Guest guest Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 Hi katja, SO nice to hear from you! Apologies i thought you were from the uk, i think i have my wires crossed somewhere! Im glad that your feeling better now and that you can finally see that your teeth are looking GOOOOOOd! I was indeed the4 guinea pig. My surgeon said that he had never used them before and they werent really heard of in the uk at that time, they were more popular in the states. He asked my permission if i would be his guinea pig, how could i say no? he he. Its odd how some surgeons prefer them and others are more set to the traditional ways. Which ever works best for the patient and surgeon alike i guess. I had my fixed braces off 6 months after surgery i think, i cant remember if it was the first jan/feb after my op or the 2nd, so long agoooooo. I did however have them taken off and a retainer put in their place straight away. I was free of the hardware for an afternoon however and i was shocked to see the sheer size of my teeth! for 17 years i had never seen my top teeth properly, they looked HUGE, like bugs bunny! I hope that you are free of them in time for your birthday i have my fingers crossed for you! Do you know if you have to wear a retainer at all? My ortho and surgeon said that i had to wear it for a year all the time and now i only have to wear it on a night, but until wait for it, I AM 30! tEN MORE YEARS...... I havent heard of wearing a brace this long after surgery on the site before, maybe its something just in the UK? Hmmmm. Ah well they are part of me now so i dont really notice that much! I agree its so weird to see the xrays with holes, TOTALLY BIZZARE! I havent seen my ortho or surgeon for a while, my next appointment isnt until my 5th year anniversary unfortunatley. I am eager to see how my jaws have changed and my body has worked its magic at filling in those holes, which is also pretty amazing! I had 5 plates, 2 on the lower, 2 on the upper and one on the roof of my mouth, i could feel that one after my op, but the others i never felt. I was told they last 9 months full strength and then the following 9-18 months they break down. so im guessing mine should have gone by now, hopefully. Yeah im not the only one with dent - like shapes on my jaw wooo wooo! hehe. yep we must have had opposite problems, to still feel my dents now they must have cut a big chuck of me away oops. Thats a bit scary ebing able to feel the sharp cut after your surgery. How did it feel to have a chin? I on the otehr hand was glad to be rid of mine, a little bit, its still defined but i dont mind that so much. I remember the day after surgery a huge crunching/grinding pain on the roof of my mouth, i was totally freaked but i couldnt speak to tell anyone, turns out it was me trying to speak and i think things were moving that i should have been resting, double whammy! are you scars on the inside of your mouth? My mouth looks like its been through the mincer, excuse the disgusting graffic terms hehe. There is so much scar tissue. I had been to my regular dentist the otehr day and he was like " forgive me, i should know but are your katerina or holly (my sister)? " i was like " look inside my mouth and if you cant tell, well.... " . i couldnt beleive he asked that i have only been going to see him since i was 3! Never mind! lol. He gave my mouth a spring clean and i was suprised by how much blood there was afterwards, i think he may have agrivated my scar tissue, that all i can think of. Im not used to having teeth so far back in my mouth, on the lower jaw, and the scar tissue makes it really hard to get down there to clean them, can you recommend anything? Thats pretty cool that your os said the jaws should smooth out! Yes i agree being part of this whole surgery has set us in the " different " crowd, not to mention the dissolveables, which is a whole different ball game, haha. I have been given the title of " weird " which im quite proud to with hold! Ahhh yes the rambler returns, we are very alike, hehe. I shall leave you to get on, hope your recovery continues to move along nicely. Im off to do my dissertation, (mwahhh, she laughs evily, coz i know i wont). Im going to drop by on the photo section check out your pics! Take care. Best wishes. Kat_UK > > > > > Hi everyone, > > > > > I saw my OS today for my 6 month post-op check up. Everything > > is > > > > > looking good according to my surgeon- my teeth and bite and > > the > > > > > position of everything. I have diminished/altered sensation > in > > my > > > > > chin, lower lip, the left side of my tongue, and some random > > > places > > > > > in my mouth.... My surgeon is confident that all my feeling > > > should > > > > be > > > > > restored ultimately, but that it could take up to a year or > > more. > > > > It > > > > > does give me hope that I am at least not dead numb in those > > > places > > > > > and some feeling is slowly returning. Phew!! > > > > > > > > > > And, I thought this might be interesting just because I'm not > > > > really > > > > > aware of anyone else around here who has posted about these > or > > > has > > > > > them or has had them. I guess they are unusual! So, I will be > > the > > > > > guinea pig for the group..... I have resorbable plates and > > > screws. > > > > > They are my surgeon's preference. Anyway, last Friday, I > > noticed > > > > that > > > > > the left side of my face has been a little swollen > (externally > > > and > > > > > internally) and tender in places. I've had some throbs here > > and > > > > > there, pain and aching at other times, and general > > discomfort.... > > > I > > > > > guessed it was due to the plates starting to do " their > thing " . > > My > > > > OS > > > > > confirmed that right around 6 months they will start to > > resorb... > > > > > they first soften and turn into something like a jelly, and > my > > > body > > > > > takes over and finishes them off.... he said usually it's > just > > > one > > > > of > > > > > the plates, if any, that can cause some minor swelling and > > > > discomfort > > > > > if my body really goes to town on it! Apparently I am one of > > the > > > > > lucky ones (ha ha) and have a bothersome plate, but > > fortunately > > > my > > > > > swelling isn't noticeable to anyone that doesn't know me > well. > > I > > > > > guess some people experience a lot of swelling due to this. > He > > > said > > > > > it should only last a week or two. So, I guess all my > plates > > > and > > > > > screws will be gone soon. I think that is so crazy and weird > > and > > > > > cool! Ultimately, the bone fills in everything and years from > > > now, > > > > > when all that is left of me is a skull and 2 femurs, forensic > > > > > scientists won't be able to tell I had this surgery. Wild, > > huh? I > > > > > guess that also happens with those who end up having their > > > hardware > > > > > removed. From what I understand, the resorbable plates and > > screws > > > > are > > > > > made of a certain compound where one element breaks down > > first, > > > and > > > > > then others go. I have instructions to not poke around in my > > > mouth > > > > so > > > > > that the material is left alone and undisturbed as it is so > > soft > > > > now. > > > > > In the meantime, my OS recommened that I take some aleve or > > advil > > > > to > > > > > help with the inflammation (just like after surgery). I've > > been > > > > > occaisionally icing my jaw too. Glad I still have my jaw > wrap! > > > > > > > > > > My upper jaw was very slow to heal, but is solid now thank > > > > goodness. > > > > > I have been cleared to resume life as normal.... no > > restrictions. > > > > > That includes getting my teeth cleaned finally!! They were > > black > > > > from > > > > > incessant drinking of very black tea in Russia for a month! > > > They're > > > > > better now, but I'm anxious to get rid of the few remaining > > > > stains!! > > > > > I think I'll wait until everything is resorbed before I go > > > > though.... > > > > > this is going to require me to get up the courage too. I hate > > > when > > > > > they aren't gentle enough. And is anyone else's lower lip as > > > crazy > > > > as > > > > > mine is about some sensations or different things touching > > > it??... > > > > > ooooh can you imagine the horrible spinning head on the > > polisher > > > > > hitting against the lip accidentally?! Yikes! I hate it when > > I'm > > > in > > > > > bed a the sheet touches my lip. For some reason I can't stand > > > > certain > > > > > sensations.... Now that I have full clearance, I'm hoping to > > > start > > > > > swimming again... I wonder if that will be weird with my > > > sinuses... > > > > I > > > > > am much more aware of them now. (I am sure I could have gone > > > > swimming > > > > > much earlier on in my recovery, but I never asked or wanted > to > > > > until > > > > > recently. My sinuses have been interesting since my sx). > > > > > > > > > > I've also been having some minor pain and discomfort > sometimes > > > when > > > > > eating and talking in my left joint. I asked my OS about it > > > today, > > > > he > > > > > said that due to all the ortho work moving my teeth over and > > the > > > > > pressure the bands are putting on the muscles in the area, > the > > > > joints > > > > > are very sensitive and probably have some adema (your > standard > > > > > swelling and inflammation). I kind of guessed it was that, so > > I > > > > feel > > > > > relieved that my guess was right and this is only a temporary > > > > > problem. I was sort of feeling concerned. > > > > > > > > > > As a side note, on my exact 6 month anniversary, I celebrated > > by > > > > > having my first postop steak dinner! It was a very tasty > > filet > > > > and > > > > > I very much enjoyed it! AND I was able to eat it just fine!! > I > > > > think > > > > > I would be able to eat pretty much anything at this point if > I > > > > wasn't > > > > > still having ortho adjustments that make my teeth sore and > > > tender. > > > > I > > > > > can't wait until I'm done with ortho and my teeth are perfect > > > along > > > > > with my new perfect jaws.... (perfect for me, probably not > > > > > objectively perfect or amazing or anything!) > > > > > > > > > > My OS wants to see me at 1 year post op, and when my braces > > are > > > > taken > > > > > off. But, I highly doubt they will be off before my 1 year > > date. > > > I > > > > am > > > > > hoping for around that time though, so we'll see! > > > > > > > > > > Oh, and ortho has been doing a good job slowly but surely > > getting > > > > my > > > > > canted bite corrected. It was minor to begin with, but > > noticeable > > > > to > > > > > me and my family & boyfriend. > > > > > > > > > > Well, that's my official update. Hope it wasn't too boring, > > > > > especially the stuff about the resorbables! I'm off to > take > > > two > > > > > aleve.... thanks for reading! Oh, and one last thing, I love > > my > > > > > surgeon!!! > > > > > Katja > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 HIya Katja, How are you? Firstly let me congratulate you on writing the longest post ever, well done give yourself a pat on the back from me. WOw what a post and what a read, thanks! I thoroughly enjoyed it and you had me laughing which is no bad thing. He he. I like your little definiton of the " ol pond " a very good way of putting it especially when there are so many different oceans out there to confuse us. Hehe. I agree it would be good to see the dissolveables being used more, it would save alot of time and further surgeries for the patients with the old metal ones. I guess its totally up to the surgeon, though im glad mine offered me the opportunity to use otherwise, woo woo! No beeping for me at the airport! Yes it would be gret to see vets use these plates. I know my step mum works at a vets and they were all interested to find out what my dissolveables were made of. Its weird as i rememeber one of the vets telling me that they had done jaw surgery on some of the animals they had treated, it would have been strange to see a dog with braces, hehe. Atleast we know its not jsut us humans that have these sort of problems. Yes being a guinea pig works wonders for me. Ok strange sounding sentance there, not one you would usually hear. haha. Im really not sure when my braces were off but i think it was about 6 months after my op. I tell you something though, you mentioned going for a cleaning. I never had one whilst my braces were on, but i remember the smell when i was having them taken off. I have never smelt something so disgusting in my life. It was like a cross between hot sick and rotten garbage. Excuse the description. I remember my ortho laughing saying it was a delightful smell, haha. I was gagging it smelt so bad. Do you have those 'pigeon' like rings around your back teeth? i think thats mostly where the smell orientated from, a build up of 5 years of food wedged in there errrrr. I had a thorough cleaning at that stage and then i was faced with " bugs bunny " hehe. Yes i totally agree i was really nervous about getting my braces off and i said the exact same thing, £they were my security blanket " . I had my fixed train tracks for 5 years nearly, was so weird imagining life without them. It really is like then end of an era. All those years and work and appointments that have gone into it. That ortho office is like your second home and then all of a sudden it just stops! RIght there right then. Oh no Oh no. It was really odd not going. I used to go every 6 weeks before my op. And it got to every 2/3 weeks in the last 2 months before my op and then afterwards, at first i was there every week, then every two, then every four, and now i havent been for 3 years. Really really strange, almost like a part of you has been lost or something. Having regular ortho appointments felt almost like you were going to visit your relatives, even though youd spend for ever in the waiting room and two mins with your ortho for a TINY weenie adjustment. He he i agree if oyu had to wait ages for each tiny adjustment, we'd be in braces for life! My braces, ok erm i had a