Monday, March 19, 2012

11.5 Weeks: Orthodontic Torture Devices, Chewing, and More!

I had appointments with my orthodontist and surgeon today. Lucky me.

There has been no change in the mobility in my front segment and my orthodontist is still concerned. He spent a good 5 minutes studying my teeth as I opened and closed, looking at how much the segment moved, which teeth hit and in what order, and then put some new bends in the wire. The newly bended wire will move my top front teeth up and my bottom front teeth down so they stop banging into each other. He also put me into class III elastics to pull my upper jaw forward and my lower jaw back and offset some of the movements happening on the top (orthodontics is one big game of push and pull). The elastics gave me an instant headache, but they did pull my lower jaw back far enough that my teeth aren't clashing anymore. Small miracle - I'll take it!

My surgeon still maintains that the amount of movement in my front segment is normal. He also thinks that the amount of movement is less this time than the last time (it isn't - but there was no point in arguing). He said that my upper and lower teeth mesh together well with good overlap (this is true - when they're not banging into each other) and it will all work out. I wish I was as certain, and I'm sure my poor husband wishes this, too. He will get the moral support medal of honor when this whole ordeal is over. On a positive note, my surgeon gave me the OK to chew very soft things like pancakes and eggs. I'm so excited about this!!!!

I'm seeing another surgeon for a second opinion next month. I really hope surgeon #2 can confirm that everything is normal so I can stop worrying, although part of me feels like the appointment will be a waste of time. When I made the appointment, the only thing they wanted to know was who did my original surgery. That is irrelevant and they were not happy that I wouldn't tell. I feel like it violates my surgeon's confidentiality if I tell, just like it would violate my confidentiality if they told my surgeon I saw them for a 2nd opinion. Geez.

My next appointments are in a month and I hope to have better news by then. Fingers crossed!

9 comments:

  1. Good luck! Hopefully your segment "freezes" up more! Can't believe the other office wanted to know who your surgeon is! Does it really matter? ?

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  2. Thanks Nikki! I can't imagine that it matters who my surgeon is. I can see why they would need to know WHAT was done, but who did it is irrelevant.

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  3. hey baligirl, i was concerned for you and wanted to drop in to see how you are doing. how is the jaw now? are you still experiencing mobility? I hope things are turning around for you!

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  4. Hey Baligirl, I’ve been checking this blog time to time in hope to have news from you, it’s been more then 2 months since your last post... I’m having a similar problem and now on the verge of making decision surgery vs no-surgery (by using TADs). Different orthodontists - different opinions, and I’m stuck with 50-50 dilemma now. Anyway, I hope everything is all right with you and the blog is neglected just because of all other reasons (e.g. showing your new beautiful smile to everyone), but I really hope to hear from you soon. No matter the outcome - you now influence lots of people around the globe (and I’m from Moscow, Russia). Also love your style and sense of humor, you should write books : )

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  5. Hey just checking in to see how things are going?? We haven't heard from you in awhile. I hope you're doing well. Let us know how things are progressing.

    Take care,
    Tara

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  6. Hey guys, I'm so sorry for not keeping up with my blog. I'll put a more in-depth description up later, but here's a short recap of what's been going on: I got a 2nd opinion from another surgeon and he thinks the bone healed great (yay!) and all the mobility I'm seeing is due to the short roots on my front teeth. My orthodontist took me off the elastics at my last visit to "see where things want to settle" and now I'm back to only my front teeth touching. I am trying hard to stay positive but right now I'm just frustrated and discouraged. My smile at least looks nice, so that is something. :-)

    Alex, you are so sweet. I initially wanted to try TADs because they are less invasive than surgery, but they were unfortunately not an option for me because of how my teeth were situated (I would have ended up with an underbite and needed surgery anyway). My best advice to you whether you proceed with TADs or surgery is to find an orthodontist who is skilled, enjoys what they do and is a good communicator. This is a long process and it's helpful to know what's going on, what's coming up, how long treatment will take, what success looks like, etc.

    Thanks for checking in on me!

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  7. Haha, great title! It is tough to go to orthodontists in Edmonton because braces suck, but they are so worth it, right?!

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  8. as a mom, i control my kids in eating chocolates and candies so that their teeth would look good..i always make sure also that they could visit their family dentist every month..

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