Over 100 days with braces now! Not so bad! The differences I'm noticing are crazy!
As 2009 draws to an end, I started thinking about all the stuff that's happened this year:
1. My upper jaw is 50% bigger than it was at the start of this year.
2. My teeth, top and bottom, are much straighter than at the start of this year.
3. My fiancee and I bought our first home - a condo in downtown Toronto.
4. This is new news, but I recently accepted a position at a new firm! It was a very difficult and surprisingly emotional decision, but I decided to try something a little different for the next little while and see where it leads me!
So new job, new home, new MOUTH, it's been a great year overall!!! I'm not positive I've had such an eventful year before!
Who knows what 2010 will hold! At the very least, our wedding is in July, so that's huge. The jaw surgery is still tentatively slated for the fall, so that's big news too. So in all honesty, barring any major setbacks, 2010 is shaping up to live up to 2009. The other thing is passing my last two professional actuarial exams. That's #1 on my priority list for 2010. I have one in May and hopefully the last one in November. We'll see!!
I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2010!! I'll talk to you again then!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Braces - Day 84 (my political rant)
Hi everyone!
I found myself just combing through some of my old posts, especially those with pictures. Yikes that gap was big wasn't it?!?! Unbelievable. I can't believe we're really starting to come to the close of 2009 now. This year has gone by so quickly. I feel I've been saying that for a few years now, and I fear I'll be saying that every year.
My teeth are good. I went in last week to see Dr. Roy, who changed the wire, but not to a different gauge. She said that the teeth still have to move a little bit! I'm really starting to wonder if the timing of this whole process is going to be a little bit longer than anticipated.
When I was there, I also put a huge payment down on the braces, meaning that this whole process is nearly paid for in full! I think I have about $700 to go. Again, I'm very grateful to the University for taking my case. I have a pretty good job with decent benefits, but there's no way I could afford to do this privately. I don't know how some families can cope with this burden. I realize that orthodontics can be perceived as a cosmetic "luxury", but in my case, this has really helped me out physically. I snore less (so my fiancee now sleeps more!), my sleep apnea episodes have decreased dramatically, I even don't drool (sorry, I know that's gross) nearly I much as I used to which has led to less gum irritation which once led to bleeding when I went for cleanings.
And forget about orthodontics, only those with benefits from an employer are the ones lucky enough to go to a dentist on a regular basis. That's unbelievable. I would not say for a second that I am a liberal or democrat or left-wing or whatever you call it, but I am a big believer in public health when regulated properly, and in the interest of preventative medicine (as we all know, oral health is a big indicator of overall health), basic dental benefits really ought to be covered by this Province.
I'm sorry for the political rant there. It does not happen very often, but I think often about how lucky I am to have found this University program for my teeth that some other deserving individuals will not have the opportunity to partake in.
Once again, my apologies for no pictures. They're coming soon!
Take care. If I don't post again before Christmas, I wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday season, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy 2010!!!
I found myself just combing through some of my old posts, especially those with pictures. Yikes that gap was big wasn't it?!?! Unbelievable. I can't believe we're really starting to come to the close of 2009 now. This year has gone by so quickly. I feel I've been saying that for a few years now, and I fear I'll be saying that every year.
My teeth are good. I went in last week to see Dr. Roy, who changed the wire, but not to a different gauge. She said that the teeth still have to move a little bit! I'm really starting to wonder if the timing of this whole process is going to be a little bit longer than anticipated.
When I was there, I also put a huge payment down on the braces, meaning that this whole process is nearly paid for in full! I think I have about $700 to go. Again, I'm very grateful to the University for taking my case. I have a pretty good job with decent benefits, but there's no way I could afford to do this privately. I don't know how some families can cope with this burden. I realize that orthodontics can be perceived as a cosmetic "luxury", but in my case, this has really helped me out physically. I snore less (so my fiancee now sleeps more!), my sleep apnea episodes have decreased dramatically, I even don't drool (sorry, I know that's gross) nearly I much as I used to which has led to less gum irritation which once led to bleeding when I went for cleanings.
And forget about orthodontics, only those with benefits from an employer are the ones lucky enough to go to a dentist on a regular basis. That's unbelievable. I would not say for a second that I am a liberal or democrat or left-wing or whatever you call it, but I am a big believer in public health when regulated properly, and in the interest of preventative medicine (as we all know, oral health is a big indicator of overall health), basic dental benefits really ought to be covered by this Province.
I'm sorry for the political rant there. It does not happen very often, but I think often about how lucky I am to have found this University program for my teeth that some other deserving individuals will not have the opportunity to partake in.
Once again, my apologies for no pictures. They're coming soon!
Take care. If I don't post again before Christmas, I wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday season, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy 2010!!!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Day 54
First off, I'm EXTREMELY sorry about not posting. I've been terrible about keeping the blog updated, especially when it's actally been a fairly eventful 53 days since my last post!
Today, things are great. I've noticed a huge difference especially with my bottom teeth - the gap where they extracted the 4's is basically closed up now on the right side. The left side still has some room but is getting there. The rest of my bottom teeth have straighted out very nicely actually!! For the top teeth, I'm declaring the gap officially closed. There's still a very small triangle at the top, but yes, closed! Okay, now lets update you on the first month:
After getting the braces on, I noticed that flossing was just not going to be an option. I couldn't even thread the floss through to my back teeth and the whole process took 15 minutes. Can't do that. But I am used to flossing everyday and the thought of all that food stuck in there grosses me out, so I immediately bought a waterpik. I love it. According to the waterpik people, it removes more plaque from in between teeth than flossing. It's basically a pressure-washer for your teeth. I HIGHLY recommend this for people who don't have the 15 minutes/day to floss! In addition, I bought some special "braces" brushes for my Oral B Triumph which has been working quite well. I think the brush is just a little softer than usual, and then there's another "pick" kind of brush that I use to clean the metal.
It took me a while to get used to the braces. For the first week, I was holding my jaw closed. When I went to open my jaw to do something as simple as talk, it actually took some effort to unlock my jaw because I was closing it so hard. Weird. That lasted a week or so - I'm over it now.
On day 2 or 3 with my braces, the bracket on the top-2 tooth on the right side detached from my tooth. I think the tension in the wire was too much or something! Anyways, no big deal, got it fixed up a few days later. Then a few days after that, I caught myself grinding my teeth at night (this was when I was still holding my jaw closed), then as I woke up, I heard a snap at the back. The very back bracket on the bottom broke off. The difference this time was that since it was the back bracket, I had a piece of wire sticking out. It wasn't poking at me or anything though. My ortho said that since it was a back tooth, it doesn't matter much, so if I wanted to have it fixed, no problem, but if I wanted to wait until my next appt, no problem either. I decided to wait until the next appt.
What happened next though was awful. With that little piece of wire in there, I would poke at it with my finger several times daily. One night before dinner, I did my routine wire check, then ate. After dinner was over, there was NO WIRE where there had been one before!! Having just felt it before I starting eating, I was convinced that I swallowed it as I ate!! My fiancee's mom is a nurse and told me to go to the ER - after all, it's a pretty sharp piece of metal, and about a half-inch long. That ER experience was the worst. Got there around 10pm or so, and did not leave until just before 6am. And all that time was spent for me to hear from the doctor, "If you experience any sickness over the next day or two, come back." Ugh. Brutal. Anyways, long story short, a few days passed and I was feeling fine, so I figured that everything worked out naturally (sorry if that caused a graphic image!).
Then a few weeks back I go to my first Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game ever here in Toronto. I am an Ottawa fan, and have a Daniel Alfredsson jersey, so decided to wear it. For those who don't know the Toronto/Ottawa 'rivalry', Daniel Alfredsson (or "Alfie") is public enemy #1 for Toronto fans. So my sweater clearly garnered some attention. But it wasn't bad until Alfie scored what ended up being the winning goal on a penalty shot. There was this drunken idiot a few rows behind me chirping me for the rest of the night. I kept watching the game, only looking up once to see who was doing this. Some punk, early 20's, drunk, Leafs fan, you know the type. Moron. Anyways, after the game was over, it turned out that he got down beside me and took a handful of his beer and threw it in my face. Can't say that's happened before, but it felt like I got spit on. Given all the chirping and everything, I hurled some insults his way - a total of three sentences. I got down into the tunnel and he decided to take the rest of his beer and throw that into my face. This time, I took it. Walked away. As I was exiting the building, I looked behind me a few times to see if this dick was following me, but could not see anything. Of course, I am not the most difficult person to follow - I'm 6'7" and was wearing a red Ottawa sweater in a sea of blue and white Leaf sweaters. So he must have followed me from a distance and then made his move when I got outside, because about 10 seconds after I got outside, I heard from behind me "HEY ALFIE!" I turned around, and took a big right hook to my left cheek. Big. It didn't knock me down, but there was some significant bleeding. Of course, the dick ran off right afterwards. I'm not a fighter (it was my first punch to the face), but he didn't give me a chance put my hands up or to even take my glasses off. Pretty sure that's against the rules.
I mention that story because LUCKILY it didn't get me in the teeth. His hand would have been pretty messed up had it got me in the mouth, but my teeth would have been worse off. Who knows? Maybe he did fuck up his hand. Anyways, the fall out was bad. I had a mild concussion, and some broken blood vessels in my eye that basically turned my right eye completely dark red and made me look like a zombie for a couple of weeks. My whole cheekbone was deeply bruised, but no broken bones. I filed a report, but there's no chance they'll find the guy. Bigger fish to fry in Toronto. It's too bad though - it's totally a solvable case. I know exactly where he was sitting.
I'm SO sure they can track who used those tickets that night. Ugh. I'm going to call the police tomorrow and ask for a follow-up.
See what I mean by eventful?!?!
Then I had my first adjustment appointment. Nothing was adjusted though. They kept the same gauge of wire in there. Dr. Roy said that the teeth had not moved far enough yet - I guess that's common in adult teeth. We started talking about the big surgery next fall. The surgeons are probably going to start looking at me at my next appointment in 2 weeks.
After that appointment, I went to Ottawa and to Montreal for my birthday weekend. I was out in Montreal wearing my Ottawa jersey (a game that Ottawa won as well) and got no idiotic comments whatsoever. It was a much better experience.
Back to the teeth - my next appointment is at some point this month. I'll try to post then. I also have some pictures that I PROMISE to post on here soon.
Sorry for the novel! Thanks for reading. Take care!!!
Today, things are great. I've noticed a huge difference especially with my bottom teeth - the gap where they extracted the 4's is basically closed up now on the right side. The left side still has some room but is getting there. The rest of my bottom teeth have straighted out very nicely actually!! For the top teeth, I'm declaring the gap officially closed. There's still a very small triangle at the top, but yes, closed! Okay, now lets update you on the first month:
After getting the braces on, I noticed that flossing was just not going to be an option. I couldn't even thread the floss through to my back teeth and the whole process took 15 minutes. Can't do that. But I am used to flossing everyday and the thought of all that food stuck in there grosses me out, so I immediately bought a waterpik. I love it. According to the waterpik people, it removes more plaque from in between teeth than flossing. It's basically a pressure-washer for your teeth. I HIGHLY recommend this for people who don't have the 15 minutes/day to floss! In addition, I bought some special "braces" brushes for my Oral B Triumph which has been working quite well. I think the brush is just a little softer than usual, and then there's another "pick" kind of brush that I use to clean the metal.
It took me a while to get used to the braces. For the first week, I was holding my jaw closed. When I went to open my jaw to do something as simple as talk, it actually took some effort to unlock my jaw because I was closing it so hard. Weird. That lasted a week or so - I'm over it now.
On day 2 or 3 with my braces, the bracket on the top-2 tooth on the right side detached from my tooth. I think the tension in the wire was too much or something! Anyways, no big deal, got it fixed up a few days later. Then a few days after that, I caught myself grinding my teeth at night (this was when I was still holding my jaw closed), then as I woke up, I heard a snap at the back. The very back bracket on the bottom broke off. The difference this time was that since it was the back bracket, I had a piece of wire sticking out. It wasn't poking at me or anything though. My ortho said that since it was a back tooth, it doesn't matter much, so if I wanted to have it fixed, no problem, but if I wanted to wait until my next appt, no problem either. I decided to wait until the next appt.