retainer (removable) when i was 12, then fixed braces (train tracks in uk) from 13-17/18. Then a retainer removable again. Oh i did for a while have that one you described that looks like a bleaching tray? My ortho wanted to try me on them to get rid of my metal look, lol. Though now i have a really strong bite and i must have nawed my way through about 4/5 of them, so he thought he best put me back with the metal (palstic over roof of mouth, and wire round the teeth). I have been known to nawe my way through the metal wires a few times too, which my orttho was also suprised at. He he, im again living up to my name weird and supassing his expectations, breaking through solid steel wires with my bugs bunny teeth. hehe. i was quite glad actually i found those tray like shields quite painful, they used to rub on the sides of my gums, btu that may have jsut been that they were still sensitive. HMMM.Yep i really hated the way my teeth looked after having the bres off. I was thining " oh no, oh no, what have you done put them back on " such a strange feeling to see them free of the scrap yard! Odd. Awww did you grind then pre op? i never had that, well i dont think i did. I wonder whether it will have been resolved for you, i hope it has! Is that b/c your jaw was too short on the lower then that that happenend? I couldnt breath through my nose pre op, i think it was a combination of my jaw alignments and my sinuses were quite narrow. I had them widened during surgery and it was such a great feeling post op to be able to breathe clearly through my nose without feeling as though i was suffocating. It didnt last long tho as week 2 post op, i caught flu (yes in the middle of august, WEIRD I KNOW, hey thats me/us, heh) and then i got an infection, so i was completely stuffed! Great! Worth it though! Awww i hope that your less stressed now after your op too! NOOOOOO hate stress hate it! Though alot of people including my dad says " what you dont know what stress is " . Chhh well. Try going to uni dad ! He he. I think the whole op situation can be quite stressful for some, as for me i loved every minute of my ortho journey, i too found it highly interesting and fasinating how they tempted the teeth to move and realign, and how the body heals itself. Weird!!! Yep i dont really mind wearing the braces that much, to say what we have all been through wearing a retainer on a night for a few (hundred) years isnt really that much to ask. I can tell when i havent been wearing mine after a few days my jaws tend to ache jsut where the upper joins the lower, of course that could be due to too much talking i dont think your paranoid at all about your mouth. After all the work you've had to put in you have to right to be! I know that when they took my splint out (day 4) it was really weird as they jsut left my unbanded for about 5 mins, my jaws were really sore and i could barely keep them open, but my ortho, surgeon and their team wanted to asses if the splint really was needed. It was awful as they held a mirror infront of me and i could see my jaws+teeth moving back to their original position, it was really scary actually and at that moment i could of cried because i thought it hadnt worked. I was banded shut so i couldnt move my jaws for about 3 months after that lol. SO nope you have every right to be thoughtful about your mouth and hey if you have a perfect smile at the end of the day who really cares if you are paranoid! Xrays are Fab. I only saw mine at erm i think it was still when the screws and plates were still there. I remember some medical students being at my last appointment (3years ago) and my ortho and surgeon were talking them through my problems and treatments, while i was sat there on the chair like a right lemon, i really did feel like the guinea pig then. All of them having a butchers inside my mouth. I did however get to see all my photos and xrays from when i had my first ortho appointment at age 12. That was a weird feeling, i looked so young and fragile. And my xrays. I had forgotten about them but i had two teeth my canines which were stuck way up in the gums, jsut at the bottom of each nostril. I had totally forgotten about them and i was looking at the xray lie " erm whats that? " hehe. Its so so interesting to look through them all again and see how things have changed. It really puts things into perspective and you really appreciate what you have been through and the hard work thats gone into it. not to mention all the hardware, i bet youd have enough to make a car! a very small one mind hehe. I love xrays i think their brill. It would be brilliant to have a full set of all the ones in your file so you can show them to everyone who comes round! Classic! You'll