced...yahoo! Ok, not fully braced, but the lowers are completely done and the uppers have been bracketed. The RPE will take care of the upper banding. A mold was done to send off to fabricate the RPE. I will return on March 1 to have the RPE device installed and then I hope to do the surgery thing over spring break. It's not the beach, but I will be laying around for a few days.
The whole bracing thing was really not that bad. I didn't take any Ibuprofen or anything before going, but I did take plenty of Blistex and that helped tremendously.
I didn't have the Blistex when I got the filling done earlier in the day and things got really dry and the cracked lips were a bit painful. My dentist also tried to do the filling without anesthesia, which I thought was cool. At first I thought she was joking, but she did most of the drilling and I just felt some cold sensation and funky vibrations. Unfortunately, the decay was deeper than she thought and I ended up getting numb after all.
I got black and red ligs (Go Dawgs!) which really look nice. My ortho said she was happy to see adult patients have fun with their experience. When I got home, my five-year-old daughter had to get right up close and check things out. My son (9 years old) is also heading for orthodontics, but has to lose some adenoids first. He is excited about going through the braces thing with dad.
No real pain going on yet, although things are a bit tight. I'll probably pop some meds before bed, but the pressure is tolerable at present. I can't wait to hear the reactions of my colleagues and students in the morning. They will be quite amused.
And so the journey has begun...
The whole bracing thing was really not that bad. I didn't take any Ibuprofen or anything before going, but I did take plenty of Blistex and that helped tremendously.
I didn't have the Blistex when I got the filling done earlier in the day and things got really dry and the cracked lips were a bit painful. My dentist also tried to do the filling without anesthesia, which I thought was cool. At first I thought she was joking, but she did most of the drilling and I just felt some cold sensation and funky vibrations. Unfortunately, the decay was deeper than she thought and I ended up getting numb after all.
I got black and red ligs (Go Dawgs!) which really look nice. My ortho said she was happy to see adult patients have fun with their experience. When I got home, my five-year-old daughter had to get right up close and check things out. My son (9 years old) is also heading for orthodontics, but has to lose some adenoids first. He is excited about going through the braces thing with dad.
No real pain going on yet, although things are a bit tight. I'll probably pop some meds before bed, but the pressure is tolerable at present. I can't wait to hear the reactions of my colleagues and students in the morning. They will be quite amused.
And so the journey has begun...
6 days in and things are going well. My students and colleagues got a good chuckle out of my newly acquired hardware. Two students ran up to me first thing Thursday morning and yelled, "Smile!" When I did, they just got the biggest grins and said, "They look so cool!" Nice words to hear from 12-year-old girls.
I hadn't thought about how much fun it would be to talk all day with the brackets chewing up my lips and the bands wearing on the tongue. I am determined not to wax things up unless I absolutely can't stand it. Towards that end, I have kept some on the insides of the lower brackets since they are rough on the inside and wearing a nice hole in each side of my tongue. Other than that, though, things have been surprisingly tolerable. I am sleeping well and able to eat just fine. As a matter of fact, I even enjoyed some pizza and nachos at the Superbowl party last night. I am brushing more than I ever have - up to five times a day - just because it feels so good and I refuse to let anything get stuck in my mouth for longer than a few minutes.
Another fun note...I discovered one of my students also has red and black ligs, so we match! I was sharing with him that I'm going the first of March to get an expander and he said, "You mean one of these?" He opened his mouth to show me the expander he has had for four months. I continue to be amazed at how common these braces, expanders, and things are. I have a lot in common with many people who have "been there, done that" and it makes me all the more comfortable with my impending doom...I mean opportunities for growth.
I hadn't thought about how much fun it would be to talk all day with the brackets chewing up my lips and the bands wearing on the tongue. I am determined not to wax things up unless I absolutely can't stand it. Towards that end, I have kept some on the insides of the lower brackets since they are rough on the inside and wearing a nice hole in each side of my tongue. Other than that, though, things have been surprisingly tolerable. I am sleeping well and able to eat just fine. As a matter of fact, I even enjoyed some pizza and nachos at the Superbowl party last night. I am brushing more than I ever have - up to five times a day - just because it feels so good and I refuse to let anything get stuck in my mouth for longer than a few minutes.
Another fun note...I discovered one of my students also has red and black ligs, so we match! I was sharing with him that I'm going the first of March to get an expander and he said, "You mean one of these?" He opened his mouth to show me the expander he has had for four months. I continue to be amazed at how common these braces, expanders, and things are. I have a lot in common with many people who have "been there, done that" and it makes me all the more comfortable with my impending doom...I mean opportunities for growth.