What happened next though was awful. With that little piece of wire in there, I would poke at it with my finger several times daily. One night before dinner, I did my routine wire check, then ate. After dinner was over, there was NO WIRE where there had been one before!! Having just felt it before I starting eating, I was convinced that I swallowed it as I ate!! My fiancee's mom is a nurse and told me to go to the ER - after all, it's a pretty sharp piece of metal, and about a half-inch long. That ER experience was the worst. Got there around 10pm or so, and did not leave until just before 6am. And all that time was spent for me to hear from the doctor, "If you experience any sickness over the next day or two, come back." Ugh. Brutal. Anyways, long story short, a few days passed and I was feeling fine, so I figured that everything worked out naturally (sorry if that caused a graphic image!).
Then a few weeks back I go to my first Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game ever here in Toronto. I am an Ottawa fan, and have a Daniel Alfredsson jersey, so decided to wear it. For those who don't know the Toronto/Ottawa 'rivalry', Daniel Alfredsson (or "Alfie") is public enemy #1 for Toronto fans. So my sweater clearly garnered some attention. But it wasn't bad until Alfie scored what ended up being the winning goal on a penalty shot. There was this drunken idiot a few rows behind me chirping me for the rest of the night. I kept watching the game, only looking up once to see who was doing this. Some punk, early 20's, drunk, Leafs fan, you know the type. Moron. Anyways, after the game was over, it turned out that he got down beside me and took a handful of his beer and threw it in my face. Can't say that's happened before, but it felt like I got spit on. Given all the chirping and everything, I hurled some insults his way - a total of three sentences. I got down into the tunnel and he decided to take the rest of his beer and throw that into my face. This time, I took it. Walked away. As I was exiting the building, I looked behind me a few times to see if this dick was following me, but could not see anything. Of course, I am not the most difficult person to follow - I'm 6'7" and was wearing a red Ottawa sweater in a sea of blue and white Leaf sweaters. So he must have followed me from a distance and then made his move when I got outside, because about 10 seconds after I got outside, I heard from behind me "HEY ALFIE!" I turned around, and took a big right hook to my left cheek. Big. It didn't knock me down, but there was some significant bleeding. Of course, the dick ran off right afterwards. I'm not a fighter (it was my first punch to the face), but he didn't give me a chance put my hands up or to even take my glasses off. Pretty sure that's against the rules.
I mention that story because LUCKILY it didn't get me in the teeth. His hand would have been pretty messed up had it got me in the mouth, but my teeth would have been worse off. Who knows? Maybe he did fuck up his hand. Anyways, the fall out was bad. I had a mild concussion, and some broken blood vessels in my eye that basically turned my right eye completely dark red and made me look like a zombie for a couple of weeks. My whole cheekbone was deeply bruised, but no broken bones. I filed a report, but there's no chance they'll find the guy. Bigger fish to fry in Toronto. It's too bad though - it's totally a solvable case. I know exactly where he was sitting.
I'm SO sure they can track who used those tickets that night. Ugh. I'm going to call the police tomorrow and ask for a follow-up.
See what I mean by eventful?!?!
Then I had my first adjustment appointment. Nothing was adjusted though. They kept the same gauge of wire in there. Dr. Roy said that the teeth had not moved far enough yet - I guess that's common in adult teeth. We started talking about the big surgery next fall. The surgeons are probably going to start looking at me at my next appointment in 2 weeks.
After that appointment, I went to Ottawa and to Montreal for my birthday weekend. I was out in Montreal wearing my Ottawa jersey (a game that Ottawa won as well) and got no idiotic comments whatsoever. It was a much better experience.
Back to the teeth - my next appointment is at some point this month. I'll try to post then. I also have some pictures that I PROMISE to post on here soon.
Sorry for the novel! Thanks for reading. Take care!!!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Braces - Day 1
They're on!!
Today was the big day. Two hours after walking into the clinic, I walked out with significantly more metal in my mouth! It's been almost 7 hours since the appointment ended and although my teeth are feeling uncomfortable, I wouldn't say they are painful. So either the pain is coming, or maybe I've just gotten used to it by now with the SARPE. The appointment did confirm one thing - I still have little to no feeling in my upper jaw. I could easily tell when Dr. Roy was applying the glue to my bottom teeth, but did not feel anything when she applied the glue to the top. I'm starting to become a little concerned that the feeling won't come back. It's been 4.5 months now after all!
The appointment itself was fine. Under the advice of my fiancée's mom, who is a RN, I took 2 advils and 2 tylenol an hour prior to the appointment, but in hindsight I do not think I needed anything. When I got there, they basically sat me down, cleaned the teeth a little, placed the brackets, and fed the wire through. Easy as pie (which I can't bake, so maybe that's a bad analogy, but you get the idea). You can't see what's going on as the brackets and everything are being applied - you have to wait until afterwards. It was a little nerve-wracking looking in that mirror the first time, but honestly, it was not as bad as I thought. It's still bad. Lots of metal. But not as bad as I thought.
After I left, I picked up some special toothbrush heads for my Oral B Triumph. I got the whole spiel on how important the cleaning is, and I definitely plan on keeping up with the cleanings as best I can. I think having the Triumph will help out a lot.
The expander is still in my mouth. The way the expander is, no brackets were required for the teeth the expander is attached to (the top 4's and 6's), so the wire was simply fed through. When the expander is ready to be removed, brackets will then be glued to those teeth.
I asked about timing, and Dr. Roy said that we'll have a much clearer idea after the next few adjustments. Initially, I was told the end of 2010. I never actually believed that was a possibility though, so if it's not then, I won't be THAT disappointed! My next appointment and first adjustment is happening on October 14, four days prior to my 27th birthday. Ugh, 27. That's officially "late twenties" isn't it? I'm in my late 20's and have braces.....weird?
Now on to what you've been waiting for - the pics. Attached below are pictures taken last night before the braces, and the same ones tonight with the braces. I'm going to try to take pictures once a week again to track the progress the braces make.
Enjoy the pictures and I'll post again soon!
Today was the big day. Two hours after walking into the clinic, I walked out with significantly more metal in my mouth! It's been almost 7 hours since the appointment ended and although my teeth are feeling uncomfortable, I wouldn't say they are painful. So either the pain is coming, or maybe I've just gotten used to it by now with the SARPE. The appointment did confirm one thing - I still have little to no feeling in my upper jaw. I could easily tell when Dr. Roy was applying the glue to my bottom teeth, but did not feel anything when she applied the glue to the top. I'm starting to become a little concerned that the feeling won't come back. It's been 4.5 months now after all!
The appointment itself was fine. Under the advice of my fiancée's mom, who is a RN, I took 2 advils and 2 tylenol an hour prior to the appointment, but in hindsight I do not think I needed anything. When I got there, they basically sat me down, cleaned the teeth a little, placed the brackets, and fed the wire through. Easy as pie (which I can't bake, so maybe that's a bad analogy, but you get the idea). You can't see what's going on as the brackets and everything are being applied - you have to wait until afterwards. It was a little nerve-wracking looking in that mirror the first time, but honestly, it was not as bad as I thought. It's still bad. Lots of metal. But not as bad as I thought.
After I left, I picked up some special toothbrush heads for my Oral B Triumph. I got the whole spiel on how important the cleaning is, and I definitely plan on keeping up with the cleanings as best I can. I think having the Triumph will help out a lot.
The expander is still in my mouth. The way the expander is, no brackets were required for the teeth the expander is attached to (the top 4's and 6's), so the wire was simply fed through. When the expander is ready to be removed, brackets will then be glued to those teeth.
I asked about timing, and Dr. Roy said that we'll have a much clearer idea after the next few adjustments. Initially, I was told the end of 2010. I never actually believed that was a possibility though, so if it's not then, I won't be THAT disappointed! My next appointment and first adjustment is happening on October 14, four days prior to my 27th birthday. Ugh, 27. That's officially "late twenties" isn't it? I'm in my late 20's and have braces.....weird?
Now on to what you've been waiting for - the pics. Attached below are pictures taken last night before the braces, and the same ones tonight with the braces. I'm going to try to take pictures once a week again to track the progress the braces make.
Enjoy the pictures and I'll post again soon!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
6 Days and Counting!
It's been a long time since I've posted. There's not been very much to update on.
I can't believe the summer's over! But with it comes the big day for the braces. September 9 is the afternoon where I'm hoping they get put on. Weird how I'm hoping they go on. I guess I just want to get through this process as quickly as possible!
Hopefully all the orthodontist's are pleased with the progress made. My two front teeth, which once had a gap that looks so much bigger now than I thought it was at the time, are now touching, and my bottom teeth have migrated somewhat as well.
As soon as the braces are on, I'll take some pictures and post them.
On a related note, my 15-year old sister just had her braces removed on Monday after just over two years or wearing them! Hers came off and mine are going on. If my teeth look half as good as hers do at the end of this, I'll be happy!!
I can't believe the summer's over! But with it comes the big day for the braces. September 9 is the afternoon where I'm hoping they get put on. Weird how I'm hoping they go on. I guess I just want to get through this process as quickly as possible!
Hopefully all the orthodontist's are pleased with the progress made. My two front teeth, which once had a gap that looks so much bigger now than I thought it was at the time, are now touching, and my bottom teeth have migrated somewhat as well.
As soon as the braces are on, I'll take some pictures and post them.
On a related note, my 15-year old sister just had her braces removed on Monday after just over two years or wearing them! Hers came off and mine are going on. If my teeth look half as good as hers do at the end of this, I'll be happy!!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Beginning and End of Expansion
After a SARPE surgery, 4 wisdom teeth removed, 2 bottom 4's removed, 67 activations totalling 16.75mm (almost 0.75 inches!), and 3 weeks of post-expansion migration of teeth, this is what my upper jaw looks like compared with the night before the operation. I'm showing pictures of the roof of my mouth, and of my teeth straight on. The beginning pictures were taken on April 22nd while the others were taken July 25th - just over 3 months later.
You'll notice that the expansion has caused "more teeth" to be visible in the straight-on shot. This is because my teeth basically went straight back. Now they take a much more rounded arch shape as is apparent in the second set of photos. It still amazes me to look at these pictures and think that it's ONLY BEEN THREE MONTHS!!! I guess that's why the R in SARPE stands for Rapid. Keep in mind too that the majority of SARPE patients would not require nearly the same amount of expansion, so the average patient would be done much sooner than three months!
If you were wondering, and I have mentioned this before, the upper jaw is 50% bigger than it was when we started (the upper 4's were initially separated by 29mm, they are now at 43mm).
Migration of the teeth will continue now until September when the braces go on.
You'll notice that the expansion has caused "more teeth" to be visible in the straight-on shot. This is because my teeth basically went straight back. Now they take a much more rounded arch shape as is apparent in the second set of photos. It still amazes me to look at these pictures and think that it's ONLY BEEN THREE MONTHS!!! I guess that's why the R in SARPE stands for Rapid. Keep in mind too that the majority of SARPE patients would not require nearly the same amount of expansion, so the average patient would be done much sooner than three months!
If you were wondering, and I have mentioned this before, the upper jaw is 50% bigger than it was when we started (the upper 4's were initially separated by 29mm, they are now at 43mm).
Migration of the teeth will continue now until September when the braces go on.
Picture Post #13 - 25 Days Post-Expansion
These were taken on July 25th - 25 days after expansion stopped.
Picture Post #12 - 15 Days Post-Expansion
These pictures were taken on July 15 - 15 days after expansion stopped. Notice how the gap is already starting to close!
Picture Post #11 - 4 Days Post-Expansion
These pictures were taken on July 4th - 4 days after activations ended.
