Metal Mouth Message Board

You're right. It was no big deal, hardly any pain, a few days of swelling and that's it. I took tylenol for a few days and had to eat soft foods for five or six days until the stitches came out, but really, no big deal. My OS gave me the plates and screws as my final parting gift. It was my last OS ...

I am having two plates removed on Thursday. My surgeon used plates with long arms for my second surgery - one of those arms protrudes a little near my eye - it doesn't hurt, its just bothersome. The other one is flush to the bone on the upper jaw, it doesn't stick out but there is a noticeable bump ...

Hi Boodles, I have both an essix and a hawley for my upper teeth (actually just got them last week!) On the bottom I have a lingual wire. I wear the essix during my workday, and then when I get home, I switch the essix for the hawley. I love it because the essix very discreet and I don't have any tr...

I liked the syringe bottles from the hospital since they were made of hard plastic and I could feel them on my partially numb tongue. Then I progressed to zip and squeeze until my surgeon gave me the okay to use a straw ten days post-op.

kaycee

Jane, My first surgery was July 2nd and the second was November 12th. Even though it was pretty clear that something was amiss immediately, my oral surgeon wanted to be sure that residual swelling wasn't contributing to the appearance of misalignment. He also wanted to be sure that it wasn't somethi...

Congratulations Mike! I'm sure you know by now what you need to have for stuff and food, but I would echo what HokieTay recommended - books, magazines, movies, etc. At first, I slept most of the time, but as I was awake for longer periods of time, I did some reading or tried to watch a movie. I foun...

Jane, First let me say I am very sorry about what happened with your daughter. It can be extremely frustrating when you can see that something is not quite right but don't really know what the solution should be. I am one of those that required a second surgery, there was a problem with the center a...

I saw my orthodontist a week after surgery (both times) for a look-see and an x-ray. At that time, he also changed the configuration of the rubberbands. I saw the oral surgeon after about 10 days, also for an x-ray.

kaycee

I'm just annoyed by it. I've gotten bumped there a few times, not hard, just a tap, but it's been painful. I just think it shouldn't be there - you know, it's a reminder of everything I had to go through.

kaycee

I have a bump on the bone under my eye, not sure if it's the screw or the plate that is protruding. I can feel the other plates but they are flat. My OS has offered to remove it in an in-office procedure where he will go up in under the tissues from my mouth and remove it. I will probably have it do...

I definitely inherited my retrognathic chin and excess vertical maxilla from my mother. Each of my five brothers and sisters have these two problems to some extent, but it is more pronounced in my two sisters. Interestingly, none of them admit to having any problems, even after they've seen the wond...

Try www.drrichardjoseph.com. There are lots of good before and after pictures and they are grouped by diagnosis. I had a retrognathic chin/overbite with excess vertical maxilla and I used this site to show my family how my face might change for the better after surgery. It was also helpful for them ...

Hi New Yorker, I had surgery twice, July 2nd and November 12th, 2008. I had limited ROM after the first surgery that only became worse after the second surgery. I have been in physical therapy since early December. Anyway, I have muscle tightness on one side more than the other and it seems to vary....

Graceful, I too had changed jobs a few months before my first surgery was scheduled. As part of the negotiations, I asked for four weeks of unpaid leave in exchange for starting my job four weeks earlier than budgeted. I work in the office of the school superintendent, so everything is budget based....

It took me an incredibly long time to re-learn how to eat. For me, it wasn't just the pressure from chewing on foods, but also relearning how to move food around in my mouth and when it was appropriate to swallow food that was supposedly well chewed enough. Lingering numbness in my tongue and roof o...