Lower jaw surgery - consult with the oral surgeon!

3/23/11 - Thought it was time for a head shot!

I met with the oral surgeon for a consultation for the second surgery. He said that our current plan is still in tact and that he'll do surgery on just the lower jaw as well as a genioplasty. Since I'm only having one jaw done, I don't have to stay overnight in the hospital. The jaw surgery will take a total of two hours and can be done on an outpatient basis - similar to my SARPE. So I'm hopeful that this means less of a recovery, but I think even surgery on one jaw is still major. After all, only the lower jaw moves.

The thing that helps keep me in check is that I've already been though one surgery so I feel like I know what to expect as far as the recovery. When I do go in for the pre-op, I do need to find out about the rubber band situation though. Apparently instead of getting wired shut, most oral surgeons keep your jaw closed with a bunch of rubber bands that you use all the time except when you're eating. Should be interesting!!

Next up in my jaw adventure is an adjustment with the orthodontist on May 2nd and probably another meeting with the oral surgeon. Stay tuned. :)

Lower surgery update!

Right side - 3/19/11



Left side - 3/19/11



Front (duh) - 3/19/11


Hi there! I can't believe I've neglected this blog for almost six weeks now! I do have an update on what's happening with my jaws. On Thursday, I went to see my OD for an adjustment. At the appointment, my OD said that I needed only one more adjustment on May 2nd and then I'd get "rectangulars" in prep for jaw surgery. Most of the space has closed on top and all space is closed on the bottom. I still have powerchains on top, but I got silver this time so my braces will be less visible in my sister's wedding photos (coming up in two weeks)! The ortho assistant also made the top wire a lot shorter so it won't start poking me immediately as the space continues to close.

Once the OD looked at my mouth he said we didn't need to increase the molar pads (thank goodness!), jaw surgery on the lower will take place in either June or July and braces will be off by the end of the year. Following the appointment, I chatted with my folks and they're free to come out after June 19th, so I'll schedule surgery some time after then. I'm tempted to schedule it after July 4th though so I don't to spend my second 4th in a row recovering from jaw surgery. Last year I spent it watching a marathon of Jersey Shore—partly because I didn't feel well and partly because I hadn't figured out how to cover up my gap properly.

So after I left my OD's office with my new silver powerchains, I had a message from my oral surgeon's office. The admin said that if I hadn't already had my primary care physician put in a referral for me she could take care of it. Sweet! I'm glad I won't have to deal with that. After the referral is all taken care of, I'll go in for my surgery consulation which should be next week some time.

Can't believe that I'm already halfway through this process! Like I suspected the underbite doesn't look so bad because of the crossbite. If my teeth were aligned correctly the underbite would be a lot more visible.