Picture Post #10 - 65 Activations
These were taken on June 28th after 65 activations (16.25mm). These are the last photos taken before activations ceased on June 30!
Picture Post #8 - 48 Activations
These were taken on June 11 after 48 activations (12.0mm), which I had thought would be my last activation - until I saw the orthodontist the next day and they told me I had 20 activations left. Ugh.
Picture Post #6 - 37 Activations
I'm FINALLY posting a bunch of pictures. These are taken on May 31 at 37 activations (9.25mm). This is basically the beginning of my 2nd expander.
Friday, July 3, 2009
3 Days Post-Expansion and 2 More Missing Teeth
So day 3 post expansion. I can tell the gap is closing somewhat, but nothing significant yet. I'm sure by the time July is over, the gap will have more-or-less taken care of itself!
Anyways, just a quick note on yesterday's teeth extractions. It went fine. I'm very glad I splurged on going to the oral surgeon as opposed to a regular dentist (my private coverage only covers the fees outlined in Ontario's GENERAL Practitioner's Fee Guide, so the additional amounts charged by specialists would be out of pocket for me).
I wasn't nervous about the teeth really, I was more nervous about not knowing what was going to happen. I've never had a cavity, root canal, or anything with my teeth, so I didn't know what the freezing process was like or what I would feel. Dr. Eidinger, the surgeon, told me the process. I don't know - I feel like I have to hear what I'm getting into before I get into it.
My lower jaw was frozen up, and in less than five minutes, I was missing 2 teeth and was stitched up. I closed my eyes during the procedure and really could not feel a thing. The teeth themselves were pretty gross. Probably close to an inch long. She said that they were excellent specimens and asked if I'd donate them to science. Since the tooth fairy doesn't come by anymore, of course she could have them. It was the quickest $680 I ever dropped!
Anyways, the sockets bled for an hour or so, but then stopped. There's no pain and hardly any swelling, so I really can't complain about this one.
I'm now down 6 teeth since the start of this process. Hopefully that's all!!
Anyways, just a quick note on yesterday's teeth extractions. It went fine. I'm very glad I splurged on going to the oral surgeon as opposed to a regular dentist (my private coverage only covers the fees outlined in Ontario's GENERAL Practitioner's Fee Guide, so the additional amounts charged by specialists would be out of pocket for me).
I wasn't nervous about the teeth really, I was more nervous about not knowing what was going to happen. I've never had a cavity, root canal, or anything with my teeth, so I didn't know what the freezing process was like or what I would feel. Dr. Eidinger, the surgeon, told me the process. I don't know - I feel like I have to hear what I'm getting into before I get into it.
My lower jaw was frozen up, and in less than five minutes, I was missing 2 teeth and was stitched up. I closed my eyes during the procedure and really could not feel a thing. The teeth themselves were pretty gross. Probably close to an inch long. She said that they were excellent specimens and asked if I'd donate them to science. Since the tooth fairy doesn't come by anymore, of course she could have them. It was the quickest $680 I ever dropped!
Anyways, the sockets bled for an hour or so, but then stopped. There's no pain and hardly any swelling, so I really can't complain about this one.
I'm now down 6 teeth since the start of this process. Hopefully that's all!!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
67 Activations and D-O-N-E Done!! (and moving)
It was a long road, but 67 activations later, it's officially over. Dr. Roy threaded a wire through the hole in the screw to ensure it does not turn backwards, and that's it! My final measurements came in at 14.0 mm. Although 67 activations is 16.75mm, the teeth don't necessarily move that much because of some movement. To give you an idea of how much that is, my top 4's were initally spaced apart 29mm, and now they're at 43mm. This is a FIFTY (five-zero) percent increase in width!!! Nuts.
Anyways, now the movement of the teeth can start and the healing of my jaw happen. Dr. Roy mentioned that we may be leaving the expander in for longer than usual jsut because of how drastic the expansion was. This makes sense to me, and is something I was expecting. Hopefully the expander will be out by the end of the year, but I'm willing to keep it in as long as is necessary to guarantee no relapse.
On another completely unrelated note that I feel I just need to talk about, Lauren and I are moved into our new condo. But not without SEVERAL setbacks along the way:
1. The first setback happened a couple of weeks ago. The closing date on the condo was June 30, which also marked our last day on our apartment's lease (in hindsight, this was a rookie mistake...but we're house buying rookies!). So the plan was to move out and move in all in the same day, namely June 30. We were told that keys are not usually available until after 5:00pm, and so we tried to book an elevator at the new place for that time.
NOPE! The elevator was already booked, and the condo rules stipulate that no move-ins/move-outs are allowed to happen past 7:00pm. I went in person and asked the concierge if there was ANY way we could have the elevator from 7 till 9 or something, but this guy, who is a REAL stickler for the 'rules' (which is fine - to an extent), told me no. Could I move the stuff into the moving room? No. Could I park the truck overnight at the building? No.
He said, and remember this for later, that I could have the elevator for 9am-1pm the very next day, July 1. Okay, done. The plan now would be to move out June 30, park the truck somewhere overnight, spend the night at Lauren's parents home, then come down the next morning and move in.
2. The next setback happened the day before the move-out, June 29. We had booked the elevator for the move-out between 1pm-3pm. This is on June 30, so there was no way we'd ever be able to re-schedule. Lauren booked the truck for 12pm, because 24 hours later we'd probably be done the move-in, so we'd only get charged the one day.
Lauren called them on the morning of June 29 to confirm our truck was still a go at 12pm. Yes it was. Perfect. Then we get a voicemail later that day: "Oh hi, this is so-and-so from U-Haul. I'm just calling to confirm your reservation for tomorrow, June 30, at 5:00pm. Thanks." FIVE O'CLOCK?!?!?! We booked it for 12, they told us 12 just hours before this voicemail and then we are told 5?!? Again, there was no way we could re-schedule the elevator given it was the end of the month.....so we'd be forced to move-out with no moving truck to put our stuff.
I called, Lauren called, and we got the same stupid run-around being like, "Well, the truck was booked through head office and not directly through us so we don't have a truck for you until 5:00pm. If you'd like, I can offer you free mileage." UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
Lauren's Dad made some calls to places looking for cancellations, and found one way on the other side of the city for 3:00pm. We'd still have to move out without a truck, but at least 3pm was a couple of hours earlier. Deal. We booked that truck and cancelled the U-Haul. We ran into some issues (i.e. RUSH HOUR) obviously - like trying to pack up our truck while others were trying to unload theirs (because it was well past 3pm by this point), but it finally got done. We parked and locked the truck up and called it a day.
3. Moving day. Started off great. I got to the condo bright and early for 9pm. Lauren had driven ahead in her car, so when I got there she was already there. First thing she says to me is: "The concierge says we can't move in today. No move-ins on statutory holidays." (July 1 is Canada Day). WHAT THE FU*K?!?!? You've got to be kidding!! THEY BOOKED THE ELEVATOR FOR US ON JULY 1 AT 9:00AM. So with everything that's already gone wrong with this move, I stormed into the concierge's room and lo and behold, who do I see? THE SAME FRIGGING CONCIERGE WHO BOOKED THE ELEVATOR IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! He's such a jackass. Before I arrived, and he told Lauren we can't move in, Lauren told him "Look we're moving in, so where's the best place we can put the truck." He goes, "Anywhere but here." F-YOU buddy!
So again, I stormed in and said "Look man, you booked the elevator, we have a truck due back today, we're moving in." He goes, "Fine, but I'm going to have to report you." I reply, "YOU BOOKED THE ELEVATOR!" He says, "You signed the paper where it says no move-ins on stat holidays." I go, "YOU BOOKED THE ELEVATOR!" Why can't he understand that he made a mistake, so just eat it, and let us move in.
He didn't lift a finger for us. No elevator service (so one of us had to stay in the elevator and literally hold the door open), no mats in the elevator, no access to the loading area (so we parked right in the front round-about and moved things in one by one through the southwest entrance). Un-frigging-believable.
Luckily, my Dad and my brother came down to help Lauren and me out. We quickly developed a pretty good system where my brother was unloading the truck, I was bringing it in through the doors and half-way to the elevator, and my Dad would bring it the rest of the way. When we had enough for a load in the elevator, my Dad would hold the door open, I'd load the elevator, we'd go up where Lauren would be waiting for us so that SHE could hold the door open while my Dad and me unloaded the elevator. Lauren would then organize the boxes and stuff while my Dad and me went down for another load. All in all, it only took around 90 minutes. But it was extremely inconvenient. AND Lauren and I will have this report filed against us, which I plan on fighting to the bitter end (the 'end' being the dismissal of this concierge).
Anyways, long story short, we're now moved in. We'll be in the unpacking phase for a week or two, but we completely love our new home. Lesson learned in all of this: We'll NEVER EVER EVER pick the end/beginning of a month as the closing date. A lot of these troubles would have been averted had we picked, say June 28 as the closing date. We would have got a truck no problem, we would have been able to book elevators no problem, June 28 is not a stat holiday...would have worked out nicely. Oh well. Again, rookie mistake.
My braces are going on September 9th, which is also my next appt with the ortho. I'm having the teeth extracted today, so I'll be sure to update you on this.
Pictures coming soon.
Thanks!
Paul
Anyways, now the movement of the teeth can start and the healing of my jaw happen. Dr. Roy mentioned that we may be leaving the expander in for longer than usual jsut because of how drastic the expansion was. This makes sense to me, and is something I was expecting. Hopefully the expander will be out by the end of the year, but I'm willing to keep it in as long as is necessary to guarantee no relapse.
On another completely unrelated note that I feel I just need to talk about, Lauren and I are moved into our new condo. But not without SEVERAL setbacks along the way:
1. The first setback happened a couple of weeks ago. The closing date on the condo was June 30, which also marked our last day on our apartment's lease (in hindsight, this was a rookie mistake...but we're house buying rookies!). So the plan was to move out and move in all in the same day, namely June 30. We were told that keys are not usually available until after 5:00pm, and so we tried to book an elevator at the new place for that time.
NOPE! The elevator was already booked, and the condo rules stipulate that no move-ins/move-outs are allowed to happen past 7:00pm. I went in person and asked the concierge if there was ANY way we could have the elevator from 7 till 9 or something, but this guy, who is a REAL stickler for the 'rules' (which is fine - to an extent), told me no. Could I move the stuff into the moving room? No. Could I park the truck overnight at the building? No.
He said, and remember this for later, that I could have the elevator for 9am-1pm the very next day, July 1. Okay, done. The plan now would be to move out June 30, park the truck somewhere overnight, spend the night at Lauren's parents home, then come down the next morning and move in.
2. The next setback happened the day before the move-out, June 29. We had booked the elevator for the move-out between 1pm-3pm. This is on June 30, so there was no way we'd ever be able to re-schedule. Lauren booked the truck for 12pm, because 24 hours later we'd probably be done the move-in, so we'd only get charged the one day.
Lauren called them on the morning of June 29 to confirm our truck was still a go at 12pm. Yes it was. Perfect. Then we get a voicemail later that day: "Oh hi, this is so-and-so from U-Haul. I'm just calling to confirm your reservation for tomorrow, June 30, at 5:00pm. Thanks." FIVE O'CLOCK?!?!?! We booked it for 12, they told us 12 just hours before this voicemail and then we are told 5?!? Again, there was no way we could re-schedule the elevator given it was the end of the month.....so we'd be forced to move-out with no moving truck to put our stuff.
I called, Lauren called, and we got the same stupid run-around being like, "Well, the truck was booked through head office and not directly through us so we don't have a truck for you until 5:00pm. If you'd like, I can offer you free mileage." UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
Lauren's Dad made some calls to places looking for cancellations, and found one way on the other side of the city for 3:00pm. We'd still have to move out without a truck, but at least 3pm was a couple of hours earlier. Deal. We booked that truck and cancelled the U-Haul. We ran into some issues (i.e. RUSH HOUR) obviously - like trying to pack up our truck while others were trying to unload theirs (because it was well past 3pm by this point), but it finally got done. We parked and locked the truck up and called it a day.