Before photo
Starting to figure out the fun stuff to do on this site, so I thought it was time for a "before" photo. This was taken January 30th, the day before getting braced. That's the closest my teeth have come to meeting in 25 years. Only the back two teeth on each side meet and my dentist said she was surprised that I had not ground them down in all these years. Sorry the photo is a bit blurry and gosh, those things look yellow. We'll worry about the color when they're nice and straight, though. Hopefully future photos will be much better (in many ways).
OK, it's the end of week two and things are just great. I'm really not enjoying the limited diet. I didn't realize how many crunchy chewy treats I really like. There is very littel discomfort and I can eat pretty much anything, I just don't really want to. Thngs lie Doritos, popcorn, and breakfast cereal are just too much work. What I eat is not limited by things I should or shouldn't eat, but rather by how much effort is involved. When eating becomes work, it's really not fun any more. Bummer.
The family and I just returned from a wonderful vacation to Disney World. We had lots of fun, but eating and brushing domnated my thoughts. Oh, how I wanted a turkey leg! I had one on my last trip down in January, but alas, the drumstick of my dreams is no longer an option. Burgers were a chore and chicken fingers were OK unless too crispy. I did enjoy large amounts of ice cream and frozen drinks, though, tha were wonderful! My favorite is the pineapple float made with Dole whip (s soft-serve pineapple sorbet) and pineapple juice. Awesome!
This time next week I will be experiencing the RPE appliance. It goes in Wednesday, March 1. My son is having his adenoisds out the next day, so I'll be home with him Thursday and Friday. This will give me four days or so to get used to the thing before I have to try to teach with it. I welcome any suggestions for foods that go well with metal palette gear.
The family and I just returned from a wonderful vacation to Disney World. We had lots of fun, but eating and brushing domnated my thoughts. Oh, how I wanted a turkey leg! I had one on my last trip down in January, but alas, the drumstick of my dreams is no longer an option. Burgers were a chore and chicken fingers were OK unless too crispy. I did enjoy large amounts of ice cream and frozen drinks, though, tha were wonderful! My favorite is the pineapple float made with Dole whip (s soft-serve pineapple sorbet) and pineapple juice. Awesome!
This time next week I will be experiencing the RPE appliance. It goes in Wednesday, March 1. My son is having his adenoisds out the next day, so I'll be home with him Thursday and Friday. This will give me four days or so to get used to the thing before I have to try to teach with it. I welcome any suggestions for foods that go well with metal palette gear.
Braces: Feb 1, 2006
SARPE: April 5, 2006
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Brandyleigh35
- Posts: 1018
- Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:25 pm
- Location: Alaska
- Contact:
Hey Slawdawg,
We really are on a similar schedule. I get my RPE fitted on February 28th . Just temporarily. I go in Friday March 3rd for the SARPE procedure. I just wanted a couple of days before stiches to get the feel of this appliance in my mouth etc.
I agree with you about braces, I have lost 5lbs in two weeks. Eating has become a chore, and food has ceased to provide pleasure when since I must work so hard to enjoy it. In addition to that, I got spacers put back in again yesterday so my teeth will be ready for the appliance on Tuesday. At the moment my mouth is not feeling very happy!
Our spring break is over the week of March 20th. I will be off from the 3rd of March until March 26th to heal and get used to this new appliance. I was laughing the other night when I was talking to my husband. I wear a mandibular advancment device to bed at night to keep my lower jaw forward so I can breathe properly. I was like Sheesh....how much stuff can I fit in my mouth. I have full braces, the sleep appliance, and next week the RPE. It is getting bloody ridiculous! LOL...
I will be posting pics of my surgery etc, so if you want to see what it is like ahead of time feel free to check out my aggravation next week.
Brandy
We really are on a similar schedule. I get my RPE fitted on February 28th . Just temporarily. I go in Friday March 3rd for the SARPE procedure. I just wanted a couple of days before stiches to get the feel of this appliance in my mouth etc.
I agree with you about braces, I have lost 5lbs in two weeks. Eating has become a chore, and food has ceased to provide pleasure when since I must work so hard to enjoy it. In addition to that, I got spacers put back in again yesterday so my teeth will be ready for the appliance on Tuesday. At the moment my mouth is not feeling very happy!
Our spring break is over the week of March 20th. I will be off from the 3rd of March until March 26th to heal and get used to this new appliance. I was laughing the other night when I was talking to my husband. I wear a mandibular advancment device to bed at night to keep my lower jaw forward so I can breathe properly. I was like Sheesh....how much stuff can I fit in my mouth. I have full braces, the sleep appliance, and next week the RPE. It is getting bloody ridiculous! LOL...
I will be posting pics of my surgery etc, so if you want to see what it is like ahead of time feel free to check out my aggravation next week.
