Re: It all begins for me

[Guest guest]

Cary - Congratulations on your decision to go ahead with your

Orthognathic Journey! I've written you before - I'm 47 with an

underbite. I will also be starting MY Journey very soon; I get

spacers and ceramic brackets installed on top and bottom on July

26th, and spacers out/bands on molars/archwires on top and bottom/o-

rings on(ligatures)- to be done on August 9th. My OMS told me last

Tuesday that he would like to perform both upper and lower surgeries

on me. I was SHOCKED (to put it mildly), as I had only expected the

Mandibular Set-back procedure (BSSO) to be needed. So, now it appears

that I will be having the LeFort I Maxillary Osteotomy as well; he

told me that I have Maxillary Hypoplasia which is responsible for my

midface deficit, and he will not only be advancing my maxilla 4 mm,

but lowering it down in front because my " resting smile " only shows

my lower teeth. Is this what your Surgeon will be doing to you? I

still have lots of questions for my Surgeon; I have another consult

appointment with him on August 3rd. As for the spacers, I've heard

that they are the worst part of all this; I'm going to take a few

Naproxen prior to my appointment. I've read that they feel like you

have food stuck in-between your teeth - I know that feeling very

well. I'll let you know how bad it REALLY is! How long will you be in

braces prior to your surgery? I'm supposed to be in braces for ten

months prior to surgery, then up to six months afterward. It'll be

nice to have another " braces buddy " ; there are a number of us going

thru this at the same time. Well, take care and welcome to all the

fun! ~~~~~ Diane

> I appreciate everyone who has helped me so far towards making a

> decision to go through with all of this. Just to let you all know,

I

> have made the decision to go ahead with the surgery and everything

> else that will need to be done.

>

> I've gone through with all of the moulds, x-rays and photos and I've

> had my final consult with my orthodontist and oral surgeon. At this

> point, the oral surgeon has made the diagnosis that my upper jaw is

> underdeveloped and will need the work. Although, I always thought I

> had a big lower jaw when, in fact, it was my upper jaw that was too

> small. The upper jaw will be extended, raised at the rear, lowered

at

> the front and the whole jaw will be widened.

>

> Now the work begins. This Wednesday, July 20, I will be having two

> upper bicuspids removed by my oral surgeon, in his office, to make

> room to move the front of my jaw down and back. August 17 I get the

> spacers (which I here is awful) and on August 24 I get the full

> braces, upper and lower. My Orthodontist recommended the gold

plated

> braces. Hopefully, they don't look too tacky.

>

> Sometime in the next few months, I will be getting surgery to remove

> all four wisdom teeth. I don't have a scheduled date yet, but with

a

> cancellation it could move up.

>

> Thanks again to you all and I hope this all works out for the best.

>

> Cary

[Guest guest]

Hi Cary,

Sending you best wishes on this! I hope it goes really well for

you. I really do!! I am at the same time frame as you are right

now. My OS (Dr West in Seattle), along with my OD and dentist met

yesterday to confer on my case (it is kind of complex from what they

tell me). So I just have to sign on the dotted line, and they are

ready to start the braces. I don't need any teeth removed, and have

already had my wisdom teeth removed, so we will be on similar

timelines. I send you best wishes to, and will definately follow

your progress.

Hugs,

Fran

> I appreciate everyone who has helped me so far towards making a

> decision to go through with all of this. Just to let you all

know, I

> have made the decision to go ahead with the surgery and everything

> else that will need to be done.

>

> I've gone through with all of the moulds, x-rays and photos and

I've

> had my final consult with my orthodontist and oral surgeon. At

this

> point, the oral surgeon has made the diagnosis that my upper jaw is

> underdeveloped and will need the work. Although, I always thought

I

> had a big lower jaw when, in fact, it was my upper jaw that was too

> small. The upper jaw will be extended, raised at the rear, lowered

at

> the front and the whole jaw will be widened.

>

> Now the work begins. This Wednesday, July 20, I will be having two

> upper bicuspids removed by my oral surgeon, in his office, to make

> room to move the front of my jaw down and back. August 17 I get

the

> spacers (which I here is awful) and on August 24 I get the full

> braces, upper and lower. My Orthodontist recommended the gold

plated

> braces. Hopefully, they don't look too tacky.

>

> Sometime in the next few months, I will be getting surgery to

remove

> all four wisdom teeth. I don't have a scheduled date yet, but

with a

> cancellation it could move up.

>

> Thanks again to you all and I hope this all works out for the best.

>

> Cary

[Guest guest]

Thank you for the best wishes.

We sound as though we have similar issues. I, as well, have Maxillary

Hypoplasia. I always

thought I had a big lower jaw, but I was obviously mistaken. My resting smile

doesn't

show my lower teeth but they will be lowering the anterior portion of my Maxilla

because

of the open bite.