3. Moving day. Started off great. I got to the condo bright and early for 9pm. Lauren had driven ahead in her car, so when I got there she was already there. First thing she says to me is: "The concierge says we can't move in today. No move-ins on statutory holidays." (July 1 is Canada Day). WHAT THE FU*K?!?!? You've got to be kidding!! THEY BOOKED THE ELEVATOR FOR US ON JULY 1 AT 9:00AM. So with everything that's already gone wrong with this move, I stormed into the concierge's room and lo and behold, who do I see? THE SAME FRIGGING CONCIERGE WHO BOOKED THE ELEVATOR IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! He's such a jackass. Before I arrived, and he told Lauren we can't move in, Lauren told him "Look we're moving in, so where's the best place we can put the truck." He goes, "Anywhere but here." F-YOU buddy!
So again, I stormed in and said "Look man, you booked the elevator, we have a truck due back today, we're moving in." He goes, "Fine, but I'm going to have to report you." I reply, "YOU BOOKED THE ELEVATOR!" He says, "You signed the paper where it says no move-ins on stat holidays." I go, "YOU BOOKED THE ELEVATOR!" Why can't he understand that he made a mistake, so just eat it, and let us move in.
He didn't lift a finger for us. No elevator service (so one of us had to stay in the elevator and literally hold the door open), no mats in the elevator, no access to the loading area (so we parked right in the front round-about and moved things in one by one through the southwest entrance). Un-frigging-believable.
Luckily, my Dad and my brother came down to help Lauren and me out. We quickly developed a pretty good system where my brother was unloading the truck, I was bringing it in through the doors and half-way to the elevator, and my Dad would bring it the rest of the way. When we had enough for a load in the elevator, my Dad would hold the door open, I'd load the elevator, we'd go up where Lauren would be waiting for us so that SHE could hold the door open while my Dad and me unloaded the elevator. Lauren would then organize the boxes and stuff while my Dad and me went down for another load. All in all, it only took around 90 minutes. But it was extremely inconvenient. AND Lauren and I will have this report filed against us, which I plan on fighting to the bitter end (the 'end' being the dismissal of this concierge).
Anyways, long story short, we're now moved in. We'll be in the unpacking phase for a week or two, but we completely love our new home. Lesson learned in all of this: We'll NEVER EVER EVER pick the end/beginning of a month as the closing date. A lot of these troubles would have been averted had we picked, say June 28 as the closing date. We would have got a truck no problem, we would have been able to book elevators no problem, June 28 is not a stat holiday...would have worked out nicely. Oh well. Again, rookie mistake.
My braces are going on September 9th, which is also my next appt with the ortho. I'm having the teeth extracted today, so I'll be sure to update you on this.
Pictures coming soon.
Thanks!
Paul
Thursday, June 25, 2009
62 Activations Done, 5 To Go!
Just an update on the tooth extraction - it's to happen next Thursday, July 2nd!! Again, they're removing my bottom 4's. I'm anticipating this to be fairly painful, but hopefully I will not require any time away from work.
I'm having the teeth removed privately (i.e. outside U of T) which means I'll be out-of-pocket some money. Still, I'm saving thousands upon thousands by going through U of T, so I think a few hundred bucks won't kill me.
I'll update you after the procedure (which will also be my first full day in the new condo!). This post will probably also mark my first since MY FINAL ACTIVATION on June 30.
Take care.
I'm having the teeth removed privately (i.e. outside U of T) which means I'll be out-of-pocket some money. Still, I'm saving thousands upon thousands by going through U of T, so I think a few hundred bucks won't kill me.
I'll update you after the procedure (which will also be my first full day in the new condo!). This post will probably also mark my first since MY FINAL ACTIVATION on June 30.
Take care.
Monday, June 22, 2009
59 Activations Done, 8 To Go!
Today marks activation #59 = 14.75mm. With 8 left to go, I'll be at 16.75mm by the time it's all over with.
There is not much new to report. I had my teeth cleaned last week for the first time since the surgery. My hygenist for the past three years, Donna, said she noticed considerable improvment in the inflammation of my gums - which was kind of a shock since I had not been going over my teeth with the electric toothbrush and the flossing's been difficult too. She suspects, and she can very well be right, that I'm not breathing through my mouth as much at night time anymore. Lauren, my very light-sleeping fiancee, has not shaken me awake lately telling me to turn to my side to stop snoring. Who knows - maybe this expanded upper jaw is allowing me to breathe a little easier. Time will tell I guess.
Anyway, again, I'm seeing Dr. Roy on the 30th to place a plug in the screw for the rest of the summer. The 30th will be a busy day as I'll also be moving out of my apartment and into our new condo! Rogers will not be by to hook up our internet until July 2, so I may not be posting here until then - unless I manage to finally put up some more pictures.
Take care.
There is not much new to report. I had my teeth cleaned last week for the first time since the surgery. My hygenist for the past three years, Donna, said she noticed considerable improvment in the inflammation of my gums - which was kind of a shock since I had not been going over my teeth with the electric toothbrush and the flossing's been difficult too. She suspects, and she can very well be right, that I'm not breathing through my mouth as much at night time anymore. Lauren, my very light-sleeping fiancee, has not shaken me awake lately telling me to turn to my side to stop snoring. Who knows - maybe this expanded upper jaw is allowing me to breathe a little easier. Time will tell I guess.
Anyway, again, I'm seeing Dr. Roy on the 30th to place a plug in the screw for the rest of the summer. The 30th will be a busy day as I'll also be moving out of my apartment and into our new condo! Rogers will not be by to hook up our internet until July 2, so I may not be posting here until then - unless I manage to finally put up some more pictures.
Take care.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
51 Activations Done, 16 To Go
I realized today that it's been just over a year since that first orthodontic consultation with Dr. Metaxas. That was fast. The best explanation I've ever heard as to why time seems to go by faster and faster as you age is because every day you live as a fraction of your total life gets smaller and smaller. Day 2 of your life must seem like an eternity because that's 50% of your whole life to date! But what's one day to someone who's lived 20,000 days? I digress.
So yes, it's been a year. I'm hopeful this will all be done by next December so that I can start 2011 off with my improved jaw!
Not much new to report. I'm now up to 51 activations (12.75mm) and have 16 (4.0mm) to go. I was wondering how I should celebrate being done activations in 16 days, but the day they're done - June 30 - is the same day Lauren and I move into our first home. I think that event overshadows everything else for that day.
I have no upcoming ortho appts until June 30. I am seeing my regular dentist this week for a cleaning and to book an appointment to remove the two bottom 4's.
I'll be sure to post some pictures soon. Take care!
So yes, it's been a year. I'm hopeful this will all be done by next December so that I can start 2011 off with my improved jaw!
Not much new to report. I'm now up to 51 activations (12.75mm) and have 16 (4.0mm) to go. I was wondering how I should celebrate being done activations in 16 days, but the day they're done - June 30 - is the same day Lauren and I move into our first home. I think that event overshadows everything else for that day.
I have no upcoming ortho appts until June 30. I am seeing my regular dentist this week for a cleaning and to book an appointment to remove the two bottom 4's.
I'll be sure to post some pictures soon. Take care!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
....Not Even Close
Ugh. Bad day.
Just got back from the orthodontist's. After all the measurements were taken, and my teeth looked at by Dr. Roy + 2 orthodontic professors + 1 oral surgeon + 2 periodontists, I found out I still have another 4-5 mm of expansion ahead of me.
Before, I thought 12 mm of expansion was on the very high end of the spectrum. Now by the time it's all over I'll be at 16-17 mm - I'm thinking this has to be a world record! Not the kind of record I want though.
I also found out that I'm having my two bottom 4's extracted as soon as I can arrange it with my dentist. This will put me up to 6 teeth in total that have been lost.
And that's the story of how crowded this mouth of mine was. In a couple of weeks, my upper jaw will be almost 100% wider than it was when I started, and I will have lost 20% of my teeth. Crazy.
Anyways - my orthodontist will be seeing me on June 30. But all they're doing on this day is plugging the screw so that it doesn't turn backwards once I stop. This means braces will have to wait until September. I'm tentatively booked in for September 9.
Ah well - I guess it could be worse, but it certainly sucks right now.
Just got back from the orthodontist's. After all the measurements were taken, and my teeth looked at by Dr. Roy + 2 orthodontic professors + 1 oral surgeon + 2 periodontists, I found out I still have another 4-5 mm of expansion ahead of me.
Before, I thought 12 mm of expansion was on the very high end of the spectrum. Now by the time it's all over I'll be at 16-17 mm - I'm thinking this has to be a world record! Not the kind of record I want though.
I also found out that I'm having my two bottom 4's extracted as soon as I can arrange it with my dentist. This will put me up to 6 teeth in total that have been lost.
And that's the story of how crowded this mouth of mine was. In a couple of weeks, my upper jaw will be almost 100% wider than it was when I started, and I will have lost 20% of my teeth. Crazy.
Anyways - my orthodontist will be seeing me on June 30. But all they're doing on this day is plugging the screw so that it doesn't turn backwards once I stop. This means braces will have to wait until September. I'm tentatively booked in for September 9.
Ah well - I guess it could be worse, but it certainly sucks right now.
46 Activations Done!.....Is this all?
I finished my 46th activation last night (11.50mm). This afternoon, I have an appointment with Dr. Roy where I'm hopeful that she'll tell me this is it for expansion. You've seen how far my upper jaw has come, but the question's is it enough?
I'll also be looked at by the periodontist today. Things in my gums are starting to feel a little tight - I guess a half-inch of expansion will do that! I'm just hoping I'm done.
Whenever that last expansion does happen, I'll take my first "post expansion" pictures, where you'll see the gap in my teeth close on its own over time.
Take care!
I'll also be looked at by the periodontist today. Things in my gums are starting to feel a little tight - I guess a half-inch of expansion will do that! I'm just hoping I'm done.
Whenever that last expansion does happen, I'll take my first "post expansion" pictures, where you'll see the gap in my teeth close on its own over time.
Take care!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Pictures - Before and Today
Okay, so I took another set of pics today. I'm only going to post two: My upper jaw the night before the SARPE operation, and today, after my 41st activation (10.25 mm). I want you to see the difference.
Take a wild guess at which one is the "before" and which one is the "after"!!
That is all! I'll post more pics soon. Good night!
Take a wild guess at which one is the "before" and which one is the "after"!!
That is all! I'll post more pics soon. Good night!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
36 Activations Done!
So my new expander is now in. All in all, it was not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be (I feel I've been saying that about everything so far....which is a great thing I guess!).
The one thing I did notice over the past couple of days is that the gap between my teeth looks and feels smaller. I have 12 activations to go, so ultimately it will probably be bigger than my most recent pictures, but it's nice that it's starting to close on its own.
There's not much else to report. I'm seeing Dr. Roy again on June 10 to make sure I'll be ready to go for June 17. I'll be sure to update you at that time, and may post some new pictures!
Take care!
The one thing I did notice over the past couple of days is that the gap between my teeth looks and feels smaller. I have 12 activations to go, so ultimately it will probably be bigger than my most recent pictures, but it's nice that it's starting to close on its own.
There's not much else to report. I'm seeing Dr. Roy again on June 10 to make sure I'll be ready to go for June 17. I'll be sure to update you at that time, and may post some new pictures!
Take care!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
33 Activations Done!
As promised, I'd update the blog on yesterday's ortho appointment. I had to go in to have another set of molds done to make my new expander. I had activation #33 before going in that morning.
It was pretty uncomfortable to have my current expander taken out to do the molds. My jaw is still numb and it does feel painful to bite down hard, so having someone in there pulling the expander off with some force did hurt a little. Once it was off, everything was fine though. Obviously, with the expander off, I got a sneak peek of what the roof of my mouth will feel like. It was HUGE. I'm sure that's partly because just having the expander in there takes away half the space in your mouth, but the other part is that it's almost a full centimeter wider.
