Monday, September 3, 2018
Day 4 post surgery
I have had some bouts of pain here and there. I'm hoping there's not an infection. I'm still taking ibuprofen daily for the pain. I can eat soft foods now. I take my time but at least I can eat. Not looking forward to tomorrow to go back to the ortho. I'm kind of surprised that I still have some pain so I'm sure tomorrow will be fun. Here's my x-ray from the CT scan. My canines are right underneath the gum line. Hopefully that's good so it shouldn't take them too long to come down. The sooner the better so I can get these damn chains out of my mouth. I really hope I'm on the home stretch.
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Post-Surgery Update
It's finally over!! I'm so happy. As I stated, I was very nervous about this. It actually wasn't TOO bad. The worst part was sticking a needle in (twice) and numbing the roof of my mouth on both sides. That hurt a bit but it subsided after a few minutes. My surgery lasted an hour and a half, mainly because they ran into some slight complications due to trying to get the bleeding to stop and they had trouble getting the bracket to bond to the tooth (because of too much bleeding). Okay, so I'm going to try my best to explain what they did.
He explained to me before he began that he would be going in from the back instead of the front. Which kind of surprised me a little. He said it was because the teeth were positioned differently and it would require they move in a certain direction to pull them down. So when I look in the mirror right now, I can't see what they did because it's behind the teeth, instead of viewing the canines from the front. He made a small incision at first. Then a bunch of whirring noises from what I think was a drill or some tool to basically prepare the tooth to have a bracket attached. Here's where the trouble started. So my gum was bleeding as to be expected, but they couldn't get it to stop right away. We tried gauze. He even tried to put a stitch in to see and that didn't work. Then he used some sort of hot tool to cauterize it. Ugh, I could smell the burning and feel the heat. I didn't like that too much. That basically got most of the bleeding to stop, but he still had trouble getting the bracket to bond. At one point, there were 3 people in the room working on my mouth. They also sprayed some kind of acid into the wound area. Not sure what that does exactly. He ended up deciding to expose more of the tooth and cutting a little bit more. Finally, they were able to bond the bracket to the tooth. By this time, about an hour had gone by. When he started to work on the other side, it seemed like the numbing was just starting to wear off because I did feel a teeny bit. So he hit me up again with another dose of numbing. The other side was much faster. He still had issues getting the bracket to bond. He did not cauterize that side. He just put some gauze in my mouth and I held it for a bit while he left the room and then came back. Eventually, they were able to get it to bond to the tooth and I was all done. To my knowledge, there are no stitches.
They gave me 3 prescriptions. Amoxicillin (antibiotic) to prevent infection, Acetaminophen with codeine, and ibuprofen. The little gold chain that hangs down from the brackets are "attached" to the archwire with wax. During the surgery, he pushed on both of the canines and wiggled them a bit (I actually felt that and it felt kinda weird) and said they were moving so he is pretty confident that they will come down. This is great news!
So today after getting my prescriptions I've just been taking it easy and relaxing on the couch. I can't drive when I take the acetaminophen. Pain level really isn't bad at all but for now, I've been taking the painkillers as directed, at least for today. Tomorrow I'm probably going to just stick with the ibuprofen. I don't need to get addicted to an opioid, ya know?
The "no-no's" include: no heavy rinsing, no heavy swishing, no mouthwash for at least 2 days, no carbonated beverages (it could dislodge the blood clots), no drinking through a straw, no fruit with seeds, no brushing of the affected area, no alcoholic beverages (aw, man!!) and I have to do a salt and warm water rinse starting tomorrow. I can't eat; it's very difficult. So pretty much all I've had since I got home were 2 Nesquik chocolate milks, a little thing of rice pudding, and a decent amount of applesauce. My stomach is not happy.
The doc gave me his cell phone number should I have any questions/concerns. He said sometimes the brackets come off the teeth and if that happens, to come back in as soon as possible to get them re-attached. So I'll be chilling until Tuesday (unless I have to go back to have them re-attached). The sooner my mouth heals so I eat actual food, the better.