Brandy
OK, so the RPE has been installed and what a strange trip it has been so far. My ortho explained that the mouth thinks it's got a bit of food in there, so that's why the salivation has kicked in. Once my mouth understands that we are not eating this thing, the juices should stop flowing.
My first meal with this thing was a bowl of spaghetti for supper. I certainly don't like the effort it takes to swallow. I also thought that the little wires running along the inside of my teeth were spaghetti noodles stuck in my mouth. It was rather frustrating trying to dislodge that which was not food at all.
Another problem was sleeping. I think I had a psychological thing going on because I could not get to sleep with this thing in my mouth and kept feeling like I was going to gag. I even had thoughts of calling someone to take it out. I was really almost scared that I was stuck with this thing and I didn't know if I could make it through the night, much less for the next six months. I only got a few hours sleep because I had to be up at 4:30 to get ready to take my son to the hospital for his surgery. (It went very well, by the way, and he has recovered quickly.) When we got home, I napped a little sitting up in a chair, but still was not comfortable and woke up often trying to swallow. I am sure I will get used to it, but I'm not real happy now unless I am fully awake and paying attention to what I'm doing.
I guess the best news is I was able to stop at the Varsity (the world-famous hot dog joint in Atlanta) and eat my usual order of chili dogs and onion rings. There is nothing that will keep me from the beloved Varsity chili dog!
The last bit of news is that I finally have a date for the SARPE surgery. I'll be going in over spring break as I had hoped. The surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, April 5th and I hope to be back teaching on Monday if at all possible. Those of you who have had this surgery done...do you think this is reasonable? My OS says 3 - 5 days and I usualy heal pretty quickly, so I hope I can return without missing a day. We'll just have to see, I guess. Thanks for listening, folks. More to come later (including some more pictures, I hope.)
My first meal with this thing was a bowl of spaghetti for supper. I certainly don't like the effort it takes to swallow. I also thought that the little wires running along the inside of my teeth were spaghetti noodles stuck in my mouth. It was rather frustrating trying to dislodge that which was not food at all.
Another problem was sleeping. I think I had a psychological thing going on because I could not get to sleep with this thing in my mouth and kept feeling like I was going to gag. I even had thoughts of calling someone to take it out. I was really almost scared that I was stuck with this thing and I didn't know if I could make it through the night, much less for the next six months. I only got a few hours sleep because I had to be up at 4:30 to get ready to take my son to the hospital for his surgery. (It went very well, by the way, and he has recovered quickly.) When we got home, I napped a little sitting up in a chair, but still was not comfortable and woke up often trying to swallow. I am sure I will get used to it, but I'm not real happy now unless I am fully awake and paying attention to what I'm doing.
I guess the best news is I was able to stop at the Varsity (the world-famous hot dog joint in Atlanta) and eat my usual order of chili dogs and onion rings. There is nothing that will keep me from the beloved Varsity chili dog!
The last bit of news is that I finally have a date for the SARPE surgery. I'll be going in over spring break as I had hoped. The surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, April 5th and I hope to be back teaching on Monday if at all possible. Those of you who have had this surgery done...do you think this is reasonable? My OS says 3 - 5 days and I usualy heal pretty quickly, so I hope I can return without missing a day. We'll just have to see, I guess. Thanks for listening, folks. More to come later (including some more pictures, I hope.)
Braces: Feb 1, 2006
SARPE: April 5, 2006
I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with the RPE appliance! I can't imagine what you're going through. At least you were able to eat those darn, delicious Varsity rings!
I've heard a lot of people on here talking about the SARPE surgery, but what exactly is it and what does it do or correct?
Leslie
I've heard a lot of people on here talking about the SARPE surgery, but what exactly is it and what does it do or correct?
Leslie
Braced: Jan. 17, 2006
Removed: Oct. 26, 2006
Fixed bottom retainer
Clear Essix Retainer on top
Removed: Oct. 26, 2006
Fixed bottom retainer
Clear Essix Retainer on top
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Brandyleigh35
- Posts: 1018
- Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:25 pm
- Location: Alaska
- Contact:
Leslie,
I'm not SlawDawg, but I'm having one of these tomorrow so I can tell you what it is. When you are older the bones in your face become fused. SARPE stand for "Surgically Assisted Rapid Palate Expansion) Basically it is where you go in to an oral surgeon, who then releases the bones in your palate through mild force. They basically fracture the bones in the following areas: right above your back molar area where your jaw/palate connect, and in the front, right above the front teeth, under the nose. A palate expander is then installed and the person turns the key to it until the desired expansion distance is reached. The appliance is then left in place for about 4-6 months to allow the palate expansion areas to fill in with new bone growth and become solid and healed again.
