Re: Calling all post op pro banders!!

[Guest guest]

Hi , I feel for you. I liked to died the first week with the

bands on after surgery the rubbing had my right cheek raw. In fact

I think I had wax on top and bottom on both sides right over the

brackets for most of my mouth to pull the cheek away from the

brackets & rubber bands. Now, after all this many weeks I think my

mouth has some what adjusted (they still rub but not as raw like

they were). At night my mouth is full of wax, during the day I

tolerate a little more. I haven't used this much wax before the

surgery.

I know after not having any rubber bands for two years getting

adjusted to them has been the pits. Hopefully you OS can get that

wire fixed for you. And maybe reconfigure the rubber bands. My OS

turned over the rubber band thing to the OD at 3 1/2 weeks, which

I'm not sure if that was better or worse!!

Actually what I do is get a long strip of wax on both sides and

front - I still have one side that hurts as when they put all the

rubber bands they had on right after surgery (about 8 on that side)

it bent the bracket hook and even though the OD tried to bend it

back it still catches on it. This week I ran out of the bands from

OS office and had to resort to the ones from OD called " Impala " .

The are tighter and harder to get on and I've noticed the right side

is getting irritated again. It like cuts into the cheek. I know

the petroleum industry is making money on me with all the wax I've

used recently.

I asked my surgeon if I could put one of those rolled cotton things

the dentist uses when they fill your teeth, he said no as it would

be bad for the lip. I wanted to put it in so I wouldn't bite my lip.

[i used them when I'd try to use the CPAP mask with the braces].

When I first got the braces, I had a devil of time biting my

cheeks. I know one thing - I will be ready to celebrate when these

braces come off in 8-12 mos!!!

Are you rinsing with salt water or peridex? I did that every time I

cleaned my teeth - the salt water I think helps heal the sores a bit.

Hang in there. Hugs, I'm thinking of you. Wish I could think of

something else.

Shirley

[Guest guest]

Hey Caboose

I found oragel very helpful in both anesthesizing my sores and

desensitizing them. I also just pile on the wax at night giving my poor

cheeks a break. The good news is that as the weeks pass by you tend to

bite your cheeks less and less. I think it has something to do with

getting used to our new bite and suddenly cheeks and teeth being tilted

in a different way. I also made a conscious effort to keep my bite

closed as much as possible and to be very careful when eating not to

bite down on my cheeks. I know it takes a lot more thinking to do

something that used to come easy (i.e. eating) but hey, as you well

know, patience is the name of the game!

Sara