My orthodontist told me that I was not to activate the expander again until the new one came in. The expanders are made based on the molds that are taken. If I activate the expander, my jaw will not be the same as the mold. I was thinking that maybe we could just activate the new expander before putting it in my mouth. By that, I mean, say it takes 7 days for the new expander. Between now and then, I'd have done 7 activations. When I get my new expander, couldn't they just activate it 7 times and then put it in my mouth? The answer to this is NO, because the teeth don't only move outwards, they move side to side as well.
It turns out this won't be a big deal. My orthodontist made some calls and the new expander will be ready tomorrow morning. I'm going in at 9:00am to take this old expander off once and for all and replace it with a new one. After that point, I'll have approximately 15 more activations to go.
My orthodontist is a grad student at the University named Dr. Joanie Roy. I'm going to devote a whole post to her work soon enough. But quickly, I know she's going to be a great orthodontist! Her work is still reviewed by the attending orthodontist, who I think is Dr. Metaxas (the first orthodontist I saw about a year ago now!). Since she's a student, they have summer break for July and August. Since my activations will be over mid-June, I was booked in for JUNE 17 IN WHICH MY BRACES WILL BE PUT ON!! Joanie told me that since my teeth are so crowded anyways, she wouldn't need to see me for the first 10-12 weeks after putting braces on for the first time. This period would span her summer break, so the timing works out terrifically! So June 17 is going to be a big day!
Before I sign off, I asked Joanie about the numbness in the jaw. She said in her experience, there seems to be a "rule of 6". By this, she meant that the numbness in a patient's jaw ceases after 6 days, 6 weeks, or 6 months post-SARPE. I'm already past 6 days obviously, and am coming up on 6 weeks with no feeling yet. If I don't have feeling in the next couple of weeks, I guess I had better get used to not having it for some time.
My next update will be after the braces are put on June 17! Bye!
It was pretty uncomfortable to have my current expander taken out to do the molds. My jaw is still numb and it does feel painful to bite down hard, so having someone in there pulling the expander off with some force did hurt a little. Once it was off, everything was fine though. Obviously, with the expander off, I got a sneak peek of what the roof of my mouth will feel like. It was HUGE. I'm sure that's partly because just having the expander in there takes away half the space in your mouth, but the other part is that it's almost a full centimeter wider.
My orthodontist told me that I was not to activate the expander again until the new one came in. The expanders are made based on the molds that are taken. If I activate the expander, my jaw will not be the same as the mold. I was thinking that maybe we could just activate the new expander before putting it in my mouth. By that, I mean, say it takes 7 days for the new expander. Between now and then, I'd have done 7 activations. When I get my new expander, couldn't they just activate it 7 times and then put it in my mouth? The answer to this is NO, because the teeth don't only move outwards, they move side to side as well.
It turns out this won't be a big deal. My orthodontist made some calls and the new expander will be ready tomorrow morning. I'm going in at 9:00am to take this old expander off once and for all and replace it with a new one. After that point, I'll have approximately 15 more activations to go.
My orthodontist is a grad student at the University named Dr. Joanie Roy. I'm going to devote a whole post to her work soon enough. But quickly, I know she's going to be a great orthodontist! Her work is still reviewed by the attending orthodontist, who I think is Dr. Metaxas (the first orthodontist I saw about a year ago now!). Since she's a student, they have summer break for July and August. Since my activations will be over mid-June, I was booked in for JUNE 17 IN WHICH MY BRACES WILL BE PUT ON!! Joanie told me that since my teeth are so crowded anyways, she wouldn't need to see me for the first 10-12 weeks after putting braces on for the first time. This period would span her summer break, so the timing works out terrifically! So June 17 is going to be a big day!
Before I sign off, I asked Joanie about the numbness in the jaw. She said in her experience, there seems to be a "rule of 6". By this, she meant that the numbness in a patient's jaw ceases after 6 days, 6 weeks, or 6 months post-SARPE. I'm already past 6 days obviously, and am coming up on 6 weeks with no feeling yet. If I don't have feeling in the next couple of weeks, I guess I had better get used to not having it for some time.
My next update will be after the braces are put on June 17! Bye!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Picture Post #5 - 29 Activations
I dropped the ball with these pictures. I was trying to take some photos every 7 days following the SARPE surgery. Unfortunately, I forgot until a few days later on this week. These pictures were taken on May 23, 2009. Look at that crossbite!!!!!!
I added one picture of the roof of my mouth to compare it with when we started (see Picture Post #1). I think the differences are easily apparent. My palate is much wider now. Once the activations stop and the teeth begin shifting, this should given that nice rounded arch look, although this palate definitely seems rounder than the U shape I started out with.
I added one picture of the roof of my mouth to compare it with when we started (see Picture Post #1). I think the differences are easily apparent. My palate is much wider now. Once the activations stop and the teeth begin shifting, this should given that nice rounded arch look, although this palate definitely seems rounder than the U shape I started out with.
Picture Post #4 - 19 Activations
As promised, the crossbite in this picture is much more apparent. It's almost as if the jaw is only expanding on that one side! These were taken on May 13, 2009.
Picture Post #3 - 12 Activations
These pictures were taken on May 7, 2009 - 8 days after activations at home started. So in total, I was at 12 activations on this day (8 + 4 in operating room). Notice how the space is bigger, and my crossbite becomes more apparent (if it's not apparent, it will be!!)
Picture Post #2 - Recovery
These next few shots are of me as the "chipmunk" described in an earlier post. The first picture was taken on April 29 - 6 days post-op. The last two were taken April 25, and the first picture a few days later. I apologize for the blood under my nose. If you've read this blog, you'll know that I had a hell-of-a-time with the nose bleeding. It didn't stop for about 4-5 days.
Clearly, I am swollen. Once the swelling started to recede, the bruising began. I also want to point out that all 4 of my wisdom teeth were pulled during the same operation, and so it's difficult to say how much swelling is from SARPE and how much is from the wisdom teeth. The first picture clearly shows some receding in swelling, but the bruising became much more apparent.
Also, notice how there is already a space between my teeth in pictures 2 and 3! I had not started activations on my own before this point, so this space is completely attributable to the activations done in the OR.
Picture Post #1 - Prior to SARPE
I wanted to FINALLY post some pictures for those of you thinking about going through the SARPE procedure.
This first set of pictures was taken on the night of April 22, 2009 - the night prior to my SARPE surgery.
These are a small variety of photos taken the night prior to the SARPE surgery. I guess there are 2 things to notice: My teeth are terrible and my upper jaw is NARROW. This was back when my thumb could not fit between the two sides of the upper jaw. There's no real curvature to that upper jaw either, it looks more like the letter U (i.e. very straight sides) than a nice rounded arch.
This first set of pictures was taken on the night of April 22, 2009 - the night prior to my SARPE surgery.
These are a small variety of photos taken the night prior to the SARPE surgery. I guess there are 2 things to notice: My teeth are terrible and my upper jaw is NARROW. This was back when my thumb could not fit between the two sides of the upper jaw. There's no real curvature to that upper jaw either, it looks more like the letter U (i.e. very straight sides) than a nice rounded arch.
Friday, May 22, 2009
28 Activations Done!
One day at a time. I just finished my 28th activation, hopefully leaving me with only 20 to go.
I forgot one important question from last time some of you considering SARPE may be thinking:
4. So what has eating been like?
In a word, uncomfortable. Eating was impossible for me for the first week. Nothing but liquids fed through a syringe. By the end of the first week, I was having soups, one of which was a homemade meatball soup with the meatballs all broken up into tiny pieces allowing me to have some protein from the meat.
The soups soon turned into soft foods. By the end of the 2nd week, I was having spaghetti and tomato sauce cut up very small so that chewing was at a minimum. Basically, anything that didn't require much chewing was edible.
Although I am able to eat most foods now, it is still painful on my front teeth to bite down on anything. I have to use my molars for all chewing purposes, and even with my molars, chewing is by no means as easy as it was before surgery. My upper jaw is still completely numb, so I'm sure this has something to do with it. Yesterday, I think I ate my most solid food of all so far - a plate of nachos! Sometimes, you just say to yourself that any pain caused by the chewing is worth it. Last night, it was definitely worth it!
Moral of the story is that the eating does come back little by little. It should not be your make-it-or-break-it concern, but be prepared for not being able to eat some of your favourite solid foods for a while! Again, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.
I'll update again next week after I take the moulds for my new expander.
I forgot one important question from last time some of you considering SARPE may be thinking:
4. So what has eating been like?
In a word, uncomfortable. Eating was impossible for me for the first week. Nothing but liquids fed through a syringe. By the end of the first week, I was having soups, one of which was a homemade meatball soup with the meatballs all broken up into tiny pieces allowing me to have some protein from the meat.
The soups soon turned into soft foods. By the end of the 2nd week, I was having spaghetti and tomato sauce cut up very small so that chewing was at a minimum. Basically, anything that didn't require much chewing was edible.
Although I am able to eat most foods now, it is still painful on my front teeth to bite down on anything. I have to use my molars for all chewing purposes, and even with my molars, chewing is by no means as easy as it was before surgery. My upper jaw is still completely numb, so I'm sure this has something to do with it. Yesterday, I think I ate my most solid food of all so far - a plate of nachos! Sometimes, you just say to yourself that any pain caused by the chewing is worth it. Last night, it was definitely worth it!
Moral of the story is that the eating does come back little by little. It should not be your make-it-or-break-it concern, but be prepared for not being able to eat some of your favourite solid foods for a while! Again, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.
I'll update again next week after I take the moulds for my new expander.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
25 Activations Done!
We are now past the half-way point. 25 activations done, hopefully only 23 to go. The space between the front teeth is definitely well-defined now, and I can't believe it's going to get twice as big. Still no pain, and still no feeling in my teeth. The swelling has completely receded from the surgery, although I'm told that the entire roof of my mouth is white - I guess because it's all still healing.
There were a few things I was wondering going into the activations that I think I can clear up:
1. Do the expansions hurt?
The answer to this is NO (so far!). I definitely feel some outward-pushing pressure on my teeth when Lauren turns the key, but it's definitely not painful. How could it be? All the nerves are severed, and my upper jaw is separated down the palatal suture. I have heard that if you are a child, and therefore do not require the surgery, it can be uncomfortable because I guess the upper jaw isn't completely separated like those of SARPE surgery people.
2. What is the healing time for the SARPE surgery?
SARPE is an outpatient procedure. They kept me overnight only because my operation was done at around 5:00pm. I was discharged the very next morning. The first few days sucked: Did not get much sleep, nose kept bleeding, meals consisted of Boost through a syringe. Having said that, the pain was kept in check from the painkillers, and honestly, it was quite nice to just lie down on the couch and watch a bunch of DVD's all day long. And after the first few days, the major swelling in the face came down, the bleeding stopped, and 8 days later, I was off the painkillers completely. I took a total of 5 working days off, buit have heard that 2 full weeks is pretty common.
3. Did my facial structure change?
I couldn't believe that my facial shape wouldn't change, but it hasn't (again, so far!). The facial changes will happen during the next operation. I had also heard that SARPE could widen the base of the nose. I don't think this has happened to me. I think my nose is the same size as it was prior to the surgery.
Anyways, drop me a line if you'd like answers to anything else or more clarification on anything. I am seeing the orthodontist in a week to make the moulds for the new expander. Not looking forward to it, but it's gotta happen. I also called to make sure that the new appliance would be ready by the time I hit my maximum expansion with this appliance. I was assured this would be the case, so feel somewhat better.
Have a great week!
There were a few things I was wondering going into the activations that I think I can clear up:
1. Do the expansions hurt?
The answer to this is NO (so far!). I definitely feel some outward-pushing pressure on my teeth when Lauren turns the key, but it's definitely not painful. How could it be? All the nerves are severed, and my upper jaw is separated down the palatal suture. I have heard that if you are a child, and therefore do not require the surgery, it can be uncomfortable because I guess the upper jaw isn't completely separated like those of SARPE surgery people.