have to let me know what it looks like if they have filled in. i wonder if there would be any evidence of the screws even being there? Hmmmm interesting..... until now i didnt know that what ever the plates and screws were made of turned into jelly, so thanks for the pointer there. hehe. Yep we are new buddies in dissolvable plates and screws, weird memebers only haha. I agree it will be interesting to compare our experiences with them and see how we go. Its odd dont you think that you have all this hardware in your head, there one minute, half there the next, gone the last. Bizzare! But cool! hmm you mentioning that your ortho said the lower screws and plates take longer, i wonder if that accounts for the dents too. maybe they take longer to fill in? wow you sound like you had alot of metal work going on there espeically on your top jaw. It doesnt sound too pleasnt for you brushing over them plates! I was lucky not to feel any around my teeht, though i could feel it a bit on the roof of my mouth where they widened the palate. Come to think of it i did remember seeing some swelling around the 6/7 month mark, i thought it was because i had been talking too much and eating too much too, haha but perhaps that was the plates and screws dissolving, i had never thought of that. I did get some pain from them too. i think i heard my ortho say that he got his hardware from the US so maybe we have the same hardware in us! Cool. Are teh cuts from your genio at the side of your chin then? I bet thats a really odd sensation to feel them? thats odd that we have totally opp problems, one wanting a chin and one wanting rid of one. hehe. I hated mine so so much and couldnt wait to get rid of it. My surgeon had mentioned that he would consider doing genio but he wouldnt know if he needed to until i was on the operating table, it would depend on how much he took the jaw back. Turned out he didnt need to but my ortho and surgeon have both said to go see them if i ever want it doing. Hmmm..... something to consider for the future haha. I could have given you my chin! i had some to spare, errr that just sounds gross and odd. haha. I too have been fascinated by this whole process. I remember saying that my ortho and surgeon were playing god, and they woulda t the end of the day decide what i looked like in that operating room, crazy! I loved your description of how you feel now as apposed to how you felt pre op. So detailed and passionate, well done! hehe. pre op o hated smiling and showing my teeth, i hated people seeing me from a side view, i hated all photos and cameras, i used to hide my chin in my coat and walk with my head down, which i hated, i hated having no confidence, i hated not being able to eat and none of my teeth touching, i hated not being able to see my top teeth, i hated meeting new people and having to talk to stranges and friends and be afraid of what they were thinking, i hated me and the way i looked. Now i LOVE being able to show my teeth to everyone with pride, even if i do look a bit strange walking round with a smile permanantly slapped on my face, ha! I LOVE being able to eat. I LOVE being able to go up to complete strangers, saying hello and give them a big cheesy smile, i love being able to shrug off what people think, i love the feeling of acceptance and of being complete, i LOVE having a new confidence and being proud of who i am, I love that i now stand with pride and not shrug and slump! I LOVE being out there and being different instead of trying to hide in teh shadows! And did i say i LOVE food. haha. I found that the worst part of this whole experience. Even before myt surgery my ortho had to move my jaws into a worse position in order to get the right amount of space etc for my surgeon to break and realign them. It got so bad in the last 2 months before surgery none of my teeth met which made it incredably hard to eat and then after surgery i didnt have an solid foods until my christmas dinner which was a struggle. i would say it was into the new year before i could eat properly about 5-6 months post op. How about you? yep that pain i got out of surgery i couldnt tell anyone but i think the look on my face said it all. It wasnt until a few days later that i could tell them, and it was then that i found out that i was the bones settling, phew, bit scary there for a few days. I also discovered a lump in my arm a few days after i had gone home, turns out it was a blood clot so i had to start taking asprin for that. I also lost a stone in weight, which wasnt good as i only wieghed 8stone before hand. Also the hospital gave me the wronge tablets and they were in them capsule things, which obviously i couldnt get in my mouth coz i couldnt open it. so