SARPE Surgery

[joplin]

My question for you PF is was there pain as the two front teeth came back together as there was for me when they separated?

Hi! I had SARPE done last October. I felt no pain as the gap appeared and no pain when the teeth came back together either. The gap was gone in about 3 weeks. Many have said they needed the help of braces to close the gap, but really, it closes itself. It gets smaller and smaller and one day your front teeth sit side by side again. It's painless, don't worry!

I'm happy to hear you're all doing fine and I hope you will be pleased with your results. I'm happy with my new wider arch I'm still new to braces that went on in the beginning of June, but that is smooth sailing after SARPE.

A warm hug to all of you from a fellow SARPE survivor!

[decisionmade]

Thanks Joplin..the first thing I do every morningn is run to the mirror to check out the space!! Yesterday my ortho told me that with adults the two teeth don't come together quite all the way but really close so I am optimistic..and since they overlapped before expansion i think this will improve my appearance even before those braces go on...just got my braces on date its september 28th..about a week before my 35th birthday..yah!..and if all goes well i'll have them off by 37! i've read some of your other posts joplin and your story is inspiring..This web site is such a great thing it has been so helpful! looking forward to joining the braced!
thanx again
dm

[mic26]

I'm going to have the SARPE surgery in about 3 weeks. I'm really nervous about this. I got my braces and expander on today and talk about an adjustment! I am having the hardest time talking and eating and swallowing. Anybody have any helpful hints?

[decisionmade]

Hi mic 26...I had the surgery 3 weeks ago and for me it wasn't nearly as bad as i had anticipated but i have heard many different stories...For me just lots of swelling which took a little over a week to finally go down completely..unlike you i didn't have the expander put in until immediately following the surgery and will not be braced until septemeber 28 after my palet has stabilized..in all, my expander will be in for 6 months...you will get used to the expander...i always have water with me which helps to not only get food down but also to handle all the extra saliva my mouth produces now...my speech is very good and I can eat almost anything now that the insisions have healed as long as it is cut up really well. for the first few days after surgery i stuck to nutrtious shakes/smoothies/pudding/applesause/ice cream(without any chunks unfortunately:)..you get the idea...some great weight loss however since then I've been making up for it!!..good luck to you and if you have other questions just let me know..i check inhere frequently it has been really helpful! ...the expander does get better!! and my cross bite is gone!! It really works!!..my smile wil be big and beautiful!

[decisionmade]

I've posted pic's under "decisonmade's story" finnally

[mic26]

decisionmade, thanks for the info. I am still a little nervous, but I'm hoping the surgery will be better than what I'm expecting.
I'm slowly adjusting to the expander. I feel like my mouth is always full of saliva and I still can't talk right. I'm just hoping that gets better with time also.
anyways, thanks

[decisionmade]

I hope it goes well foryou mic26..honestly I have absolutely NO regrets about having the surgery and it was not nearly as bad as I had expected..Let us know how things go..Good luck

[Boriqua_306]

mic26,

It also took me a minute to get used to the expander. I had a lot of issues with the saliva and not being able to talk.

It took me about two weeks to get used to it. The only thing that bothers me now with the expander, is the brackets on the side get caught on the insides of my cheeks and cause them to ache pretty bad. I use lots of wax when it does get unbearable.

I am in my third month with the Hyrax expander and had my surgery not too long ago.

I am doing much better now and feel a whole lot better. I have a nice size gap and they will not start closing it up for about another two weeks.

Good luck on your surgery. It really was not that bad for me. The only bad part was getting used to all these appliances in my mouth!

It's great to read about others who have had the surgery. I found great articles on this website and others on the internet.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask...

Have a great week!

[Boriqua_306]

Joplin,

Thanks for your view of the surgery. I am also glad that I have a wider palate.

Although my gap is not closed, I like the way my teeth are aligned and look forward to the closing of this HUGE gap.

It is amazing what these little shiny brackets and wires can do for a person!

Have a great week...

[Boriqua_306]

decisionmade,

How are you doing and how are you feeling at this point??

I am doing much better and feel great!

I have my ups and downs with pain, but nothing that Advil can't solve...

Talk to you later...

[mic26]

Boriqua_306,
Thanks for the encouraging info. It's nice to know I'm not the only one going through this. I'm slowly starting to adjust to the Hydrax expander. I still feel like I have to slurp saliva because it gets trapped between the expander and the roof of my mouth, and I have trouble pronouncing certain words, but other than that, I'm ok.
I am still a little uncertain about the surgery, the whole gap thing scares me, I already look silly and now to know that i'll get a gap...yikes!
I wonder how much time to take off work? I'm an RN so sometimes my job gets pretty strenuous. I'll have to talk to the doc about that i guess...
anyways, thanks everyone for your comments and stories....it's helped me tons...
mic26

[joplin]

I wonder how much time to take off work?

My surgeon gave me 10 days off work.

Don't worry about the gap thing too much. It may not get that wide (mine wasn't too bad), and even if it does, it's all temporary. GOOD LUCK!

[Boriqua_306]

Mic26,

The Dr gave me about two weeks off, but I worked from home.

The gap thing is not that bad, but it is very hard to talk.

All the other problems you are experiencing will soon go away...

Good luck!

[decisionmade]

hi B, I am glad you are doing so well! I have mostly good days at this point..the discomfort I experience now is around the mollars that are anchoring the expander..My bite seems to change daily and i clench my teeth a lot during the day even grinding them a little..i'm wondering if this is normal...My bite is so unclear that I imagine maybe I do ths for my bite to find its place to settle..Have you experienced any of this?
I still have the big gap even with 2 weeks since I stopped expanding but my teeth are easier to floss than they have been in the past so thats a good thing..oh and I only recently learned( since I found some friends honest with me:) that I still have swelling even after 4 weeks since surgery..but according to some other stuff I read online this can be normal...Ahh well I may complain alittle but still no regrets and no major problems in the scheme of things so for that I am very grateful!..7 weeks til banding!

[katemm06]

I just wanted to say hi to everyone who has had the SARPE surgery. I will be having my SARPE surgery this Tuesday, August 16th. I am sooo ready to have it done with!! Like you Mic, I had my expander cemented in by the orthodontist on August 6th. I'm getting used to it now but I'm sure it will be a whole different adjustment once the actual surgery is performed.
It is so nice to talk to others who are going through the same type of procedure.

For those of you who already had the surgery, did you find turning the key was easy for you to do or did you have to have another person turn it for you?

How many days did you feel you needed to recuperate before you felt ready to resume normal activities?

Thanks!