2. What is the healing time for the SARPE surgery?
SARPE is an outpatient procedure. They kept me overnight only because my operation was done at around 5:00pm. I was discharged the very next morning. The first few days sucked: Did not get much sleep, nose kept bleeding, meals consisted of Boost through a syringe. Having said that, the pain was kept in check from the painkillers, and honestly, it was quite nice to just lie down on the couch and watch a bunch of DVD's all day long. And after the first few days, the major swelling in the face came down, the bleeding stopped, and 8 days later, I was off the painkillers completely. I took a total of 5 working days off, buit have heard that 2 full weeks is pretty common.
3. Did my facial structure change?
I couldn't believe that my facial shape wouldn't change, but it hasn't (again, so far!). The facial changes will happen during the next operation. I had also heard that SARPE could widen the base of the nose. I don't think this has happened to me. I think my nose is the same size as it was prior to the surgery.
Anyways, drop me a line if you'd like answers to anything else or more clarification on anything. I am seeing the orthodontist in a week to make the moulds for the new expander. Not looking forward to it, but it's gotta happen. I also called to make sure that the new appliance would be ready by the time I hit my maximum expansion with this appliance. I was assured this would be the case, so feel somewhat better.
Have a great week!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
19 activations done!
So I saw the orthodontist yesterday for the first time in two weeks. She said that everything was coming along nicely. She took some measurements to ensure that the observed width of the palate is consistent with what was expected by this point. I also found out that my surgeons performed 4 activations in the OR (=1mm), and so my total thus far is 19, or 4.75mm.
It is tough to say how many more I'll have. Initially, they said 12mm, which would be 48 activations, but who knows? Maybe I'll need more, maybe a little less. It all depends on the teeth.
The appt with the ortho in 2 weeks time will be uncomfortable to say the least. They will be taking my impressions in order to create a new expander with a longer screw. This means they'll have to take my current expander out, take the impressions, then put my current expander back in. In one week from that time, my new expander will be ready and I'll be nearing the maximum expansion with my current expander, so I'll go back in to take my current expander out (again) and replace it with the new expander. Fun fun fun.
I am slightly concerned about the new expander. What if it's not ready by the time I reach the maximum expansion? I'd be kind of screwed (excuse the pun!). I only have 22 possible activations left with this expander. I think the issue is that if you're not expanding every day, then the bone starts to heal which is something we don't want until the expansion is complete.
I think I'm going to call my ortho today just to make sure that the timing will all work out.
Will keep you posted!
It is tough to say how many more I'll have. Initially, they said 12mm, which would be 48 activations, but who knows? Maybe I'll need more, maybe a little less. It all depends on the teeth.
The appt with the ortho in 2 weeks time will be uncomfortable to say the least. They will be taking my impressions in order to create a new expander with a longer screw. This means they'll have to take my current expander out, take the impressions, then put my current expander back in. In one week from that time, my new expander will be ready and I'll be nearing the maximum expansion with my current expander, so I'll go back in to take my current expander out (again) and replace it with the new expander. Fun fun fun.
I am slightly concerned about the new expander. What if it's not ready by the time I reach the maximum expansion? I'd be kind of screwed (excuse the pun!). I only have 22 possible activations left with this expander. I think the issue is that if you're not expanding every day, then the bone starts to heal which is something we don't want until the expansion is complete.
I think I'm going to call my ortho today just to make sure that the timing will all work out.
Will keep you posted!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Note the date and the time
I noticed something with my palate today. I think I mentioned before that my palate was so narrow that I could not touch the roof of my mouth with my thumb without touching both sides of my upper jaw.
No longer!
My palate is now wide enough to accomodate my thumb. This "thumb test" is my personal litmus test to see how narrow my palate really is. So don't worry, I am not planning on becoming a thumb-sucker at 26 years old!
Today marks activation #13. So I've completed 3mm of expansion - 25% of the way there (probably a little more than 25% actually since the surgeons did some expansions in the OR during the SARPE operation). I am seeing the orthodontist on Wednesday. We're going to have a look at how things are progressing, which includes the state of my gums - the periodontist was slightly concerned before the operation. Pretty soon, we'll also have to start talking about this second appliance which will be replacing the first one eventually in order to achieve the additional expansion my jaw needs.
Take care!
No longer!
My palate is now wide enough to accomodate my thumb. This "thumb test" is my personal litmus test to see how narrow my palate really is. So don't worry, I am not planning on becoming a thumb-sucker at 26 years old!
Today marks activation #13. So I've completed 3mm of expansion - 25% of the way there (probably a little more than 25% actually since the surgeons did some expansions in the OR during the SARPE operation). I am seeing the orthodontist on Wednesday. We're going to have a look at how things are progressing, which includes the state of my gums - the periodontist was slightly concerned before the operation. Pretty soon, we'll also have to start talking about this second appliance which will be replacing the first one eventually in order to achieve the additional expansion my jaw needs.
Take care!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
7 activations down, 41 to go
So today marks activation #8, which means I'll be at a full 2mm. The gap is definitely increasingly noticable.
I thought to myself, "Man, if only I had to go the 'typical' 6 or 7 mm! I'd be one-third done today!" Instead though, I'm only one-sixth done and have to wait another week until I'm at one-third. This gap is going to get up to 6x bigger!!! Ugh.
I saw the surgeon yesterday for a check-up, and he said everything was progressing nicely. My swelling is almost gone and I'm off of the painkillers (save 1 or 2 Advil's / day). The only thing left is to get some feeling back. My upper jaw is still numb.
I also had some FOOD last night. Granted, it was spaghetti cut up into some very small pieces with plain tomato sauce (allowing me to be able to swallow it with minimal chewing), but it was FOOD damnit!! I think I'm going to slowly be working pastas into my diet. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be able to have some more solid foods.
That's it for today. I will follow up again with this blog next week when 14 activations have been completed. I will be seeing my orthodontist next Wednesday - I will also update everyone on that appointment.
Take care!
I thought to myself, "Man, if only I had to go the 'typical' 6 or 7 mm! I'd be one-third done today!" Instead though, I'm only one-sixth done and have to wait another week until I'm at one-third. This gap is going to get up to 6x bigger!!! Ugh.
I saw the surgeon yesterday for a check-up, and he said everything was progressing nicely. My swelling is almost gone and I'm off of the painkillers (save 1 or 2 Advil's / day). The only thing left is to get some feeling back. My upper jaw is still numb.
I also had some FOOD last night. Granted, it was spaghetti cut up into some very small pieces with plain tomato sauce (allowing me to be able to swallow it with minimal chewing), but it was FOOD damnit!! I think I'm going to slowly be working pastas into my diet. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be able to have some more solid foods.
That's it for today. I will follow up again with this blog next week when 14 activations have been completed. I will be seeing my orthodontist next Wednesday - I will also update everyone on that appointment.
Take care!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Weight Loss
Hi again,
Just a quick post on the weight loss.
I knew I had lost some weight, but I don't have a scale, so I wasn't sure exactly how much....until this past weekend. I went home for my brother's birthday, and weighed myself on my mom and dad's scale - they have one of the electronic ones.
I have lost 25 pounds so far! But since I'm 6'7", I am heavier than the average person. So the 25 pounds of loss only accounts for about 10% of my starting weight.
There will obviously be some rebound after I start eating again, but I'm hoping to keep a good portion of it off by slowly developing into a low-impact workout regimen. I'm headed home again this weekend for my sister's confirmation, and will see what the scale says this time!
As for the eating, the softer foods are starting to go down easier and easier. Oatmeal for breakfast, and soup for lunch/dinner is basically my diet right now. Am trying mashed potatoes as well.
Today marks activation #6. I'm starting to definitely notice the growing gap. There's no "pain" when the device is activated, but I can feel the pressure being put on my teeth, which is a very uncomfortable feeling!!
Until next time!
Just a quick post on the weight loss.
I knew I had lost some weight, but I don't have a scale, so I wasn't sure exactly how much....until this past weekend. I went home for my brother's birthday, and weighed myself on my mom and dad's scale - they have one of the electronic ones.
I have lost 25 pounds so far! But since I'm 6'7", I am heavier than the average person. So the 25 pounds of loss only accounts for about 10% of my starting weight.
There will obviously be some rebound after I start eating again, but I'm hoping to keep a good portion of it off by slowly developing into a low-impact workout regimen. I'm headed home again this weekend for my sister's confirmation, and will see what the scale says this time!
As for the eating, the softer foods are starting to go down easier and easier. Oatmeal for breakfast, and soup for lunch/dinner is basically my diet right now. Am trying mashed potatoes as well.
Today marks activation #6. I'm starting to definitely notice the growing gap. There's no "pain" when the device is activated, but I can feel the pressure being put on my teeth, which is a very uncomfortable feeling!!
Until next time!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
7 days post SARPE
So, it's been a week now. Feels a little longer than that, but 7 days is 7 days.
The swelling in my face has drastically come down, but I'm left with some nice yellow bruising on my right cheek and under my right eye. I'm not sure if this was caused by the removal of the wisdom teeth or the SARPE itself. My gums are still swollen beyond belief. It looks like a series of bubbles or something up there. By the end of next week, I'm hoping this is mostly gone. Over the next few months, I'll slowly regain feeling in my jaw as my nerves were all severed during the procedure. They regenerate, but it takes some time.
I am slightly worried about a pain I've been experiencing at the back of my throat. It feels like I drank something way too hot, and it burned off a little skin in my throat. I really doubt this happened, but I have the feeling nonetheless. Of course, I'm worried about the "I" word (infection). If it persists/gets worse over the next couple of days, I'll be getting it checked out.
Not much else to report on. Activation #2 happened tonight. Went fine. No real changes in how my jaw feels. My orthodontist actually told me she was surprised that the gap was not as big as she would have thought coming out of surgery. Perhaps my teeth are eager to shift and fill in the gap given how crowded they are! I'm still positive I'll be sporting a huge gap eventually. There's no way any tooth shifting can keep up with my daily expansions.
Good night!
The swelling in my face has drastically come down, but I'm left with some nice yellow bruising on my right cheek and under my right eye. I'm not sure if this was caused by the removal of the wisdom teeth or the SARPE itself. My gums are still swollen beyond belief. It looks like a series of bubbles or something up there. By the end of next week, I'm hoping this is mostly gone. Over the next few months, I'll slowly regain feeling in my jaw as my nerves were all severed during the procedure. They regenerate, but it takes some time.
I am slightly worried about a pain I've been experiencing at the back of my throat. It feels like I drank something way too hot, and it burned off a little skin in my throat. I really doubt this happened, but I have the feeling nonetheless. Of course, I'm worried about the "I" word (infection). If it persists/gets worse over the next couple of days, I'll be getting it checked out.
Not much else to report on. Activation #2 happened tonight. Went fine. No real changes in how my jaw feels. My orthodontist actually told me she was surprised that the gap was not as big as she would have thought coming out of surgery. Perhaps my teeth are eager to shift and fill in the gap given how crowded they are! I'm still positive I'll be sporting a huge gap eventually. There's no way any tooth shifting can keep up with my daily expansions.
Good night!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Kudos to the hospital staff
By the way, I wanted to mention how amazing the staff was at Mount Sinai hospital in Toronto. I had a bad experience with my overnight nurse, but aside from this, the nursing staff - on my floor, in the operating room, and in the recovery room - were are GREAT.
My anethetist, although I forget his name right now, was terrific. In my past two operations, I did not react well with the anesthetic. But for this operation, I came out very cleanly. I was not groggy, and felt little pain. He also tried to lighten my mood prior to the surgery. Admittedly, I was quite nervous, and he did a very good job at reassuring me that everything was going to be fine, and that he'd be watching me closely. I wish I remembered his name........
