Surgery Two

Well I went to the OD this week and the doc wanted to put me in elastics. So that was really exciting. Then he decided to go ahead and take some molds and x-rays to check on my progress. I got a phone call on Thurday and he thinks that I am ready for a second surgery. Apparently I didn't get enough expansion between my canines and I-teeth. And I also need to have a upper jaw adjustment. He said I needed a two piece jaw...something or another. I'm not really sure what the entails. I'm assuming it will be like a Lefort I. I have an appointment w/ my OS on 4 Jan, so I will find out exactly what I'm looking at having done.

The pics I am posting are before/after shots between this week and in March. I also have some new pics from being in elastics for a week; it's amazing how much my bite has changed already.


Before Early This Week Now


Before Day Expander Came Out Now

Before & After

My day has finally arrived. I am a SARPE survivor!! I had my appliance removed last week and have been enjoying life feeling more normal again. Above are my before and after pics so far. The before pics are from two days prior to getting braces, and the second photos are from today. As I'm sure that everyone can see my smile has changed drastically already! I am so excited to see what future progress lies ahead.

The actual removal of the RPE was more painful than I expected. When they removed the bands that connected the RPE in my mouth it was uncomfortable to say the least. The bond didn't quite want to break. Then the scrapping of the old cement was really uncomfortable. But I toughed it out, and am doing much better. I had to go in today b/c another one of my bands came loose. But that was a blessing b/c I was having a lot of pain with my back molars rubbing on the remnants of the RPE.

Well I will keep more pictures coming. I don't know how long it will be until they put me in power chains again. But I'm really ready to get all the spaces closed up in the front.

I hope everyone is doing well in adult braces fun, and have a wonderful holiday season.

One More Thing

I realized after looking at Graham's page that I haven't posted a pic of my arch in a while...so thanks to Mr. Graham one more pic!! :)

Countdown to RPE Removal

I had the greatest news today. Due to a work conflict I had to re-schedule my appointments for my RPE removal...luck for me they are doing it a week earlier! So my new date to take the RPE out is 2 November!! I can't wait I will be RPE free in two weeks. This is the day I have been waiting for since the end of May. So to say the least I am super excited.

Besides the removal of my RPE my gap has been closing slowly, but definetely making progress. Everyone is starting to really notice that the gap is almost closed. So I am finally starting to feel more human again. I have been invited to a Halloween Party, so I am contemplating dressing up as a school girl..a nerdy one with glasses and braces. :)

Well here is a pic I took this evening. As everyone can tell my gap is really making a lot of progress! But please feel free to keep encouraging those little guys.

The Countdown is On

Well I have exactly 30 days before I go see the doc for spacers. Then seven days later I will be RPE free. That is all I can really think about with my braces right now. I hate the RPE and can not wait to be able to talk to people w/out always being asked to repeat myself. Not to mention I will finally be able to enjoy a glass of wine again. I have three Pinot Noirs waiting for me that I have refused to open b/c I know the appliance will ruin the flavor. Besides the RPE the space is slowly closing I think. I expect that it will probably stay about the size it is now until I go see the OD again. I am hoping he will do powerchains all around. But I guess we'll see. Well here are the updated pics. I can't wait to have pics that look more like Brandy's. I pray that my teeth will be as quickly moving!


Wednesday Sunday

Powerchain Time

Well it has been a while since I have posted. There are several reasons for that. First, my teeth didn't seem to be moving worth a darn (well at least the gap wasn't closing) and two, I am in school right now meaning I have no time to spend doing anything enjoyable. So I am taking the time today to update my Ortho friends and family with fun progress pics!! I had an ortho appointment on Thursday. I had nothing but wonderful news and prospects of progress. First off I had my power chain placed on my incisors. Finally some "closure" with that relationship. ( I know I'm hilarious) It was a little painful, my two incisors are very sensitive to pressure. The rest of the appointment went pretty smoothly. Then one of my OD told me that she wanted to see me in about a month to place spacers. I was like ugh...why? Then she said I would need to come back a week later to have my RPE REMOVED and bands placed on my back molars!!! So the date is set...November 7th I will be RPE free. Which just happens to be the day before I graduate from the College of the Air Force! So November will be a great month!

