UPDATE!!

[elephantmaster123]

Just had my orthodontist appointment after nearly a week with 8 TADs and a frenectomy.

However, it is bad news and I will have to endure more pain!!
The frenectomy was a success however, the TADs have not made enough progress that they should have made in the past week.
He told me last week that my options we either jaw surgery, headgear or a mara or herbst appliance. However, this have taken an upexpected turn and he has decided that he will need to remove all my wires and TADs to start a new start.
He said that if he added on the next thing he wants to add on, it will shock the mouth and cause the teeth to deform. So by removing the existing appliances (apart from my brackets) it will be easier to start the procedure.
He told me that I would have to wear a 'Smile Distractor'. At first, I thought this was great as it would hopefully distract my smile and it sounded like something I could take in and out.
However, he said that it wasn't.
It is a thick metal pole inserted into my palate in a surgical procedure.
Great.
He explained the process. First he would cut into my gums above my teeth and make several inscisions on the left, right and centre. He would chisel the bone and in the centre he would chisel it down to separate my gap. After that, he would move the teeth as they would become like jelly and easy to move. Then he would make 2 inscisions on the palate in the left and right side. These would have to be chiseled into the bone so that the smile distractor would be placed. The distractor would be screwed into place. And the expander would be turned at least 5mm in the surgery. Then at home, I would have to turn it 3 times a day for around a week.
This would separate all my teeth and make my palate much wider.
My surgery is booked for this afternoon and I am super excited/nervous.

[testimony777]

I pray everything goes well for you today!

[djspeece]

Best of luck with your surgery and wishing you a quick and uneventful recovery. You seem well informed.

BTW what does your user name refer to?

[elephantmaster123]

Best of luck with your surgery and wishing you a quick and uneventful recovery. You seem well informed.

BTW what does your user name refer to?

haha thanks for the good luck! My name is referring to when I went to India and wanted to be an elephant trainer, I know right!!

[elephantmaster123]

I pray everything goes well for you today!

thanks so much!!

[elephantmaster123]

I am judt about to go in for surgery. I have gone for the option of staying awake during the procedure as I am afraid of being put to sleep and waking up feeling confused. They said however, that I would have to wear a mask which would provide some gas to make me sleepy.
I am so excited to be progressing in my treatment and hopefully I will be seeing some good improvements soon.

[elephantmaster123]

Going in now for the surgery...
See u on the other side

[JCloNY]

I hope it went well.

[elephantmaster123]

just come out of surgery around 30 mins ago.
I have to admit that it wasn't the most pleasant of experiences but I am relieved it is over and done with.
The anesthesia is beginning to wear off which means that the pain is beginning to kick in. Tge pain at the moment is quite intense and I can hardly speak as my tongue is not used to a massive bar going across my palate.
I will explain the whole procedure in the next post. Thanks for all the kind messages!!

[djspeece]

Take your pain meds and try to stave off the worst pain -- as we say in nursing, pain is easier to prevent than to treat. Congratulations on your surgery and recovery.

[elephantmaster123]

Hey guys, In this post I will explain the full procedure from start to finish of my smile distractor surgery...
BACK STORY: I have had many dental/orthodontal surgeries before as I have a very complicated mouth. In my last appointment, my orthodontist told me that my bite and movement of teeth had not made enough process so he would have to separate all my teeth - making my palate wider in order to basically start again with my braces journey (not his exact words).
PROCEDURE: I arrived at the waiting room quite early in the morning at around 9.30 am. I was told to fill out some forms and then go into a room which I would be met by my orthodontist and 3 of his assistants.
I went to the room and waited patiently until one of the assistants arrived, she asked if I have ok and I was worried about the procedure. She then layed me back and put a bib and glasses on me. Around 2 mins later, my orthodontist arrived with 2 assistants and they began getting everything ready like the scalpel and injections.
Then my orthodontist said that it was time to start the surgery.
There are 2 parts to the surgery, the palatal incisions and the maxilla incisions.
My orthodontist said that he would only start to place the breathing mask if I started to panic or something went wrong, eek!