I'm not looking forward to getting two teeth pulled this Wednesday. I've never

had a single

tooth pulled which of course means I still have all 32. They are only bicuspids

for now,

but I'm sure it stings a bit. Once I get these pulled there will be no going

back as missing

teeth can cause alignment issues if I don't get braces. So, I hear anyways.

Then the

surgery sometime in the near future to remove all four wisdom teeth.

As for the braces, I will be in them for a minimum of 2 years. My orthodontist

figures it

will take 12 months before I'm ready for surgery, whereas my surgeon figures it

will take

18. I'll be interested to hear from you as to what the spacers are like. I get

those August

17 and they will remain in for a week. When I initially embarked on getting my

jaw fixed, I

had no idea orthodontics were involved. If I had a choice, I wouldn't be

getting braces but

obviously there isn't a choice here even though my teeth straight for the most

part. I had

the choice to get ceramic brackets but the Orthodontist recommended the gold

brackets

as she has had the best and fastest results with them.

It would be great if we could talk while we both go through with this together.

I'm not

sure if you are on any instant messenger at all. I am quite a bit and you are

welcome to

contact me that way if you wish.

Take care,

Cary

> > I appreciate everyone who has helped me so far towards making a

> > decision to go through with all of this. Just to let you all know,

> I

> > have made the decision to go ahead with the surgery and everything

> > else that will need to be done.

> >

> > I've gone through with all of the moulds, x-rays and photos and I've

> > had my final consult with my orthodontist and oral surgeon. At this

> > point, the oral surgeon has made the diagnosis that my upper jaw is

> > underdeveloped and will need the work. Although, I always thought I

> > had a big lower jaw when, in fact, it was my upper jaw that was too

> > small. The upper jaw will be extended, raised at the rear, lowered

> at

> > the front and the whole jaw will be widened.

> >

> > Now the work begins. This Wednesday, July 20, I will be having two

> > upper bicuspids removed by my oral surgeon, in his office, to make

> > room to move the front of my jaw down and back. August 17 I get the

> > spacers (which I here is awful) and on August 24 I get the full

> > braces, upper and lower. My Orthodontist recommended the gold

> plated

> > braces. Hopefully, they don't look too tacky.

> >

> > Sometime in the next few months, I will be getting surgery to remove

> > all four wisdom teeth. I don't have a scheduled date yet, but with

> a

> > cancellation it could move up.

> >

> > Thanks again to you all and I hope this all works out for the best.

> >

> > Cary

[Guest guest]

Don't make your fears of the spacers a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm

not gonna tell you you will enjoy them, and for some folks, they are

the worst part of the whole process. But hey --- it's only a week.

You can put up with almost anything for a week, so long as you know

it will come to an end... Just take it one day at a time. And take

your OTC painkiller (advil, alleve, tylenol, aspirin, whatever)

BEFORE your appointment. A lot easier to sit on the pain before it

starts than to catch up with it once the horses are out of the barn.

And do have some soft, no-chew goodies on hand to enjoy. Um,

pudding. Creme brulee. Cheesecake. Cottage cheese. scrambled eggs.

soups, mashed or baked potatoes. Ice cream. Yogurt. tofu. You get

the drift.

Interesting about the gold braces; didn't know they make a

functional difference.

If I were choosing again, I'd go for the metal, and wouldn't care

if they're gold plated or not, but perhaps the gold offers some

advantages I don't know about. I do know that one of my ortho's long-

term techs had to go back into braces (she was treated before it

was understood that retainers are a long-term deal) and she got the

gold ones. They didn't look tacky. She has little teeth, and they

looked very delicate and dainty.

Just hang on to this thought: I told my ortho that I'd decided that

he could be my Fulco de Verdura.

(Pause here for a lesson in cultural allusions: C: Do you know who

Fulco de Verdura was? Dr. S: No. Who? C: A jeweller who made many

of the gems cherished by -- and auctioned off at swanky prices by

the estate of -- the late Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Warfield

Simpson Windsor. So I'll supply the pearls, and you provide the

filigree. Mrs. Simpson was, I think, infamous for taking her jewels

in to be reset in varying designs.)

Braces are, even when they aren't gold, much more elegant than

tongue studs, at least in my (probably bigoted) little book.

Certainly healthier for the teeth. And I'll bet they're less painful.

Cammie

> I appreciate everyone who has helped me so far towards making a

> decision to go through with all of this. Just to let you all

know, I

> have made the decision to go ahead with the surgery and everything

> else that will need to be done.

>

> I've gone through with all of the moulds, x-rays and photos and

I've

> had my final consult with my orthodontist and oral surgeon. At

this

> point, the oral surgeon has made the diagnosis that my upper jaw is

> underdeveloped and will need the work. Although, I always thought

I

> had a big lower jaw when, in fact, it was my upper jaw that was too

> small. The upper jaw will be extended, raised at the rear, lowered

at

> the front and the whole jaw will be widened.

