Metal Mouth Message Board

Very nice progress so far, I bet you are pleased with the results and wish you the best for the future.

Hi Carno, I'm curious about your treatment, the Sarpe sure sounds like a intense experience. How are the braces now and do you still have that expander? Hope you're well

sebasbrink wrote: ↑Thu May 05, 2022 3:04 pm Hi Carno, I'm curious about your treatment, the Sarpe sure sounds like a intense experience. How are the braces now and do you still have that expander? Hope you're well

Hi sebasbrink,

The SARPE wasn't too bad, the surgery itself was only about 45 minutes long, and then I was home the same day. My swelling was fairly minimal, and not much pain except for the day of the surgery. I had the expander in my mouth for 90 days after the surgery. Cranking it wider was an interesting experience, not painful, but very odd feeling.

I was somewhat frustrated that my jaw expanded more on the right side than the left, but nothing I could do about that. I knew I needed a second surgery anyway, so I would just have to hope it was all corrected during the second surgery.

The braces haven't been much of an issue, to be honest. They are mildly annoying, but that's about it. Once I got a water pik, cleaning them was much easier. I would only have pain (mild soreness only) for a day or two after an adjustment, and only took ibuprofen to minimize it. As you can see from the photos, my smile was VASTLY improved, so I was very happy about that, even with a misaligned bite.

I just had my second surgery two weeks ago (will make a further update later!), and I'm happy to say that my upper jaw was corrected and now everything lines up and matches and meets in the correct places. I am not sure how long I will need braces following this second surgery, but probably for another 6 months or so.

Hi Carno, good to hear about your progress. It's been a time, but can imagine that cranking up your expander is a bit odd and also is weird to just see one side move. Did they fix that in the second surgery? I hear a lot about water piks, maybe I should get one too. Did you have had the expander before your surgery or did they place it at the same time?