He explained to me before he began that he would be going in from the back instead of the front. Which kind of surprised me a little. He said it was because the teeth were positioned differently and it would require they move in a certain direction to pull them down. So when I look in the mirror right now, I can't see what they did because it's behind the teeth, instead of viewing the canines from the front. He made a small incision at first. Then a bunch of whirring noises from what I think was a drill or some tool to basically prepare the tooth to have a bracket attached. Here's where the trouble started. So my gum was bleeding as to be expected, but they couldn't get it to stop right away. We tried gauze. He even tried to put a stitch in to see and that didn't work. Then he used some sort of hot tool to cauterize it. Ugh, I could smell the burning and feel the heat. I didn't like that too much. That basically got most of the bleeding to stop, but he still had trouble getting the bracket to bond. At one point, there were 3 people in the room working on my mouth. They also sprayed some kind of acid into the wound area. Not sure what that does exactly. He ended up deciding to expose more of the tooth and cutting a little bit more. Finally, they were able to bond the bracket to the tooth. By this time, about an hour had gone by. When he started to work on the other side, it seemed like the numbing was just starting to wear off because I did feel a teeny bit. So he hit me up again with another dose of numbing. The other side was much faster. He still had issues getting the bracket to bond. He did not cauterize that side. He just put some gauze in my mouth and I held it for a bit while he left the room and then came back. Eventually, they were able to get it to bond to the tooth and I was all done. To my knowledge, there are no stitches.
They gave me 3 prescriptions. Amoxicillin (antibiotic) to prevent infection, Acetaminophen with codeine, and ibuprofen. The little gold chain that hangs down from the brackets are "attached" to the archwire with wax. During the surgery, he pushed on both of the canines and wiggled them a bit (I actually felt that and it felt kinda weird) and said they were moving so he is pretty confident that they will come down. This is great news!
So today after getting my prescriptions I've just been taking it easy and relaxing on the couch. I can't drive when I take the acetaminophen. Pain level really isn't bad at all but for now, I've been taking the painkillers as directed, at least for today. Tomorrow I'm probably going to just stick with the ibuprofen. I don't need to get addicted to an opioid, ya know?
The "no-no's" include: no heavy rinsing, no heavy swishing, no mouthwash for at least 2 days, no carbonated beverages (it could dislodge the blood clots), no drinking through a straw, no fruit with seeds, no brushing of the affected area, no alcoholic beverages (aw, man!!) and I have to do a salt and warm water rinse starting tomorrow. I can't eat; it's very difficult. So pretty much all I've had since I got home were 2 Nesquik chocolate milks, a little thing of rice pudding, and a decent amount of applesauce. My stomach is not happy.
The doc gave me his cell phone number should I have any questions/concerns. He said sometimes the brackets come off the teeth and if that happens, to come back in as soon as possible to get them re-attached. So I'll be chilling until Tuesday (unless I have to go back to have them re-attached). The sooner my mouth heals so I eat actual food, the better.
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Surgery Update
There were some things that were not communicated to me very well by the dentist office. One of those being that I was going to need another CT scan before they would do the surgery. While I understand the need, I wasn't told this a year ago when I started the process, nor was I told that I was going to have to pay $240 out of pocket, not covered by any insurance. I didn't budget for this; I only budgeted for the oral surgery. So I was pretty upset about it. But in the end, nothing I can do. So I got the scan done last week. I talked to the dentist office today and have a confirmed appointment next week on the 30th for the oral surgery to take place. There shouldn't be any more snafu's this time because they have everything they need. So, not looking forward to it. My anxiety is pretty high. I just want to get it over with.
My next appointment with the ortho post surgery is September 4th to start the process of bringing in the teeth.
My next appointment with the ortho post surgery is September 4th to start the process of bringing in the teeth.
Friday, August 3, 2018
3 Months Post Expander and Oral Surgery Update
It's been 3 months and 2 days since the expander has been out. What joy it has been to have that thing gone!! I can actually eat normally again! I got engaged about a week and a half after the expander was removed. I've been in wedding planning mode all summer. When I went back to the ortho in June, I asked point blank when the oral surgery would be happening because now I'm on a time schedule to get the braces off in time before my wedding. My wedding is scheduled for September 2019 and I am SO SO excited about it. And to have perfect teeth by then would be an absolute dream come true! She had told me at the time that when I go back in July, if everything looked good, then she would send me for my referral to the periodontist to have the impacted canines exposed to start the process of pulling them into place.
July came. I had to go in for an emergency ortho visit at the beginning of the month because those pesky rubber bands I have to wear have been applying too much pressure on the band that goes around my crown, and the band had come loose. So they had to re-cement it in place and told me not to use that hook anymore to hold the rubber band.