>

> Now the work begins. This Wednesday, July 20, I will be having two

> upper bicuspids removed by my oral surgeon, in his office, to make

> room to move the front of my jaw down and back. August 17 I get

the

> spacers (which I here is awful) and on August 24 I get the full

> braces, upper and lower. My Orthodontist recommended the gold

plated

> braces. Hopefully, they don't look too tacky.

>

> Sometime in the next few months, I will be getting surgery to

remove

> all four wisdom teeth. I don't have a scheduled date yet, but

with a

> cancellation it could move up.

>

> Thanks again to you all and I hope this all works out for the best.

>

> Cary

[Guest guest]

Hi Cary, Glad to here you've made the decision. Spacers are placed

(usually between the back molars) to allow enough space to allow

placement of the bands around the molars. It will feel like you've

got a piece of food caught between your teeth. The teeth may become

a little sore.

They recommend at my OD's office that I take something like Advil

before coming in for work on teeth. Helps with soreness.

I have the gold braces (if you want to see them - go to photos

Shirley. The pre-op picture shoes them. I had power chains (opaque

elastic type chains) over them to hold teeth in place, so the braces

aren't as shiny. The people at my OD's office suggested the gold

ones as I have a fair complexion. It really didn't matter to me.

I've even had a young girl tell me those are " cool " . And usually

the OD will allow you to choose the color of the little O rings that

help to hold the wires in. They asked me at Xmas time if I wanted

red and green. I said no - thought it might be a little too much at

my age!

Good luck and we'll all be here to support you as you go along this

journey.

Shirley

(Lefort 1, BSSO, Genio 6/23/05)

[Guest guest]

Fran,

Thank so much for the best wishes. I wish I didn't need any teeth

removed and had my wisdom teeth removed already. Unfortunately, they

need the room on my upper jaw so pre-molar #1 on each side has to go.

The wisdom teeth have to be removed because where they are positioned

is where some cutting occurs during surgery, apparently. It's

probably best to have them removed anyways - at least that's what I'm

trying to convince myself.

I hope everthing goes well for you as well. I'm interested in

following your progress as well since we are on similar time frames.

I'll be posting pics very shortly no matter how embarrassing it may

be. It will be interesting to watch the progress.

Thanks again and best wishes,

Cary

> > I appreciate everyone who has helped me so far towards making a

> > decision to go through with all of this. Just to let you all

> know, I

> > have made the decision to go ahead with the surgery and everything

> > else that will need to be done.

> >

> > I've gone through with all of the moulds, x-rays and photos and

> I've

> > had my final consult with my orthodontist and oral surgeon. At

> this

> > point, the oral surgeon has made the diagnosis that my upper jaw is

> > underdeveloped and will need the work. Although, I always thought

> I

> > had a big lower jaw when, in fact, it was my upper jaw that was too

> > small. The upper jaw will be extended, raised at the rear, lowered

> at

> > the front and the whole jaw will be widened.

> >

> > Now the work begins. This Wednesday, July 20, I will be having two

> > upper bicuspids removed by my oral surgeon, in his office, to make

> > room to move the front of my jaw down and back. August 17 I get

> the

> > spacers (which I here is awful) and on August 24 I get the full

> > braces, upper and lower. My Orthodontist recommended the gold

> plated

> > braces. Hopefully, they don't look too tacky.

> >

> > Sometime in the next few months, I will be getting surgery to

> remove

> > all four wisdom teeth. I don't have a scheduled date yet, but

> with a

> > cancellation it could move up.

> >

> > Thanks again to you all and I hope this all works out for the best.

> >

> > Cary

[Guest guest]

Hi Cammie,

I'll just have to view the spacers as a means to an end. I'm one of

these people that hates stuff stuck between my teeth, but I'll have to

get over it. Like you said, it's only a week and there are plenty of

pain killers around. I'll definitely take your soft food advice.

From what I've been told about the gold braces, whether true or not,

is that they tend to be more comfortable. At least I hope that's

true. I've never had any piercings what-so-ever so I don't know what

they feel like. I do have to agree that tongue studs, eyebrow

javelins, and nose rings aren't exactly attractive to me either. The

one thing I would like to know that nobody has told me, after the

initial few weeks, do the braces become more comfortable and do they

ever get to the point where you don't notice them much?

Thanks again Cammie,

Cary

> > I appreciate everyone who has helped me so far towards making a

> > decision to go through with all of this. Just to let you all

> know, I

> > have made the decision to go ahead with the surgery and everything

> > else that will need to be done.