Immediately after leaving the office I could tell I would be limited on my eating for at least a day or two. But the pain wasn't near what I was expecting. Within about two hours the space in my front teeth was definitely beginning to close. I also noticed a space to the outer side of my incisors forming. The next morning the space was about 1/2 of what it was on Thursday..but I do have some pretty obvious spaces between my central and lateral incisors. Two steps forward...one step back. But as long as I'm moving I'm pretty happy.
And since I am having movement again I am going to definitely take lots of pics, and update at least weekly. :) So without further anticipation here are the pics!!

I Think We Have a Winner!

Attention all "we have movement", again I say " we have movement!" My teeth are far from perfect and still so far from coming together...but were there is a will there is a way. And I do think that these two incisors have decided that they do have will. Ok...a little overly dramatic. But I have refused to take a pic until today. I have been too disappointed with the lack of movement. But I must say..the gap is truly closing. My OS assured me that it would be closed if not all the way very close by the end of the month. I will have powerchains placed on the 21st, my OS informed me it will be like closing a door. A bit frightful I have to admit, but anything is better than this gap. I'm so ready to be able to move on with my progress. Which I know means closing the gap.

It seems crazy to think that I am nearly seven weeks post-op. I am able to do so much more now. My eating is getting better and better, however with a big gap in the front everything must be cut. Although my incisors never formed to make a bite before...it is still quite difficult to begin to eat with such a space. My teeth are feeling much stronger, but very weak in between the gap. Not like my teeth are still loose, but more so that they don't have the strength of the other to truly try to hold on to anything. But I can only hope that in the next month that will all change.

And with the closing of the gap, and the recovery from my surgery I can look forward to having this RPE taken out. I have wanted braces for about two years now, and I could have never imgained that the whole process would change my lifestyle so much. I have lost nearly twenty pounds, mostly due to the RPE, and am frightful of getting it out sometimes. Today for breakfast I ate about a 1/6 of a 1/2 gallon of ice-cream. It is wild I used to never be able to eat like that w/out gaining weight. I am finishing off about 1/2 gallon of icecream a week. I know this will all catch up to me. I am thinking once the appliance comes out and I am able to eat Cheez-Its again I will gain more weight back. I used to be a health freak. I worked out on average 6 days a week, and had a very healthy diet. Now, I have lost so much weight I have to slow down the work outs and try to eat more calories. I am beginning to wonder if I will ever be able to go back to all the excersice and healthy eating. I guess time will only tell. :)

I have the next two days off from work and school, so I am trying to figure what to do with myself. As I type I am thinking of either doing a work out video...or better laying out in the back yard with a book. Maybe I have time for both. I would love to go out to the beach with some friends, but again with the gap and RPE it is a bit difficult. But about a month or two I will be done with the whole mess. Thank God for that!

Well I am off to the back yard to do some tanning! Hopefully then I will make it to the work out tape! So hopefully next week I can take some pics with a really small gap! Good luck to all in RPE land.

Progress?? 3 Weeks Post Expnaion

I am one day away from being five weeks post-op, and Monday was three weeks post expansion. I am not seeing that bad boy getting any smaller. Please let me know if I am wrong on this conclusion! But I have to say I don't mind it too much. I'm sure it could be worse.

I went to the OD, he put a stronger wire on top and bottom. He said something about a 16, and a less flexible wire? In four weeks I will go in for the evil power chains. So I am hoping I can be gap free by mid September. It was kinda funny...I was talking w/ my doc and asking about my timeline and such. He then made a comment on how adults are different from children b/c if they don't feel pain they feel like they aren't making progress. I told him he was so right!! I want pain every day for the arm and leg I just gave up for thiswhole journey.

