Re: SARPE

[Guest guest]

I called my ortho today, to say that I am going ahead with

everything. Glad you posted this, as it gave me a great idea of what

to expect.

I have never had spaces between my teeth. In fact my dental

hygentist complains everytime she has to floss my teeth because I

give her a workout. I can't imagine a whole finger between my front

teeth. Your picture would've been great - I'll have to see if I

will allow a camera near me after surgery.

I didn't realize there was swelling with the procedure - good to

know. I also didn't think about eating. It must be odd to eat with

a brace on the roof of your mouth. How difficult was it to chew? Is

it easy to clean? Also, how long did you have to have the appliance

in your mouth? And did it affect talking? I don't have to do a lot

of talking on my job, but still have to answer my phone and talk in

meetings. Maybe this will be my excuse to skip giving presentations

for a while

Amy

> I had one in October of 2003. When I came out of surgery I could

fit

> my pointer finger between my two front teeth. (I joked about

taking

> family pictures with a cigarette in my mouth...I don't smoke, but I

> know it would have been a hilarious picture...I never it did it,

> because I wouldn't buy the cigarettes) The gap closed a lot in the

> next month so, but it was 9 months before it was totally closed.

The

> surgery wasn't that painful, it was mostly annoying having the

metal

> piece in the roof of my mouth! (I didn't have my braces on for

that

> surgery, but will have them for my upper jaw surgery on July 18.)

My

> surgery was 2 hours or less. I don't recall. It was suppose to

> start at 7:30, but was delayed and I was released from the hospital

> by 10:30 am after being in recovery. I remember begging them to let

> me go home. They said, " if you can get dressed without calling for

> help, we'll let you go, but it's a little too soon " Well, I did

> have to press the button for assistance and I said to the

> nurse...Before you hold it against me and not let me out of

> here...let me explain. I told her that my nose was starting to

> bleed and I didn't want to get blood everywhere. She laughed at me

> and wrapped my nose, let me get dressed and I was out of there. I

> remember coming home and feeling great. I was sitting up at my

> computer the very day of surgery. About 7:00 pm that night, the

> medication started wearing off... I won't say that I was in a lot

of

> pain, but I felt my face tightening up. My face was swollen for

> quite some time. Because of the swelling, I had a difficult time

> eating for about four weeks, but it wasn't anything I couldn't

> handle. I did have help around the house, because my daughter was 3

> and my son was 8. My husband was here to help out. I just found

> that I got tired, because I wasn't eating right...I finally started

> ensure and that help turn things around. If you have any other

> questions, feel free to ask.

>

> Sorry I didn't respond sooner, but I have been away for a few days

> and didn't have internet access. Have spent all morning playing

> catch-up on the posts! It's another fulltime job

[Guest guest]

Glad to hear you are moving forward with it. It's not that bad

really

I had never had spaces between my teeth and was a little self-

conscious about it. I didn't think I'd want a camera around, but we

did take some pictures. Now almost 2 years later, I'm glad I did.

It's nice to see where I've been and where I am now. I scrapbook

and I actually did a page ...it's a memory in my life. I had to

save it. Flossing my teeth is a lot easier now. I have actually

asked my husband to bring my digital camera to the hospital and take

pictures right after surgery.

Yes there was quite a bit of swelling with that procedure. But

remember everyone is different. I also bruise extremely easy...they

say it's my complexion. I'm prepared for a lot of swelling this

time. I'm a little more prepared with the second stage (3 weeks)

than I was for the first one.

I had my expander put on about 2 weeks before surgery and it just

took a little getting use to eating with it on. My first meal was

pizza...mistake. My husband had to unwrap the cheese from the

expander. It just took some time. It wasn't difficult to chew at

all. You will get things stuck between the roof of your mouth and

the expander..but you can get it out. I remember eating

Thanksgiving with my in-laws and having to stick my fingers in my

mouth to get food un-stuck. They were very good with me and didn't

laugh although it was extremely funny.

I had it on just one week shy of 6 months. I think the standard is

six months. I was very happy to have it removed.

Talking was another story. Everyone around me said I got better,

but I never thought I did. I would get frustrated, because words

just didn't come out the same. I work from home and I did avoid

answering my phone unless the other person on the other end new what

I had been through. It was too hard to explain it to them. I hope

it gets you out of some presentation.

Best of luck and if you have any question, ask away. I'm preparing

for stage 2 in 3 weeks. It's hard to believe it's almost here.

> > I had one in October of 2003. When I came out of surgery I could

> fit

> > my pointer finger between my two front teeth. (I joked about

> taking

> > family pictures with a cigarette in my mouth...I don't smoke,

but I

> > know it would have been a hilarious picture...I never it did it,

> > because I wouldn't buy the cigarettes) The gap closed a lot in

the

> > next month so, but it was 9 months before it was totally closed.

> The

> > surgery wasn't that painful, it was mostly annoying having the

> metal

> > piece in the roof of my mouth! (I didn't have my braces on for

> that

> > surgery, but will have them for my upper jaw surgery on July

18.)

> My

> > surgery was 2 hours or less. I don't recall. It was suppose to

> > start at 7:30, but was delayed and I was released from the

hospital

> > by 10:30 am after being in recovery. I remember begging them to

let

> > me go home. They said, " if you can get dressed without calling

for

> > help, we'll let you go, but it's a little too soon " Well, I did

> > have to press the button for assistance and I said to the

> > nurse...Before you hold it against me and not let me out of

> > here...let me explain. I told her that my nose was starting to

> > bleed and I didn't want to get blood everywhere. She laughed at

me

> > and wrapped my nose, let me get dressed and I was out of there.

I

> > remember coming home and feeling great. I was sitting up at my

> > computer the very day of surgery. About 7:00 pm that night, the

> > medication started wearing off... I won't say that I was in a

lot

> of

> > pain, but I felt my face tightening up. My face was swollen for

> > quite some time. Because of the swelling, I had a difficult

time

> > eating for about four weeks, but it wasn't anything I couldn't

> > handle. I did have help around the house, because my daughter

was 3

> > and my son was 8. My husband was here to help out. I just

found

> > that I got tired, because I wasn't eating right...I finally

started

> > ensure and that help turn things around. If you have any other

> > questions, feel free to ask.

> >

> > Sorry I didn't respond sooner, but I have been away for a few

days

> > and didn't have internet access. Have spent all morning playing

> > catch-up on the posts! It's another fulltime job