Finally, the surgeons themselves. Dr. Howard Holmes is the Director of Surgical Orthodontics at the University of Toronto. With him were two residents: A senior resident named Dr. Craig Humber, and a junior resident named Dr. Joel Abikhzer. I can't say enough about these guys. I'm not sure what else I can say about them except that I'm sure Joel and Craig are going to be terrific surgeons under Dr. Holmes' guidance.
My profound thanks to everyone involved, and I'll be seeing them all again soon enough (September 2010 maybe?) when the second surgery is done!
My anethetist, although I forget his name right now, was terrific. In my past two operations, I did not react well with the anesthetic. But for this operation, I came out very cleanly. I was not groggy, and felt little pain. He also tried to lighten my mood prior to the surgery. Admittedly, I was quite nervous, and he did a very good job at reassuring me that everything was going to be fine, and that he'd be watching me closely. I wish I remembered his name........
Finally, the surgeons themselves. Dr. Howard Holmes is the Director of Surgical Orthodontics at the University of Toronto. With him were two residents: A senior resident named Dr. Craig Humber, and a junior resident named Dr. Joel Abikhzer. I can't say enough about these guys. I'm not sure what else I can say about them except that I'm sure Joel and Craig are going to be terrific surgeons under Dr. Holmes' guidance.
My profound thanks to everyone involved, and I'll be seeing them all again soon enough (September 2010 maybe?) when the second surgery is done!
1 Activation done, 50 to go
Well, today marked my first activation of the expander. I am to do one activation per day for the next two weeks until I see my orthodontist again. We may go to 2 activations per day if everything goes well. My upper jaw is still a little "loose", but it's good enough to get started on the activations. My fiance was showed how to activate it from the orthodontist. I have no idea how I would do this on my own. The size of the hole for the key is about the same diameter as a pin head. Luckily, I had no real feeling once the activation was done. There was some tightness in my nose experienced about 15 minutes after, but nothing since.
Again, each activation (which is a half-turn of the screw) is 0.25mm. My jaw has to go at least 12mm in total. There is already a space between my teeth due to the activations done during the surgery, but it's just going to get bigger and bigger now. I can't believe this is actually happening!
The swelling has receded, although my upper gum is still quite swollen. I've also discovered that my upper jaw is completely numb. I thought it was swollen which is why it's feeling how it's feeling, but when my fiance cleaned something off of my tooth with her finger, I could not tell when she was touching it. After a little experimentation, I came to the conclusion that I have no feeling in my upper jaw at all. I'm seeing the surgeon again next Thursday, so I'll ask him if these numb feelings are normal. I remember hearing numbness as a side effect, but I was thinking that the numbness would be more in my face and not so much in my jaw. Will let you know.
So I think I'm going to take a picture every few activations. It will be interesting once we get towards 25-30 activations since I'll need a new expander. I think I mentioned this before, but because my jaw is so narrow, the longest screw that could fit in the expander is 10mm. My jaw has to go 12mm, and so I'll need a second expander with a longer screw. This means that they'll have to take my first expander out, do all the molds over, put the expander back in and continue activating while the second one is being made, then get the second one put in once it is available. Ugh.
Oh - most important part - the nose-bleeding has stopped!!! The bleeding was being caused by my sinuses filling up with blood, which is why the colour was a darker red.
Eating is still non-existent. I had two forks of mashed potatoes and a lick of soft-serve ice cream today. This was the most food I've had in a week! I had soup yesterday, and this will probably be my diet for another week. I'm drinking Boost in the morning, which looks and smells more disgusting than it is. I really like milk a lot, so it's been pretty easy to put down.
Tomorrow will mark 7 days since the surgery. My antibiotic treatment will be over, and I still have a bunch of 600mg Advils to help with the pain!! It's been a long week, but there are many more ahead of me!
Until next time, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.
Again, each activation (which is a half-turn of the screw) is 0.25mm. My jaw has to go at least 12mm in total. There is already a space between my teeth due to the activations done during the surgery, but it's just going to get bigger and bigger now. I can't believe this is actually happening!
The swelling has receded, although my upper gum is still quite swollen. I've also discovered that my upper jaw is completely numb. I thought it was swollen which is why it's feeling how it's feeling, but when my fiance cleaned something off of my tooth with her finger, I could not tell when she was touching it. After a little experimentation, I came to the conclusion that I have no feeling in my upper jaw at all. I'm seeing the surgeon again next Thursday, so I'll ask him if these numb feelings are normal. I remember hearing numbness as a side effect, but I was thinking that the numbness would be more in my face and not so much in my jaw. Will let you know.
So I think I'm going to take a picture every few activations. It will be interesting once we get towards 25-30 activations since I'll need a new expander. I think I mentioned this before, but because my jaw is so narrow, the longest screw that could fit in the expander is 10mm. My jaw has to go 12mm, and so I'll need a second expander with a longer screw. This means that they'll have to take my first expander out, do all the molds over, put the expander back in and continue activating while the second one is being made, then get the second one put in once it is available. Ugh.
Oh - most important part - the nose-bleeding has stopped!!! The bleeding was being caused by my sinuses filling up with blood, which is why the colour was a darker red.
Eating is still non-existent. I had two forks of mashed potatoes and a lick of soft-serve ice cream today. This was the most food I've had in a week! I had soup yesterday, and this will probably be my diet for another week. I'm drinking Boost in the morning, which looks and smells more disgusting than it is. I really like milk a lot, so it's been pretty easy to put down.
Tomorrow will mark 7 days since the surgery. My antibiotic treatment will be over, and I still have a bunch of 600mg Advils to help with the pain!! It's been a long week, but there are many more ahead of me!
Until next time, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
3 days post SARPE
Will the swelling ever recede? I'm puffier today than yesterday, and the bruising looks like it has begun. One cheek has turned completely yellow, and my lips are turning purple.
I also think that the lack of food has taken a toll. I've beenn tired all day long, unable to sit down for a half hour without feeling sleepy. I had a good sleep last night, as well as various naps today, but just feel completely void of energy. I'm doing what I can to keep myself from starving - my diet basically consists of Boost, water, and juice. I'm hoping I'll be able to work some soup in tomorrow or Tuesday. My fiance made this lentil soup that smelled delicious. Completely and utterly delicious!
I think I'm going to try to get some sleep. In the morning, we'll see if any improvment's occurred. In any event, I'm seeing the surgeon on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks!
I also think that the lack of food has taken a toll. I've beenn tired all day long, unable to sit down for a half hour without feeling sleepy. I had a good sleep last night, as well as various naps today, but just feel completely void of energy. I'm doing what I can to keep myself from starving - my diet basically consists of Boost, water, and juice. I'm hoping I'll be able to work some soup in tomorrow or Tuesday. My fiance made this lentil soup that smelled delicious. Completely and utterly delicious!
I think I'm going to try to get some sleep. In the morning, we'll see if any improvment's occurred. In any event, I'm seeing the surgeon on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
2.5 days post SARPE
Ugh - I didn't think the swelling could get much worse!! My face has steadily got fatter and fatter all day! The nose is still trickling blood, although I believe it's slowing down.
Going to try to get some sleep (had a very successful 3 hour nap earlier this afternoon!) soon. Just thought I'd share these complaints before the percocet kicks in!
Going to try to get some sleep (had a very successful 3 hour nap earlier this afternoon!) soon. Just thought I'd share these complaints before the percocet kicks in!
Two days post SARPE
Hi everyone,
So last Thursday, April 16th, I received a call from the Dentistry unit at Mount Sinai hospital in Toronto letting me know that my SARPE surgery had been booked for April 23rd. I have to say - my heart kind of sank at first. I had been waiting for this call for over 2 months (my expander has been in my mouth since mid-February), so it's not like I wasn't expecting it, but when that call finally came, things hit home: "Wow, I'm really going through with this!"
Needless to say, I had an amazing week of eating. Had all my fave foods in that week leading up to the 23rd.
I met with the surgeons on the 21st who brought me through exactly what they would be doing. It was kind of freaky. For all those out there who have had SARPE, you know what it's all about, but for those who don't, here's a quick overview:
Incision along the upper gum line. Two bone incisions made at either end of the upper jaw in orde for it to be separated from its base. After peeling back the nost to get at the upper jaw, a hammer and chisel is used to break the palatal suture. The expander is then activated to ensure the suture remains open.
On top of this, I was told that my wisdom teeth (all 4) would be removed if time in the OR permitted. I figured that it would be great if they could do it then, so that I wouldn't have to worry about another general anesthetic down the line.
So, my Dad came down to Toronto the night before the surgery. My parents are very supportive of this decision, but I have the feeling they wonder why I'm putting myself through this. This is not the first surgery I've had, or second, or third. In all, I've had 8 surgeries prior to this (3 on legs, 2 on arm, 2 hernia, 1 tonsils....so no organs or anything serious like that, but enough to make me the "family history" on operations!), and historically I do not react well to the anesthetic. When my arm operations were done - this was my most recent surgery back in 1999/2000 - I found myself sick to my stomach from the antibiotics, and all-of-a-sudden allergic to things that I had not been allergic to since being 5 years old. Very weird, and not a good experience.
However, I had complete confidence in my surgical team. Being in Toronto, they do several SARPE cases every week, and so this is not a rare procedure for them. Given my history, and the unknowns about the wisdom teeth and all, the part of the process I was looking forward to the least was waking up after the operation. How much pain would I be in?
I said bye to my Dad at the OR, and walked in. It's always a kind of freaky experience in an OR. You see them all the time on TV and stuff, but when YOU'RE the patient, knowing that everyone you see in the room is there to work on you, it is scary. I lied down on the table at 1:43pm and was shivering, not because I was cold, but because I was anxious. The nurses in OR10 were great in trying to keep me calm and my anesthetist gave me a shot of something that relaxed me completely. A mask was then applied to my face, and that's all I remember.
The next thing I know, I woke up in recovery and surprisingly, I don't think I was very groggy at all. I was alert. I did have some immediate pain in my jaw, but the first question I asked the nurse was if my wisdom teeth were removed. She said they were.
My Dad and my fiance Lauren then came into recovery to quickly say hello. I think they were both surprised by how "good" I looked. I guess someone didn't tell them that the swelling had not yet started!!
An hour later, I was wheeled up to my room. SARPE is generally considered to be an outpatient procedure, but since I was the "afternoon" case of the day, and the room was available, the doctors decided to keep me overnight. They started me on antibiotics, and Percocet for the pain. My mouth was very dry, and as my face swelled up, it got harder and harder to drink. Eventually, a syringe was required to squirt water into my mouth and down my throat. 2 days later, I am still using this syringe.
That night in the hospital was a little rough. I didn't get much sleep at all - 2 hours I think - my nose kept bleeding and bleeding (which is apparently normal as long as it's not GUSHING....I would say my nose bleeding was more of a constant trickle), and my cheeks were swollen to the point where Lauren accurately described me as a chipmunk. And my nurse was either really busy, or not very good, because when I woke up from my 2 hour "nap", my gown was covered in blood from my nose. I rang for the nurse over and over and over and over again (probably a dozen times total....each ring about 30 seconds after the last). Then when I FINALLY got a response, it wasn't even my nurse. Oh well.
I came home yesterday around noon or so. I've been drinking nothing but water and juice. But managed to put down a Strawberry Boost last night. Lauren and her family, who came down to see me, had a lovely chicken dinner with salad and bread. Lol. This is going to be tough!!
I am actually writing this after getting a whole 5 hours of sleep. Not bad! My nose is still bleeding, but I think it's starting to slow down. I am now noticing the full effect of having my upper jaw separated.....it looks and feels like I have a denture up there. My upper jaw can freely move up/down, side to side, it's kind of gross. My lips are pretty swollen, so I can't close my mouth the entire way yet. Maybe today.
My Mom, Dad and sister are all coming down today to see me. I think my Mom may be a little freaked out. My Dad knows what I look like, and my sister, who's 15, will probably think it's cool. The next people to see my before/after shots are YOU! I have some before shots taken that I will try to post tomorrow along with the after shots.
