November 2013 Surgery Buddies

[riley3245]

Thanks for the help kimnmoody. My movement is a bit more than the typical loose teeth from braces. I was very noticeable when i would bite down. The ortho put bands on to pull my bottom teeth back which has fixed the problem of my upper teeth being pushed out. Now when i bite my left side hits first than my right. This pushes the left side up a bit until the right side hits. The scary part for me is that my upper jaw was moved down about 1-1.5 mm so I have that space that needs to heal. It has been 2 months so I don't know if this is the teeth moving up for my jaw. I think it is the jaw because i can see my gums moving with it all the way up to the scar line. I made an appointment with my ortho for monday, but I'm going to call and try to talk with my oral surgeon today.

[Laria]

Hello November Buddies,

I wish I would have found this site earlier. I had surgery November 19, 2013. This was my second surgery. I had double jaw surgery with genioplasty. It was pretty intense and unlike my first surgery I required lots of help when I returned home. I got through the first few weeks which as you all know can be very difficult. At about 4 weeks I had a relapse on my upper jaw. Which required extra elastics and extra time off work. I'm now 10 weeks post op and have been struggling the last few weeks with my emotions. I hadn't planned for this to be as emotionally draining but it has. I'm still wearing elastics and will continue on the soft food diet until March.

How's everyone else dealing with your post op process?

[survenant]

Hi Laria,

I guess I'm pretty lucky. Apart from a mild lower jaw assymetry relapse that's fixable with elastics I'm doing great. I can eat pretty much anything I want. No pain, some numbness remains in the chin. I hope things get better for you soon!

[Laria]

Hello survenant,

I'm doing better I just can't wait to be normal.

How's your swelling?

[survenant]

There is some swelling left, but unless I point it out to other people, they don't notice it. Apparently, the last 10% swelling can take up to 6 months to dissapear, even longer in some cases.

[kimnmoody]

Finally got a date to get my braces off! 24th April can't come quickly enough. Anybody else got a date yet?

I don't know about anyone else but trying to speak to my surgeon outside of appointments is proving impossible! I've emailed and sent a letter. I could try calling but god knows when he'll have clinic hours. Would've thought his assistant might have got in touch by now.

[Laria]

Hi Kimnmoody! Congratulations on getting a date to have your braces removed! That's really exciting!

Hi Survenant, Yeah my surgeon said that too about the last 10%. I guess all we can do is wait this out.

[Alicia110613]

Hi kimnmoody - I got my de-bracing date as well - 4/7!! Sounds like April will be an awesome month. =)

Laria - welcome to the group! Best wishes on your recovery, and hang in there!

Survenant - I agree that residual swelling takes forever to go away. I still have a bit of swelling in my gum, it's taking its own sweet time.

My only concern now is that one of my front lower teeth is crowding a little from the ortho adjustments. I pointed out to my orthodontist so it can get fixed, but the tooth is being stubborn as there doesn't seem to be any space for it to be moved back. I only have 1 more appt between now and April, so hopefully it can get fixed in time. =\

[survenant]

Quick update :

I still have some lower jaw asymmetry. The elastics won't be able to completely fix it, I don't care because it is hardly noticeable unless I point it out to people. I still got at least 2 more months of elastics, that's the real bad news and I'll have my braces for at least 4-5 months.

[Alicia110613]

My journey with jaw surgery ends today as I got my braces off! I just want to say thank you everyone for the support along way, it's really nice to have this forum to share the experience with you all - survenant, lattiee, kim, laria, riley. (hope I didn't miss anyone!)

Kim - your debracing date is coming up soon, I'm really excited for you. =)

Survenant/Riley/Laria - Good luck with the rest of your journey/recovery!

[survenant]

Quick update :

I'm elastic-free for now. Almost 6 months with elastics.

My braces should be removed in about 3 months.

[survenant]

I'm writing in the off chance that one of my surgery buddy will read this. They removed my wires today, they installed the permanent wires and I've got a retainer now. Bottom line, I keep my brackets for another 5 weeks, if there is no noticeable movement, they will remove by brackers in the beginning of July. I'm so happy that it's almost over.