Besides the normal chaos of life I am doing fairly well. My energy levels are back to normal for the most part. I am still holding back a lot in the gym...but that is mostly due to me trying not to loose any more weight. I have gained about a pound since the surgery. So I am happy with that I guess. I am very ready to be able to eat again though. I just ate dinner and rediscovered the difference in pain from surgery and from adjustments. So I will be back on spagettios and ice cream for the rest of the week.

The RPE is being it usual hellish self. I will never adjust to it..and I will never speak normally with it in my mouth. I really want to keep in when it finally gets taken out...I have a few more months to decide what I am going to do to the torturous device. Hopefully I will have more progress next week!



21 Aug 5 Aug


Side view Getting Up Close and Personal!

Can We Move Any Slower

So here we are...two weeks post expansion ( almost four weeks post-op). I don't feel like the gap has closed at all! I guess it doesn't help when I get the whole "Oh my Gosh, what happend to you?" question everyday. I have to admit...I probably sound pretty vain. The pain isn't that bad, my brusing was a breeze, but this dang gap is killing me!! I swear my confidence level has went from about a 7 before braces to about a 1.5. But hey my arch has gone from small to 6+ mm. So at least my numbers are getting bigger somewhere! :)

My swelling in my upper lip is still noticeable (to me only probably) I don't know if it is swelling or numbness... probably both. My energy levels are getting better. I can't say that eating is getting any easier. I am still on a very soft food diet, and I don't see that getting better any time soon. I am still eating soups, a lot of pastas, ice cream, stuff like that. But...I did have one wonderful meal last weekend. PIZZA!! Yes I can eat the toppings and the top of the crust. Talk about yummy. I don't eat fast food...but pizza is my one treat. I can't wait to be able to eat a whole piece again.

Well to sum up last week I had 90% of my sutures taken out on Tuesday (two weeks and six days post op) I also had an x-ray of the lovely empty space in my upper palate. I will go see Dr. S tomorrow. He will take out the remaining sutures, and hopefully tell me I am done with him for a while.

Other than that life is starting to get back to normal. I did a full week of work last week, and am beginning to somewhat get back into my work out routine. I worked out about 4x last week, and am slowly regaining my strength and endurance. I did about 15 miles on the bike this morning and really could feel how much I have really lost. Hopefully the doc will release me to start running again. I'm sure that will be the biggest challenge. Nothing like feeling your jaw bounce around when you are walking/running. Hopefully that will go away soon also.

Now that I mentioned going away soon....Boy-Howdy I can't wait to have this RPE out!! I hate it! My tougue feels like mini-landmines exploded in it all day. I can't talk, and I drool all over the place. And to top it all off, I can't drink wine or beer. This thing is by far the worst thing a ortho can do to a person. I am a changed woman I tell you...I will never again be unappreciative of a raw veggies, a nice cold beer, or my fav....a nice glass of wine.

Okay...now for the part that people really care about. My pics!!


5August 7 Aug ( 3weeks pot-op)





14 Aug(2weeks post-espansion)

2 Weeks Post-Op

Well it is hard to believe that it has already been two weeks since my surgery. But then again it is also hard to believe that there is over 6mm between my two front teeth!! Today I woke up and felt like my face had a little more swelling than usual. I walked around, (sat around) had some coffee, and before I knew it my swelling seemed to go back down. I think maybe sleeping increases swelling b/c of the angle of my face.

Today I really pushed myself to try to get back into my normal blow and go schedule. I had my coffee, ran to the chiropractor for an adjustment, and hit the road running. I cleaned my entire garage(rearranged, swept, cleaned the grill(GROSS!!) ect), then I trimmed up the bushes in the yard, planted a flower bush(that I recived as a get well for my surgery :) ) and to top it off I cleaned up the whole house. I'm such an overahiever!! I didn't end up sitting down until 830 tonight. I have to admit...due to my activity I broke down and took a dose of liquid motrin. Hey whatever it takes to get the job done. Today was my "It's been two weeks ..now get out there and GO!"