SURGERY BEGINS: He started by separating my mouth using 2 metal bars that widened my mouth. They were both digging into my gum which really hurt but not enough to bother him. He then gave me 4 injections in the maxilla which hurt but were luckily over quickly. The numbness quicked in quickly which allowed him to start straight away. I could see the reflection in the assistants goggles of my mouth which made it amusing and interesting to see what was happening, luckily, I am not scared of blood so I watch the whole procedure.
Firstly, he cut into my osteotomy line using a scalpel which caused a lot of blood and then used a piezoelectric saw so drill further into it. He then widened my osteotomy line using a lineman burr, so far I could not feel a thing. However, he then cut into the posterior aspect of the maxilla and the lateral nasal wall with a chisel, this was extremely painful and made my head bang against the chair during every tap. One of the assistants had to hold my head down for the whole 10 minutes whilst it was happening. All I wanted to do was cry as I wanted it to be over. A few tears ran down my face as the pressure was too much although I had anesthesia. My orthodontist always said that he would stop when it started to hurt. However, both assistants were feeling my hands as if to comfort me and this made it impossible to communicate to my orthodontist. I tried to speak but nearly chocked on my saliva and blood. I decided to close my eyes and try think of sonething else whilst he was digging into my bone with a chisel. When it was finally over, he asked me if I was ok, to which I mumbled that the last bit was quite painful. He said that next time he would go slower. He also asked if I wanted the breathing mask and I replied no, as I wanted the surgery over and done with asap!!
He moved onto the right side after working on the left, and did the same procedure. When it came to the chiselling he placed a pillow under my neck and asked one of his assistants to holc my head down. He did it slower however, there were much bigger bangs on the chisel. I could see above me a massive hammer which was banging a chisel into my mouth, of course it freaked me out, but it was bearable.
He then did a midline osteotomy incision which I did not feel a thing. He then used the saw and the chisel which did not hurt.
The next step was definately the most painful of all as there was so much pressure. The orthodontist had to separate the pterygomaxillary junction which contained lots of chiselling. Both incisions already made of either side had to be lengthened into the back of my guns. The chiselling on both sides took around 15 mins and again my head had to be held down. At one point i heard him ask his assistant if he should put the breathing mask on. However, the assistant said no. My orthodontist kept in saying that I was nearly done but it felt like forever. I felt quite a lot of pain as my palate had not yet been anesthetised so I sometimes felt pain there but not a large amount.
After this bit, the maxilla was mobilized and he performed mobility control. This was quite a cool bit as I could see in the reflection if his glasses, my teeth looking like jelly and them pulling them apart and spreading them out but only by a few millimetres!! I felt a bit upset as my teeth looked like they had never had 2.5 years of treatment and as if this was just the beginning of it all.
The surgery on my maxilla was over however, I still had the main bulk of the surgery left. I noticed the time and saw that it had been over 1.5 hours, it had felt like way longer!!
The next bit was the surgery on my palate. I was told to open wide and a mirror was inserted into my mouth, this was to separate my tongue and lower haw from touching my palate. There was some string coming from the handle of my mirror that I had to hold onto so that the mirror would not fall out. The mirror dug into my gums however, it wasn't much if an issue.
The orthodontist gave me 6 injections in my palate which hurt a lot as the palate is quite sensitive. He then began to measure the distractof inside my mouth. After doing that, he made an incision on both sides and placed the expander inside my mouth. He had to screw the expaner into place which applied pressure but not as much as a TAD being fitted. He then used a blocking screw and after, he began to turn the expander around 5 times. He then sewed everything up and made me sit up in the chair.
He told me that the surgery was all over and that I had done very well. He made me rinse out with some special water which is when I caught a glance of myself in the mirror. My lips were massive and I had quite a lot of blood around my mouth. He then layed me back and wiped all the blood off my face. He presented a mirror to me and showed me how to turn my expander. He suggested 3 turns a day after I no longer had pain. He said that I could turn the expander as many times as I wanted as long as I felt comfortable. He explained that I would have an immense amount of pain after the surgery and it would be wise to take some parcetamol or ibprofen. He gave me an appliance which separates my lower jaw from my upper jaw so that my tongue wouldnt touch my palate. He told me to wear it for all of today until when i go to sleep. This would expose the surgical site to the air causing a quicker healing process. However, the bite appliance was quite painful and I couldn't talk. Every time my tongue touched my palate it would sting like crazy so I just didnt talk. I also looked quite strange with my mouth wide open.

Overall, my surgery was a success, the procedure is quite a daunting one but I'm definitely so happy that it is over. The pain during surgery can be different for different peope because I didn't want a breathing mask or to be put asleep, the pain was greater but I have been told that it is a painless procedure. The healing process is definitely painful though, so be prepared. Thanks to everyone for helping, I will give u an update later !!

[elephantmaster123]

Take your pain meds and try to stave off the worst pain -- as we say in nursing, pain is easier to prevent than to treat. Congratulations on your surgery and recovery.

thanks so much for the kind words!! the pain is very bad at the moment but I am keeping positive. Check out my full post on the procedure and tell me what u think!!

[elephantmaster123]

I hope it went well.

Thanks and yes it did!!

[JCloNY]

That is great to hear. You are on an epic journey for your teeth. Hang in there.

[testimony777]

I'm so glad that everything went well! I have to admit reading your descriptions of what happened made my mouth hurt; it sounds so intense. I wish you all the best with your recovery and I am excited to read about your progress!