On July 24th, I went in for my regularly scheduled visit. She said everything looked great and gave me my referral! She said to call them and let them know when I'm having the surgery so I can come back in a week post-surgery to have her start the process. She had to re-cement the crown band again due to having an issue replacing my bottom wire.
Oral surgery update - the oral surgery is officially scheduled. Y'all, I have been dreading this part for an entire year. But, I think I'll be so glad once it's over with. The oral surgery is currently scheduled for August 16th at 8am. Here's what I understand. It will take about an hour and a half. They will cut the gum on both sides where my canines are supposed to be. Lift up the gum tissue to expose the tooth (they are both literally right there under the gum, according to the x-rays). Attach a bracket with a little chain to each canine. And then add a stitch or two to stitch the gum back in place on both sides. Then it takes about a week to heal before the ortho can get to work on it. When I go in for my next ortho appointment, they will start applying pressure to the chain connected to the two canines. It's a slow process and they should slowly start coming down and into their proper space over time as pressure is applied. I don't think that part is going to hurt, but we'll see.
I am very nervous/anxious about the oral surgery procedure. I know it's pretty common as the canines are the most commonly impacted teeth, but still, I don't like people messing around in my mouth. Getting two crowns put in was bad enough (before the braces). I hate having cavities filled and all that. So the sooner it is over with and I can just relax, the better.
The road to a beautiful smile is halfway there!!! One year from now, hopefully my braces will be completely GONE! So cheers to that!!
July came. I had to go in for an emergency ortho visit at the beginning of the month because those pesky rubber bands I have to wear have been applying too much pressure on the band that goes around my crown, and the band had come loose. So they had to re-cement it in place and told me not to use that hook anymore to hold the rubber band.
On July 24th, I went in for my regularly scheduled visit. She said everything looked great and gave me my referral! She said to call them and let them know when I'm having the surgery so I can come back in a week post-surgery to have her start the process. She had to re-cement the crown band again due to having an issue replacing my bottom wire.
Oral surgery update - the oral surgery is officially scheduled. Y'all, I have been dreading this part for an entire year. But, I think I'll be so glad once it's over with. The oral surgery is currently scheduled for August 16th at 8am. Here's what I understand. It will take about an hour and a half. They will cut the gum on both sides where my canines are supposed to be. Lift up the gum tissue to expose the tooth (they are both literally right there under the gum, according to the x-rays). Attach a bracket with a little chain to each canine. And then add a stitch or two to stitch the gum back in place on both sides. Then it takes about a week to heal before the ortho can get to work on it. When I go in for my next ortho appointment, they will start applying pressure to the chain connected to the two canines. It's a slow process and they should slowly start coming down and into their proper space over time as pressure is applied. I don't think that part is going to hurt, but we'll see.
I am very nervous/anxious about the oral surgery procedure. I know it's pretty common as the canines are the most commonly impacted teeth, but still, I don't like people messing around in my mouth. Getting two crowns put in was bad enough (before the braces). I hate having cavities filled and all that. So the sooner it is over with and I can just relax, the better.
The road to a beautiful smile is halfway there!!! One year from now, hopefully my braces will be completely GONE! So cheers to that!!
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Day 2 of no expander
Surprisingly, it does take a little bit of time to get used to not having that annoying thing in my mouth. The downside is, my upper teeth in the back are still a little sore due to having 2 new brackets on instead of the bands that held the expander. Also, my gums are still a bit inflamed/sore so it's going to take a little bit for them to heal up. The upside? Nothing is getting stuck anymore!! I can touch the roof of my mouth again! I no longer have to blow food out of the tongue guard! Joy!
Now, these ortho rubber bands I have to wear are annoying. They are not exactly all that easy to get on, even though they gave me a little tool. Plus, they pull on the teeth and they start to hurt, after about 3-4 hours. Luckily by then, it's about time to take them out so I can eat something and give my mouth a little break.
The bite blocks behind my two front teeth make it harder to bite into things now. So, there's that.
The oral surgery is now looking to be happening sometime in the Fall of this year. So we'll see what happens. Until then, just dealing with these pesky rubber bands and hoping the rest of this process goes quickly so I can get everything taken off for good.
Now, these ortho rubber bands I have to wear are annoying. They are not exactly all that easy to get on, even though they gave me a little tool. Plus, they pull on the teeth and they start to hurt, after about 3-4 hours. Luckily by then, it's about time to take them out so I can eat something and give my mouth a little break.