I'm definetely getting more confident that my surgery is healing up nicely. I do get a weird sensation in my upper jaw whenever I walk fast. It is almost like I can feel that my jaw is loose and moving slightly. What is scary is that it probably is.

I have one more day off before I have to go back to work. I am really nervous about it. I have developed a much needed relaxed life style the past two weeks...and I know work will get me back to my OCD/perfectionist/over-achiever self. But I guess it is inevitable. To top it off I just recieved an email from the big boss at the office. They are realeasing promotions next week. They are promoting at 37% which is so small. This is my first time up for a big promotion ( Staff Sergeant), so that has my nerves going too. I'm so glad I have my little diary to vent my nerves off to. And for any unfortunate person that actually reads this post...I apologize! I am getting it all out...I feel a little bit better. At least I feel like someone/something out there cares.

I guess I will quit ranting and brush my teeth. I am totally thinking the minty fresh clean will help calm me for bed. That and reading for an hour. One more day to sleep in. I will enjoy it! I hope to have more pics (of a closing GAP!! come on everyone cheer for the gap to close!) Good Night. Happy Two Weeks To Me!

12 Days Post-Op~* Im Done *~

It is official I am done expanding!! Even though I have had the worst day (non-braces related) since surgery...I am still ecstatic to say that I am done with expansion. I saw the OD today, he took out the awful wire that was split in two on my uppers (talking about poking me!), and he replaced my upper and lower wire. So hopefully I will be saying good-bye to the large gap soon!
I just walked in the door...and realized I was starving. I attempted to eat a nutri-grain bar. I have been able to eat such things(not necessarily eat but mush with my gums and parts of teeth that slightly touch) but it hurt to smash food this time. I think I am getting more feeling in my upper jaw. That was the first time that my teeth and well jaw bone were sore like that. So that is probably good in a way....but bad meaning more liquid ick!! Back to the Magic Bullet for dinner I guess.
Well I have only one photo for today...this is my thank God I am done expanding pic. Also notice that my swelling continues to decrease daily. Hope eveyone is doing well in Ortho land...you to Mom. Hopefuly I will be adding photos of a closing gap soon. :)

Incisions

This is eleven days post-op.

11 Days Post-Op

Sunday- Today as been a really good day. I am officially off pain killers, even the motrin, and experiencing no pain. I have expanded twice today (.5 mm) and again no pain. I did experience I slight change in the location of the pressure after expanding. Rather than a tight feeling at the front of my palate, it seemed to move to the back. As of my last visit with the doc I should only have two more turns. Not that I mind expansion...I actually look forward to it. It is the most amazing and exciting thing to see my bite make all these changes. It almost makes the sting of the cost of braces worth it. :)

My Mom requested a few more photos, so I will continue my photo journal. I decided to do more angles and some before and after photos! Although I am starting to notice less movement the last day or so when I expand. So you will have to let me know if you agree w/ me on that one.



Before Right Now Right Left (slightly more swelling on left)


Before Today

Ortho Consult Today (5.75 mm) Today View 2


I would love to hear anyones comments on my progress. In my opinion, it still seems like I am not expanding as much as I should. But I am possilby just obsessing about it (which is very possilbe.) I have more photos but I will post them on a new one.

Day Six Expansion (10 Days Post Op)

I spoke with my OS yesturday and he and my Ortho agree that I need more expansion. So I will continue to expand until Monday morning @ 3x/day. Here are more pictures!!


Friday AM 5 mm Friday PM 5.75 mm Friday PM



Sat AM 6mm Sat AM Face (Swelling and Brusing almost unnoticable)

Expansion Progress II

Day Three Day Three 3mm Day Four Morning 3 1/4 mm


Day Five 4 1/4mm Day Five Face Day Five Bite

Expansion Progress

Pre-Expansion First Expansion Day One 1mm


Day Two (Twin and I) Bite Day Two 2mm