> >

> > I've gone through with all of the moulds, x-rays and photos and

> I've

> > had my final consult with my orthodontist and oral surgeon. At

> this

> > point, the oral surgeon has made the diagnosis that my upper jaw is

> > underdeveloped and will need the work. Although, I always thought

> I

> > had a big lower jaw when, in fact, it was my upper jaw that was too

> > small. The upper jaw will be extended, raised at the rear, lowered

> at

> > the front and the whole jaw will be widened.

> >

> > Now the work begins. This Wednesday, July 20, I will be having two

> > upper bicuspids removed by my oral surgeon, in his office, to make

> > room to move the front of my jaw down and back. August 17 I get

> the

> > spacers (which I here is awful) and on August 24 I get the full

> > braces, upper and lower. My Orthodontist recommended the gold

> plated

> > braces. Hopefully, they don't look too tacky.

> >

> > Sometime in the next few months, I will be getting surgery to

> remove

> > all four wisdom teeth. I don't have a scheduled date yet, but

> with a

> > cancellation it could move up.

> >

> > Thanks again to you all and I hope this all works out for the best.

> >

> > Cary

[Guest guest]

Shirley,

Thank you for your reply. As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm just

going to have to view the spacers as a means to an end. Hopefully

they won't be as bad as imagined.

I hope the gold look good on me. I had no idea they had the gold

colored brackets until this week. I'm not sure if I'll end up with

powerchains or not. I can only guess it will be likely as the OD will

be moving teeth to close the hole left by the extraction of two of my

premolars. No idea what color I'd choose at this point. Probably

something understated as to not attract too much attention.

Thank you for your support and I'll try to post as often as I can if

everyone is interested.

Cary

> Hi Cary, Glad to here you've made the decision. Spacers are placed

> (usually between the back molars) to allow enough space to allow

> placement of the bands around the molars. It will feel like you've

> got a piece of food caught between your teeth. The teeth may become

> a little sore.

>

> They recommend at my OD's office that I take something like Advil

> before coming in for work on teeth. Helps with soreness.

>

> I have the gold braces (if you want to see them - go to photos

> Shirley. The pre-op picture shoes them. I had power chains (opaque

> elastic type chains) over them to hold teeth in place, so the braces

> aren't as shiny. The people at my OD's office suggested the gold

> ones as I have a fair complexion. It really didn't matter to me.

> I've even had a young girl tell me those are " cool " . And usually

> the OD will allow you to choose the color of the little O rings that

> help to hold the wires in. They asked me at Xmas time if I wanted

> red and green. I said no - thought it might be a little too much at

> my age!

>

> Good luck and we'll all be here to support you as you go along this

> journey.

>

> Shirley

> (Lefort 1, BSSO, Genio 6/23/05)

[Guest guest]

I'd say yes, you do get used to the braces, and while I wouldn't

exactly say they ever get comfortable, your mouth becomes accustomed

to them. At first, you will feel as though you have a mouthful of

fishhooks or carpet tacks -- or at least I did. (And for whatever

consolation it offers, I had ceramic uppers and metal lowers and the

metal lowers felt much smaller and less intrusive. I'd expect the

gold ones to be the same.)

I don't remember a time during the whole 20 months I was in them

that there wasn't something bothering me, one way or another, but it

was never anything I couldn't deal with, with the help of Alleve (my

preferred otc painkiller) and/or wax or silicone. (Brace Relief was

a godsend for me. I've never seen it sold over the counter, but a

dear friend who was also in braces sent me a generous supply, and I

think if you google it, you'll find a way to mail order it. It's

like wax, but for me it was easier to apply and stuck better. Oral B

also makes a similar product, but I thought Brace Relief, from

InfaLab, was the best. It stayed put better, and did a better job of

cushioning.)

Definitely, your mouth tissues will toughen up. And the movement of

the teeth helps, too. I remember that I had a protruding lower

incisor, and I thought I just couldn't live with the hardware on it

until the tech at the ortho's office gave me some wax. Then I was

fine.

Of course, just about the time you get nice and calloused to one set

of offending gear, the doc will install something else -- just to

keep you challenged! ;~>

C.

> Hi Cammie,

>

> I'll just have to view the spacers as a means to an end. I'm one

of

> these people that hates stuff stuck between my teeth, but I'll

have to

> get over it. Like you said, it's only a week and there are plenty

of

> pain killers around. I'll definitely take your soft food advice.

>

> From what I've been told about the gold braces, whether true or

not,

> is that they tend to be more comfortable. At least I hope that's

> true. I've never had any piercings what-so-ever so I don't know

what

> they feel like. I do have to agree that tongue studs, eyebrow

> javelins, and nose rings aren't exactly attractive to me either.

The

> one thing I would like to know that nobody has told me, after the

> initial few weeks, do the braces become more comfortable and do

they

> ever get to the point where you don't notice them much?

>

> Thanks again Cammie,

>

> Cary