I am seeing the surgeon on Tuesday afternoon. This is probably going to be the day that the activations begin. As far as I know, I'll be looking at 2 activations/day for about a 40 days (it has to go about half an inch as mentioned last post). I'll let you know how this goes.
Take care everyone. Have a great weekend!
So last Thursday, April 16th, I received a call from the Dentistry unit at Mount Sinai hospital in Toronto letting me know that my SARPE surgery had been booked for April 23rd. I have to say - my heart kind of sank at first. I had been waiting for this call for over 2 months (my expander has been in my mouth since mid-February), so it's not like I wasn't expecting it, but when that call finally came, things hit home: "Wow, I'm really going through with this!"
Needless to say, I had an amazing week of eating. Had all my fave foods in that week leading up to the 23rd.
I met with the surgeons on the 21st who brought me through exactly what they would be doing. It was kind of freaky. For all those out there who have had SARPE, you know what it's all about, but for those who don't, here's a quick overview:
Incision along the upper gum line. Two bone incisions made at either end of the upper jaw in orde for it to be separated from its base. After peeling back the nost to get at the upper jaw, a hammer and chisel is used to break the palatal suture. The expander is then activated to ensure the suture remains open.
On top of this, I was told that my wisdom teeth (all 4) would be removed if time in the OR permitted. I figured that it would be great if they could do it then, so that I wouldn't have to worry about another general anesthetic down the line.
So, my Dad came down to Toronto the night before the surgery. My parents are very supportive of this decision, but I have the feeling they wonder why I'm putting myself through this. This is not the first surgery I've had, or second, or third. In all, I've had 8 surgeries prior to this (3 on legs, 2 on arm, 2 hernia, 1 tonsils....so no organs or anything serious like that, but enough to make me the "family history" on operations!), and historically I do not react well to the anesthetic. When my arm operations were done - this was my most recent surgery back in 1999/2000 - I found myself sick to my stomach from the antibiotics, and all-of-a-sudden allergic to things that I had not been allergic to since being 5 years old. Very weird, and not a good experience.
However, I had complete confidence in my surgical team. Being in Toronto, they do several SARPE cases every week, and so this is not a rare procedure for them. Given my history, and the unknowns about the wisdom teeth and all, the part of the process I was looking forward to the least was waking up after the operation. How much pain would I be in?
I said bye to my Dad at the OR, and walked in. It's always a kind of freaky experience in an OR. You see them all the time on TV and stuff, but when YOU'RE the patient, knowing that everyone you see in the room is there to work on you, it is scary. I lied down on the table at 1:43pm and was shivering, not because I was cold, but because I was anxious. The nurses in OR10 were great in trying to keep me calm and my anesthetist gave me a shot of something that relaxed me completely. A mask was then applied to my face, and that's all I remember.
The next thing I know, I woke up in recovery and surprisingly, I don't think I was very groggy at all. I was alert. I did have some immediate pain in my jaw, but the first question I asked the nurse was if my wisdom teeth were removed. She said they were.
My Dad and my fiance Lauren then came into recovery to quickly say hello. I think they were both surprised by how "good" I looked. I guess someone didn't tell them that the swelling had not yet started!!
An hour later, I was wheeled up to my room. SARPE is generally considered to be an outpatient procedure, but since I was the "afternoon" case of the day, and the room was available, the doctors decided to keep me overnight. They started me on antibiotics, and Percocet for the pain. My mouth was very dry, and as my face swelled up, it got harder and harder to drink. Eventually, a syringe was required to squirt water into my mouth and down my throat. 2 days later, I am still using this syringe.
That night in the hospital was a little rough. I didn't get much sleep at all - 2 hours I think - my nose kept bleeding and bleeding (which is apparently normal as long as it's not GUSHING....I would say my nose bleeding was more of a constant trickle), and my cheeks were swollen to the point where Lauren accurately described me as a chipmunk. And my nurse was either really busy, or not very good, because when I woke up from my 2 hour "nap", my gown was covered in blood from my nose. I rang for the nurse over and over and over and over again (probably a dozen times total....each ring about 30 seconds after the last). Then when I FINALLY got a response, it wasn't even my nurse. Oh well.
I came home yesterday around noon or so. I've been drinking nothing but water and juice. But managed to put down a Strawberry Boost last night. Lauren and her family, who came down to see me, had a lovely chicken dinner with salad and bread. Lol. This is going to be tough!!
I am actually writing this after getting a whole 5 hours of sleep. Not bad! My nose is still bleeding, but I think it's starting to slow down. I am now noticing the full effect of having my upper jaw separated.....it looks and feels like I have a denture up there. My upper jaw can freely move up/down, side to side, it's kind of gross. My lips are pretty swollen, so I can't close my mouth the entire way yet. Maybe today.
My Mom, Dad and sister are all coming down today to see me. I think my Mom may be a little freaked out. My Dad knows what I look like, and my sister, who's 15, will probably think it's cool. The next people to see my before/after shots are YOU! I have some before shots taken that I will try to post tomorrow along with the after shots.
I am seeing the surgeon on Tuesday afternoon. This is probably going to be the day that the activations begin. As far as I know, I'll be looking at 2 activations/day for about a 40 days (it has to go about half an inch as mentioned last post). I'll let you know how this goes.
Take care everyone. Have a great weekend!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
First blog - lets get it rolling
Alright, so I figured that I'd start this blog because I think it's important for people out there to have some "real life" experiences in order to make an informed decision about correcting their teeth/jaw. The other bloggers really helped me out in making my decision. Everyone's teeth look so good!! The process doesn't look all that appealing, but the process is what it is.
First off - stuff about me. I'm a 26 year old male working in the financial services industry in Toronto, Ontario. For as long as I can remember, I've had crooked and crowded teeth. The one thing I didn't quite realize until recently however is how NARROW my upper jaw is. I cannot fit my thumb between the two sides of my upper jaw. Messed up, I know.
Anyways, I met with an orthodontist back at age 16 who told me I'd need the surgery. My parents and I decided against it at the time, and I believe that was the right move. At 16 your jaw is still in growth mode, and I've heard that complications can arise from this type of jaw surgery.
Fast forward 10 years. I'm done growing (I hope! I'm 6 ' 7 " - but have been since age 17). My dentist finally convinced me (everytime I went for a cleaning he would mention the ortho) to give a particular orthodontist a call by the name of Angelo Metaxas. I went for a consult in June 2008, and nothing was really new to me, except for the narrow upper jaw part that I learned would have to be expanded surgicallly - known as SARPE (surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion). He suspected that my narrow upper jaw definitely was the most likely reason as to why I am a mouth breather, and possibly why I've been having some occassional sleep apnea issues over the past few years.
In terms of cost to correct all the damage, he told me I'd be looking at around $7,000 to $8,000 for the braces alone, and with the cost of the surgeries on top of that, I'd be looking at closer to $15,000 - $17,000. My ortho plan only covers me up to $1,500 - and so when you do the math, it doesn't look pretty - especially when you're trying to save up for a down payment on a home and a wedding to boot (at least my student loans are a thing of the past!).
I didn't mention that $15k would be more expensive than I hoped, but being 26, maybe he assumed that. He said to me, "Paul, I'm a professor at the University of Toronto - and I think you would be an excellent case for my class."
That September I went for a consult at the University. The students all took turns observing my teeth and making their diagnoses to only have Dr. Metaxas correct them. My orthodontics will be done by an orthodontist, and my surgeries by an oral surgeon, but I will have these students observing me along the way. In a way - who cares? I mean, after all, YOU will be observing me too!
The cost through the University was extremely reasonable. $3,750 all inclusive. Everything. SARPE, ortho, surgeries, x-rays, any consults required with other practitioners (periodontics, for example). After applying my private plan to this cost, I'm looking at $2,250 out of pocket - much more manageable.
My diagnosis is as follows:
Severe malocclusion with maxillary skeletal constriction, severe crowding, posterior crossbites.
Gotta love those "severe" words, eh?
I learned that my upper jaw has to be expanded approximately 12mm (or almost half an inch for my imperial brethren). Given that each turn of the key expands 0.25mm, then you see that I'm looking at almost FIFTY (yep, five-zero) turns. They told me I'd be doing this twice a day once the expanding begins. But here's the interesting part: My jaw is so narrow that the biggest screw they could fit up there is 10mm. So after several mm of expansion, they are going to have to replace my appliance with another appliance that has a longer screw in order to get the desired expansion!! *sigh* - what am I getting myself into?
Anyways, I'm currently waiting on the hospital to book me in for surgery. It should be at some point this month, and I'll definitely post as soon as I know. In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments for me, please leave them and I'll be sure to address them as I go along. I'll be sure to start posting some pictures soon enough.
Take care everyone!
First off - stuff about me. I'm a 26 year old male working in the financial services industry in Toronto, Ontario. For as long as I can remember, I've had crooked and crowded teeth. The one thing I didn't quite realize until recently however is how NARROW my upper jaw is. I cannot fit my thumb between the two sides of my upper jaw. Messed up, I know.
Anyways, I met with an orthodontist back at age 16 who told me I'd need the surgery. My parents and I decided against it at the time, and I believe that was the right move. At 16 your jaw is still in growth mode, and I've heard that complications can arise from this type of jaw surgery.
Fast forward 10 years. I'm done growing (I hope! I'm 6 ' 7 " - but have been since age 17). My dentist finally convinced me (everytime I went for a cleaning he would mention the ortho) to give a particular orthodontist a call by the name of Angelo Metaxas. I went for a consult in June 2008, and nothing was really new to me, except for the narrow upper jaw part that I learned would have to be expanded surgicallly - known as SARPE (surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion). He suspected that my narrow upper jaw definitely was the most likely reason as to why I am a mouth breather, and possibly why I've been having some occassional sleep apnea issues over the past few years.
In terms of cost to correct all the damage, he told me I'd be looking at around $7,000 to $8,000 for the braces alone, and with the cost of the surgeries on top of that, I'd be looking at closer to $15,000 - $17,000. My ortho plan only covers me up to $1,500 - and so when you do the math, it doesn't look pretty - especially when you're trying to save up for a down payment on a home and a wedding to boot (at least my student loans are a thing of the past!).
I didn't mention that $15k would be more expensive than I hoped, but being 26, maybe he assumed that. He said to me, "Paul, I'm a professor at the University of Toronto - and I think you would be an excellent case for my class."
That September I went for a consult at the University. The students all took turns observing my teeth and making their diagnoses to only have Dr. Metaxas correct them. My orthodontics will be done by an orthodontist, and my surgeries by an oral surgeon, but I will have these students observing me along the way. In a way - who cares? I mean, after all, YOU will be observing me too!
The cost through the University was extremely reasonable. $3,750 all inclusive. Everything. SARPE, ortho, surgeries, x-rays, any consults required with other practitioners (periodontics, for example). After applying my private plan to this cost, I'm looking at $2,250 out of pocket - much more manageable.
My diagnosis is as follows:
Severe malocclusion with maxillary skeletal constriction, severe crowding, posterior crossbites.
Gotta love those "severe" words, eh?
I learned that my upper jaw has to be expanded approximately 12mm (or almost half an inch for my imperial brethren). Given that each turn of the key expands 0.25mm, then you see that I'm looking at almost FIFTY (yep, five-zero) turns. They told me I'd be doing this twice a day once the expanding begins. But here's the interesting part: My jaw is so narrow that the biggest screw they could fit up there is 10mm. So after several mm of expansion, they are going to have to replace my appliance with another appliance that has a longer screw in order to get the desired expansion!! *sigh* - what am I getting myself into?
Anyways, I'm currently waiting on the hospital to book me in for surgery. It should be at some point this month, and I'll definitely post as soon as I know. In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments for me, please leave them and I'll be sure to address them as I go along. I'll be sure to start posting some pictures soon enough.
Take care everyone!
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