they said to split them and take the powder inside, turns out that it burnt my stomache lining, GRAND! my doctor went ape, he wasnt best pleased nor was my ortho. hmm so quite interesting post op. i remember having a check up i think about day 2/3 post op whilst i was still in hospital. i was on a ward on the 1oth floor of the tower block and i had to go down outside and round the back of the hosptial to another building where the ortho department was. i remember a terrifing ride in a wheel chair with a loonie driver who no way had a license (haha) he was throwing me all over the place my jaws were banging together, he was going off the curbs, nearly go my hit by an ambulance, he really didnt care, and i couldnt even say anything, i was not amused! have u got ur stitches still? i remember lifting up my lip and seeing all this white thread hanging down, i managed to freak a few of the women out at work when i paid them a visist and flashed them the action in my mouth, hehehehehehe. yep i was gobsmacked that my dentist of 17 years didnt know the difference between me and my sister, im sorry but with my mouth you would think he could tell the difference. never mind. I enjoyed your description by the way made me chuckle out loud! haha. i do have some numbness actually, but it is from having my wisdom teeth out which i had in the april before my august jaw surgery. its along my lower lip and to the right hand corner of my chin. i didnt have any that hung around once the swelling had gone down from my jaw surgery. The numbness really doesnt bother me that much. I do notice it when its cold outside or sometimes i feel like i am drooling when taking a drink, which is just the cold sensation going down my chin. hahahah we are twins i too hate that feeling when the sheet of the bed is across the lip errrr makes me shudder, and if you breathe out and that weird horrible sensation goes right through your lips errrrr..... i too found most of the numbness area in my lower lip and chin. at the dentist it isnt too bad with the whole polish cleaning tool thing, though admittedly my gums are alot more sensitive, it isnt the nicest thing in the world. the roof of my mouth is also numb a little well actually maybe not so much numb but when something runs across it, like my tounge i get a strange sensation which wasnt there before. i know what you mean trying to clean your teeth when you lips are inactive and just slump there. Its like your pulling them out away from your teeth and they are stiff and disobedient haha. So annoying! It does get better tho, promise! Thanks for the tip about the childs toothbrush i shall trty that and see if i get can in amongst the mince! hehe. i agree we are quite alike in weirdness and i think we actually both run off duracell (the battery) on and on and on, with the posts/emails. he he. oh well its all in the name of fun and comapring weirdness so i thankyou for the pleasure of reading your posts. Its exciting to find one adressed to me yeay! haha. Ahh i had a look for your photo album thats why i couldnt find it. My step dad put mine up whilst i was in hospital so i didnt really have a say but i dont really mind so much now. My pics are under katerina on the first site and some more updated ones are under katerina on site two feel free to have a look if you like. well i hope you enjoy readcing this as much as i did yours. Im going to dash pumpkin soup awaits. Hmmm should be interesting. Take care and good luck with thursdays appointment and with getting the braces off for your 1st year ann. Best wishes Regards Kat_Uk aka Weirdo. P.S. Happy Halloween! > > Hi Kat, > I was infinitely pleased so see your message awaiting my perusal... > Thanks dear! > > Don't apologize... I don't care where you think I'm from, ha ha.... I > just didn't want to mislead you about which side of the ol' pond I'm > hopping about. > > So plates are MORE popular in the states, yet I'm the only one I know > of that has a surgeon that uses them. I guess there are a LOT of > traditional surgeons out there! I don't know why they DON'T use them! > I would take the minor discomfort over possibly second surgery to > have them removed and all the other accompanying possible problems > like infection that accompany permanent plates. I guess regardless, > I'd rather use whatever my surgeon is most comfortable with. That's > what it boils down to ultimately. You know who else needs to get on > the bandwagon?? They should also start using resorbables in > veterinary orthopedic surgery.... Some things are SO slow to catch > on, huh? I guess that makes both of us guinea pigs in the grand > scheme of things. Works for me, how about you!?!?! > > That's wonderful that your braces were off so