The bite blocks behind my two front teeth make it harder to bite into things now. So, there's that.
The oral surgery is now looking to be happening sometime in the Fall of this year. So we'll see what happens. Until then, just dealing with these pesky rubber bands and hoping the rest of this process goes quickly so I can get everything taken off for good.
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
The expander is GONE! Horray!
May 1, 2018
Okay, so it was not a pleasant experience. But I'm glad it's over. The first thing they did was take out the wire on the top with the coils in the gap and took off the O-rings and power chain. They changed the powerchain on the bottom. They used some kind of tool and put pressure on the band that was wrapped around my upper tooth holding one side of the expander. She goes "ok on 3. One....two...three!" and yanked. Yawwwooooowwwwwwwwww. Ow, ow, ow, pain shot from the upper left side of my mouth to the upper right side. I told them I needed a few minutes. I sat there for almost 5 minutes, waiting for the pain to subside. She said, "the other side will be easy. It's already undone on this side and it probably won't hurt now." Finally, I said ok. She yanked the other side and it was out. It didn't hurt the second time. Sooooo glad to have that thing gone. I had completely bent the tongue guard on one side from pushing on it with my tongue and it was uncomfortable as I would get mouth sores and no way to reach them because the guard was in the way. Then they added another bracket on each side where the band used to be that held the expander. Once that was done, they put new wire and new coils in place on the top row and put new O-rings. The last step was checking my bite. I no longer needed the bite blocks in the back so she chiseled those down and removed them. She added new bite blocks right behind my two front teeth so my front teeth don't hit the brackets on the bottom when I bite down.
When they were all done, she gave me rubber bands and said I need to wear them to bring the back teeth into place. So I need to change out the rubber bands 4x a day. I'm supposed to take them off when I eat and wear them the rest of the time. Oh joy.
Glad this day is over. Attached is a photo of my bring-home souvenir. Next appointment is in 6 weeks.
Okay, so it was not a pleasant experience. But I'm glad it's over. The first thing they did was take out the wire on the top with the coils in the gap and took off the O-rings and power chain. They changed the powerchain on the bottom. They used some kind of tool and put pressure on the band that was wrapped around my upper tooth holding one side of the expander. She goes "ok on 3. One....two...three!" and yanked. Yawwwooooowwwwwwwwww. Ow, ow, ow, pain shot from the upper left side of my mouth to the upper right side. I told them I needed a few minutes. I sat there for almost 5 minutes, waiting for the pain to subside. She said, "the other side will be easy. It's already undone on this side and it probably won't hurt now." Finally, I said ok. She yanked the other side and it was out. It didn't hurt the second time. Sooooo glad to have that thing gone. I had completely bent the tongue guard on one side from pushing on it with my tongue and it was uncomfortable as I would get mouth sores and no way to reach them because the guard was in the way. Then they added another bracket on each side where the band used to be that held the expander. Once that was done, they put new wire and new coils in place on the top row and put new O-rings. The last step was checking my bite. I no longer needed the bite blocks in the back so she chiseled those down and removed them. She added new bite blocks right behind my two front teeth so my front teeth don't hit the brackets on the bottom when I bite down.
When they were all done, she gave me rubber bands and said I need to wear them to bring the back teeth into place. So I need to change out the rubber bands 4x a day. I'm supposed to take them off when I eat and wear them the rest of the time. Oh joy.
Glad this day is over. Attached is a photo of my bring-home souvenir. Next appointment is in 6 weeks.
Today's the big day! The expander will be removed!
Pretty sure it's legit this time. My appointment is in less than an hour. Had a little mishap last night. I was eating and food snagged the little thing where there's a gap in my teeth (where the canines will be coming in later) and the wire came out quite a bit. I was able to ease it back into place but I'm so glad I'm going to the ortho today. I can't believe I'm even saying that because all they do is cause pain. lol. But I'm glad because my mouth has been getting cut up this last month due to a wire in the back that needs to be cut and because the little thing in my gap has been getting snagged. So I'm going to ask them to replace that wire and that spring thing. I didn't want to hassle with trying to get an appointment because my ortho is only in the office every other week and they won't allow me to go to a different location. I have to use the same office I started with. So I just said, the heck with it, I'll just wait it out. So today is the day and I am very excited to have this stupid thing removed! I will update later with the complete details. As long as the roof of my mouth doesn't "slam" shut (back into the original position I started with) I'll be fine. LOL
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