June/July 2015 Surgery Buddies

[faekat19]

Hey hey guys Long time lurker finally happy I can post in a surgery buddies thread!!! I just got scheduled for June 22nd! I was in braces for 363 days when they said I was ready and gave the date LOL. I have a severe open bite and cant wait for it to finally be fixed so I can move on with life. I will catch up with this thread and browse around. Im excited to post in here

[faekat19]

[quote=snapdresser post_id=489936 time=1485175545 user_id=24383]
So I have a fun new update here, 18+ months post-op. I've mentioned before that I have a bony ridge running along my upper gums that I didn't recall being so prominent pre-op. Well, there's a reason for that. It's called buccal exostosis and it's due to increased bone growth in that area. Quick wiki research told me that it's usually due to grinding or clenching your teeth. As I was usually breathing through my mouth pre-op, I know that I didn't have an issue with clenching my teeth until I was loaded up with elastics a few days after my surgery. That's when these bony growths developed and it seems to be a side-effect of being loaded up with too many elastics. Good bite? Yup. BUT AT WHAT COSTTTTT???!!! Just kidding. BUT. I'd still like to get the bony growths shaved down because I can feel the bony protrusion against the inside of my cheeks and it makes me very... aware? of my prior surgery. I was hoping that it would get to be something I no longer think about after a while, that my mind would just get used to it and tune it out, but that doesn't seem to be happening very quickly. According to what I've read, they can shave down the protrusions under local anesthetic, but unfortunately, they typically don't operate on them unless they cause periodontal issues or something. Still, I'm due up for my 18-month post-op and I'm going to ask her if she can shave them down, if she recommends someone else do it, and what the cost would be. I'm hoping $1k or less. I also am going to ask about having the bone that was impacted into my nasal floor shaved down. Dang these bones! I wish I had no bones!
[/quote]

Hey they told me I have this too but im pre-op! I had a pallet expander as a teen I think may have caused it lol. They said they will remove it during surgery. Good luck in getting yours taken away too

[snapdresser]

Thanks faekat19!

This particular thread is from the surgery buddies back in June/July of 2015, 3 years ago If there’s not one for June/July 2018 please feel free to create one! They are popular months for this surgery so I’d expect there are some other folks in the same boat

[Nozzelnut]

Jaime congrats on being officially done!! I believe you about the twitching tooth thing. I wonder if your ortho can adjust your retainer a little.

[Sara123456789]

Jaime, did the lingering tightness in your chin and mouth improve?

[jaime]

Jaime, did the lingering tightness in your chin and mouth improve?

Hmm maybe a little but not a lot. I think I'm just used to it now.

[Sara123456789]

ok thanks, I have tightness too but I think mine is super extreme....like the entire area gets so stiff that its enough to make me stop talking, especially since I feel it on my lower lip and it feels like it pulls/gets squished together. Idk its super hard to explain, but its super uncomfortable.

[Nozzelnut]

The only area where I had lingering tight/numbness was the left corner of my mouth/chin. If I physically pull my lower lip with my fingers or stretch it from the inside with my tongue, it will relax for a while. It seems like it's very slowly getting more feeling and relaxing. Even after 3 years.

[Cnicholas]

Jamie, i loved your blog, so honest and so helpful.
im just interested, because I have had sarpe but it hasnt corrected my asymmetry,
i am turning 40 soon so i dont want to do jaw surgery,
do you think you wouldve been happy only with the sarpe because you already looked great after sarpe i thought,
or was that not an option?
thanks

[Sara123456789]

@nozzelnut

thanks for the reply. I do the same thing, pull/message...it works for about 2 seconds and then gets tight again. I've heard other people complain of tightness but mine is literally unbearable. I can't read half a page of a book without stopping because the whole area feels like its immovable, seizes up and the pressure I feel physically hurts. my quality of life has been ruined. idk, I don't really relate to those that say that they got used to it because I must be experiencing and extreme extreme form of what they are experiencing. I'm so lost

[Nozzelnut]

Some folks have found relief with plate removal. It might be an option for you; you just have to weigh the pros and cons.

Talk to your surgeon about it and go from there.

[Nozzelnut]

Tentative removal date; JULY 20th!!!

Getting a lower bonded retainer, Hawleys, possible Essix for daytime use. Might even try a positioner for some final movements and sleeping jaw position; so I can't clench or grind while giving me an opposing force to press on teeth instead of holding my jaw open all night.

[snapdresser]

Tentative removal date; JULY 20th!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats, Nozzelnut!!!! I'm excited for you! This has been a long time coming!!

[jaime]

Tentative removal date; JULY 20th!!!

Getting a lower bonded retainer, Hawleys, possible Essix for daytime use. Might even try a positioner for some final movements and sleeping jaw position; so I can't clench or grind while giving me an opposing force to press on teeth instead of holding my jaw open all night.

YAY!!!!! That's awesome, Nozzel!!!!! I hope you post pics! Hopefully the next 11 days fly by! You're a trooper for sticking with it for so long.

[Nozzelnut]

Braces came off Friday! As far as retention; bonded upper and lower; 3 to 3, Essix trays and Hawleys upper and lower. The upper Hawley will either be a clear acrylic bow or wire with acrylic pressure points to prevent teeth from rotating. Hawleys should help maintain width more than Essix; but trays are a little quicker to make and less conspicuous. Still discussing a positioner to see if an oral appliance (being more portable than cpap machines) for travel treatment of my still present sleep apnea will be worth exploring. Cost is a factor for that; oral appliances could run 1500 positioner is only 200. I do have to pay for the 3rd set of retainer being the Hawleys. Not a big deal if my teeth don’t move.

Longer time in braces than some but less than others. Total time in treatment was about 54 months. Starting with TMJD splints in January 2014. Double jaw surgery about 3 years ago. Had to change direction and modify treatment a couple times but the end result made it worth it.

Results aren’t perfect but are very close to the best they can be for me. Substantially better than when I started. No TMJ pain in a few years.

Looking back; I would have just gone with stainless brackets from the beginning. I would have had more discussion with my surgeon about increasing width during the surgery; we did get some expansion using the quad helix but that delayed other parts of treatment. After a new to the office orthodontist took over my treatment; we should have taken brackets off and repositioned them instead of going down the road we did. My teeth were already in a different enough place it could have been warranted.

I hope with all the retainers my teeth will stay put. I’d prefer not to start braces again.

S