quickly post op. Here I > am, hoping for a year! Whatever it takes to make my teeth perfect, I > don't care! I'm sort of scared to get them off.... they are a > security blanket of sorts and this has been such a saga in my life... > it will be officially over then... then, what will I do??? Ha! > > Are/Were your retainers fixed? What kind did you have? What do you > have now? I had braces in high school and my retainer afterwards was > the kind with the plastic covering the roof of your mouth and then > the wire across my teeth. I know that this time around (yes, I'll be > wearing a retainer), I will have the clear plastic kind that covers > my teeth entirely, but leaves the roof of my mouth free- they look > sort of like invisilign or bleaching trays. I'm hoping that my > grinding/clenching problem is resolved so I won't also need a night > guard. Just need to work on all my stress!!! Anyway, I know > EXACTLY what you mean about your teeth seeming HUGE once the braces > are off!!!! That is exactly how I felt when mine came off the first > time. I actually didn't like it at first because they were so > freakin' big. Just like Bugs as you put it! That is so funny... I've > never heard anyone else also describe it that way. lol > > Yes, thanks... and please do keep those fingers crossed. I don't know > how often you saw your OD, but now mine sees me every 2 weeks to do > all the necessary fine tuning. If I had to wait a month in between > every tiny adjustment (they are tiny) I wouldn't have my braces off > before I was 30! I go back this thursday actually. Yea! I'm always > excited to go to my OD... another appt and adjustment closer to > beautiful, straight, braces-free teeth!!! :)I just can't wait to > floss my teeth every night without it being a huge drooling mess of a > production. > > I dont' know how long it is normal for people to have to regularly > wear their retainers. For all that I've been through.. the expense > alone, I will be happy to wear mine nightly for the rest of my life. > I'm not sure what my specific instructions will be. I haven't heard > much about it at all. I will be sure to tell you when I find out! > Fortunately and likewise unfortunately, my teeth seem to move very > readily, so I want to be extra careful. Once the braces are off (this > is another thing I am afraid about) I don't want my teeth to move AT > ALL! It's taken so much to get them into the perfect position. My > thinking is that I will never stop wearing my retainers! LOL but > maybe I'm just a paranoid psycho when it comes to my mouth. What do > you think!?!? > > The xrays are so cool. I can't wait to see my next rads, hopefully at > my one year post op anniversary. I wonder how much my bones will have > filled in by then?? The whole process is so interesting and so > cool! I wish I had copies of all my xrays and everything. Just to > look at it is interesting. I'm so weird. > > LOL speaking of " weird " .. I too have carried that label for quite > some time now... we're old friends and rather fond of eachother. > > Maybe our surgeons use different plate and screw manufacturers??? > Mine were supposed to start resorbing and turning to jelly at 6 > months post op and they definitely did! At about 7.5 months post op, > I had the xrays taken and they showed the black holes where my screws > were. I think that means that nothing solid remails... only soft > material that continues to resorb. I think it will be that way until > I am about 1 year post op. Then the bones should start to fill in... > maybe by 1 1/2 to 2 years post op they will be completely filled in? > My OS did say that the process is a bit longer for the plates and > screws on the lower jaws than for the upper. The lower in the xray > did show the black holes though... so they must be going too! We'll > have to keep each other posted on how it goes. You're the only person > I have to compare with! I'm sure yours are totally gone by now! I bet > the bone has filled completely in by now too. Wow! > > I had 4 plates on the upper and I think only screws on the lower... 