Three month post jaw surgery update!

Today is my three month anniversary of my second jaw surgery. The last few months have flown by and now I am close to getting my braces off. If all goes well, my braces should be off by November. Yay! Can't believe how far I have come!

When I was researching jaw surgery online, I read a number of blogs of people who years later still had numbness in their chin / lips following jaw surgery. I've been fortunate that my numbness is gone after only three months and even though I feel a bit of stiffness in my chin, it's nothing that concerns me.

I think the one thing that I did not expect going through this process is how long it has taken for the space to close in my upper jaw following SARPE. I had my SARPE in June '10 and my orthodontist is STILL working on closing space. So crazy! I had visions of that gap and space being gone in a matter of weeks - oh, how wrong I was.

To spice things up, I've put together a video using my 7 mega pixel camera. Enjoy! ;)

Lower surgery date approaching!

Headshot - 5/13/11

Right size - small gap still evident



Front view - first surgical hooks on top & bottom



Left size - two mm gap



Full-on underbite

Hello there and happy May! It's been a while since I posted, but I wanted to give an update on what's happening in jaw / bracesland. I had my surgical wires put on May 1st. The wires are a lot thicker and also have a bunch of pokey hooks. The worse of them being on my lower teeth - they love to snag on my lip while I talk. With a small amount of wax though - they are pretty maneagable.

I'm getting closer to my surgery date - 5 1/2 weeks to go. It's hard to believe that soon I will have a functioning bite and be done with my underbite and crossbite. :) I'm excited to get this process over with and don't feel too nervous overall about the surgery. Since having my SARPE last year, I feel that I know what to expect post-op.

There are a few things that I curious about though. First is how long will I really need to recover? For me, that means being able to manage my normal routine. It seems like you heal faster / move more quickly back to solid foods if you only have one jaw done, but I'm not sure if that'll apply to me too. The second thing I'm curious about is what am I going to look like after it's all said and done? I expect it will be an improvement, but wish I could have a better indication of how the surgery will change my looks.

Next up in my process are my two pre-op appointments in June and one more appointment with the orthodontist where he'll put on the rest of my surgical hooks. Fun times! 

Lower surgery date set!!

Last week I heard back from my oral surgeon's office. Not only do I have approval from my insurance company for the surgery (yay!), I also have a scheduled surgery date. My surgery will take place on June 21st -  exactly one year after I had my SARPE. It's amazing how quickly the time has gone. I'm now halfway done with this process and very soon I will have a functioning bite. :)

In prep for my surgery, I have two pre-op appointments - one on June 1st and another on June 8th. For my appointment on June 8th, I'm going to need to have surgical hooks put on my braces in prep for surgery. I won't be wired shut following surgery, but will have a series of rubber bands to keep my jaw in place. The first few weeks the rubber bands will be really tight and then each week or so, I'll get looser bands. I've been assured that I'll be able to talk (how well is still to be determined) and that I should only need two weeks off from work. My ideal plan would be to take some sick days the first week and then work from home the second week. Knowing myself, I won't want to sit idly by plus I have an intern starting on June 13th and I want to be available if she has questions.

Fortunately, my mom is flying out to help through this process. The plan is for her to buy a one way ticket from Florida to San Diego and then buy a one way ticket home as soon as I'm able to manage on my own. I feel very fortunate to have mom coming out to help me! My mom is going to fly out the weekend before and we're going to do some fun stuff like go to Balboa Park, eat out (very important to carbo load!), etc.

This past weekend I was in Florida for my sister's wedding. While there, I spoke with my mom's friend who is a retired oral surgeon. After conversations with my parents about my oral surgery adventures, he was eager to check out my mouth. He noticed that my gums are receding and suggested that I go see a periodontist before I have surgery. My dad suggested I get a recommendation from someone on my oral care dream team.