It is to expand the palate for those of us who have too small of an upper palate. Hope this helps, I tried to keep it rather simple so it would be easier to understand.
Brandy
I'm not SlawDawg, but I'm having one of these tomorrow so I can tell you what it is. When you are older the bones in your face become fused. SARPE stand for "Surgically Assisted Rapid Palate Expansion) Basically it is where you go in to an oral surgeon, who then releases the bones in your palate through mild force. They basically fracture the bones in the following areas: right above your back molar area where your jaw/palate connect, and in the front, right above the front teeth, under the nose. A palate expander is then installed and the person turns the key to it until the desired expansion distance is reached. The appliance is then left in place for about 4-6 months to allow the palate expansion areas to fill in with new bone growth and become solid and healed again.
It is to expand the palate for those of us who have too small of an upper palate. Hope this helps, I tried to keep it rather simple so it would be easier to understand.
Brandy
Thanks for hijacking my board, Brandy! Just kidding, dear. As usual, it seems you have much more information than I do. I didn't know where the separations would be, just that they were done surgically and they would take 6 months to heal. My ortho suggested that some doctors will actually go ahead with the full spread, crank the RPE device to the max, and let things heal. That way, there's no key-turning involved. Don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but if I could skip the key-turning, I would be OK with that.
Also, I'm starting to get that sore tongue thing. The spot where my tongue hits the device when swallowing is getting worn out, but the salt water has helped. I also got a good night's sleep last night, which was a real blessing. I'm sure things will continue to improve as the days wear on.
Also, I'm starting to get that sore tongue thing. The spot where my tongue hits the device when swallowing is getting worn out, but the salt water has helped. I also got a good night's sleep last night, which was a real blessing. I'm sure things will continue to improve as the days wear on.
Braces: Feb 1, 2006
SARPE: April 5, 2006
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Brandyleigh35
- Posts: 1018
- Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:25 pm
- Location: Alaska
- Contact:
Sorry about that Slawdawg. I had my SARPE today and lived through it. OS said it was like clockwork and went very smoothly with hardly any bleeding. For the full storry read my blog as I'm too tired to retype it all again! LOL..
Brandy
http://brandysjawjourney.blogspot.com/
Brandy
http://brandysjawjourney.blogspot.com/
So it's been a while since I've posted. Basically it's since not much has been happening. I'm patiently waiting for my surgery date with a beautiful, not yet functional device glued in the roof of my mouth. Although I should be avoiding lots of foods, I seem to be able to handle pretty much anything. I have this obstinate streak that won't let me give up on anything I enjoy...like food. It is such a chore, I just don't want to bother, but the appetite gets the best of me and I find myself indulging in whatever seemds to be the desire of the minute. Feeling sorry for myself doesn't help matters, either. It goes something like this..."Since I am so uncomfortable and headed for even more discomfort, I might as well eat that last bit of ice cream/last few cookies/last piece of pizza." Today was really horrible, though. I ordered what I thought would be a nice, soft Mexican chicken casserole. It was shredded chicken on top of crispy chips and loaded with a very hot sauce and jalapeno peppers. Ordinarily, I love spicy food, but my tongue is still rubbed raw from bumping the RPE every time I swallow and the heat was not a friend to me. The crispy chips didn't help either as they got turned sideways and poked my tongue and gums pretty good. I was in pain for a while and not at all happy about the situation. Once again, I must retreat and think a bit more about what I choose to eat lest I really hurt myself or damage the $7000 worth of metal in my mouth.
Enough whining...I have a few photos to post. I still haven't figured out how to gt those wonderfully clear images most of you have, but they're getting better. I noticed that the RPE I have doesn't seem as big and bulky as the ones I've seen (like Brandy's). Also, I think the gap between my upper and lower teeth is closing a bit. I can also feel more than just one tooth meeting together in the back. All this feels very good to me and does encourage me to continue the journey. I am so sure things will be so much better, but I will be so happy when I get to the other side.
The following photos are from 3/3/06...one month after being braced and two days after RPE installation. The smaller gap in front is not as noticable here, but wait until I post some more recent photos.
Enough whining...I have a few photos to post. I still haven't figured out how to gt those wonderfully clear images most of you have, but they're getting better. I noticed that the RPE I have doesn't seem as big and bulky as the ones I've seen (like Brandy's). Also, I think the gap between my upper and lower teeth is closing a bit. I can also feel more than just one tooth meeting together in the back. All this feels very good to me and does encourage me to continue the journey. I am so sure things will be so much better, but I will be so happy when I get to the other side.
The following photos are from 3/3/06...one month after being braced and two days after RPE installation. The smaller gap in front is not as noticable here, but wait until I post some more recent photos.
Braces: Feb 1, 2006
SARPE: April 5, 2006