3 > on each side of the lower. Two screws with each upper plate, I think. > There were two... one on either side of my nose, and then two more > just under my gums, just above my back molars on either side. I could > feel and was very aware of them for most of my recovery. FOr a long > time, brushing my teeth was totally horrible because the sensation > irritated the soft tissue over the plates in my back gums. Besids > those two, I havent been aware of any of the others... (the ones on > lower or by my nose). Well, when the plates started to resorb, it > was the plate on the left side of my nose that caused me to swell > back up a little and have the discomfort. So, I was aware, > indirectly, of that plate for a while. > > Yep, we had perfectly opposite problems with our lower jaws. It > was totally strange to feel the dramatic edge of the cuts for the > genio. Strange and interesting. I've been so fascinated by this whole > process. I can feel the edge just a little bit still today... but NOT > like right out of surgery! It is definitely still slowly filling > in.... > > I LOVE having a chin and jaw/jawline!!! I love having my head defined > and differentiated from my neck! I love not hating to have my picture > taken anymore and having most pics of me turn out looking pretty > good. I used to have to arrange my head and facial expression as best > as I could to hide the assymetry and make me look like I had a jaw. > Most photos were horrible! I can't imagine what it would be like to > have too much of a lower chin and jaw! That must be equally difficult > as not having enough! I guess I finally feel like a complete person > now that I have a chin and jaw. Isn't that crazy? Crazy, but honestly > how I feel. > > You had excruciating crunching pain in your mouth after surgery?!? I > think I would have 100% freaked out if I had that kind of pain in my > mouth right afterwards. I'm glad you got it figured out and that it > didn't turn out to be anything serious. That would be terrifying to > experience though. I was able to attempt talking after surgery. I > could talk, I just was muffled and incomprehensible! > > I totally have scars in there... I don't think they are huge or > really obvious or noticable... but they are definitely there... just > neat little lines running all along my gums. I don't think there is > much scar tissue in there fortunately- just in front by my chin. I > can't really inspect the lower very well.... they did such major work > with my genio that I think I'm going to need some time before I have > enough flexibility in my whole lower lip ( top all the way down to my > chin) to be able to pull my lip down and look. I do well to get my > toothbrush down there. Does that even make sense?!?! I think it's > going to take a while for my chin to settle in. lol > > You've been going to your dentist since you were three and the guy > didn't even know who you were! that's bad! Yes, your mouth is your > identifier, better than a photo id... forget dental records, just > look inside. " Yep, she's minced. We've got Kat here folks. " lol > > Do you have any residual numbness this far out post op?? I have weird > numbness in my gums. I am going in for a cleaning (my first post op) > in november. I think it may be pretty gorey too! I'm guessing that > I'll be numb in some spot and they will do too much digging there, > but I won't know it/feel it and won't be able to communicate " Hey, > you've got that d*mned icepick up into my gums! Try sticking with the > white things sticking out! " Then, I will be bleeding all over the > place too. Maybe all your bleeding was due to something like that? > Maybe your gums are just tender? Do you floss all the time? That > could really help too. I don't know! I'll let you know how my > cleaning goes. I'm sort of freaked out about it. I have weird > sensitivity in my lower lip. It doesn't have full feeling yet, but it > isn't numb either. For example, I cannot stand when I'm in bed and my > sheet is pulled up tight to my chin and it happens to brush past my > lower lip. I can't stand the sensation it creates.... so take that, > and then imagine the turning polishing brush at the dentists. I hated > that anyway, now it's going to be 100x worse! I told them to be > prepared to have to numb up everything! Well see..... > > Maybe a child's tooth brush would help make it easier to clean in all > the hard to reach places.... Like I said, I have problems getting > down in front on my lower teeth. My lower lip is SO stiff and > inflexible (well it works for kissing, but that's it)! The smaller > head on a child's toothbrush is the only thing I can think of. There > are waterpiks and such, but I don't think they are meant to be used > instead of good plain ol' brushin'. > > We are alike... resorbably weird and look at the sheer length of this > post!!! Good grief I'm long winded! > > Oh, yea, I had photos up at one point, but I'm just private and > didn't like having them hanging out there for all the world to > see.... so I removed them all. I might repost some pics once I have > my pre/mid/post treatment photos from my OS and OD... Sorry to > disappoint! Check back in 6 months when, hopefully, my braces are > gone! :) > > Keep in touch!!! > Take care, > Katja > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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