Last week the orthodontist little rubber bands between my molars to make enough room for the metal brackets that will hold on my expander appliance. The rubber bands don't sound too bad but when you have very little room between your teeth as it is, it actually has been very painful. The first 3 days my jaw joints ached and my teeth were so sensitive that Tylenol/Advil/Ibuprofen alone would not even dull the aching pain. Luckily for me I had some left over T3's from a couple months ago which helped me get through. The last day and a half have been a lot less painful but I still cannot chew with my molars. My front teeth don't touch so I have a really hard time chewing anything. The sad part is, I haven't even had surgery yet and I am already on a soft diet.
I had another orthodontic appointment today and they actually took molds of my top and lower jaws so that they can make the appliance this week. They also put larger rubber bands between my molars to make sure the space stays how they need it to for next Monday when I try the appliance on. I go back Monday (December 3rd, 2012) to try the appliance on and then I see the Surgeon for my pre-op on Friday, December 7th, 2012.
I should also give a little bit of insight to my dental history. When I was about 13 years old my teeth were actually alot worse then they look now. I was required to wear a stretching appliance for about a year without any surgery and a full set of top and bottom braces. A major metal mouth! I remember the pain like it was yesterday. The agony of the constant pressure and sensitive teeth got the best of me those first few months. I think that is why I am a little scared to have to go through this kind of thing all over again. But I know I did it once and that I can definatly do it again! After all, I have had two children naturally and if I can do that, I can do this!
I got my braces off when I was just about 17 years old. I had a few good years without any problems until my wisdom teeth started to bug me. The wisdom teeth were actually pointed directly at my other teeth and of course after 9 months of waiting for a surgery date, I got all 4 extracted. That was a huge pain itself as I developed a "dry pocket" in the bottom holes and if anyone has ever experience that, it is absolutly the worst pain you can imagine. It's like blowing cold air on a nerve without being able to stop it. Then a short time after my wisdom teeth came out I started to develop some TMJ (Temporo mandibular joint) issues. It started off with aching jaw and headaches/ear ache. A lady at work had mentioned her husband also suffered from those symptoms and that it was from TMJ. She mentioned that he would go to a chiropractor to get his jaw realigned when it got bad. So I took it upon myself to find a chiropractor that specialized in TMJ realignment. I had been going to this Dr off and on for the passed few years now and it is slowly getting worse and worse as the years go on. I had even gone back to the Orthodontist a couple times to see if there was anything he could do in the meantime. He explained to me that my mouth is just the way it is because that's how I was made and without surgical intervention there's nothing he could do. So over those 9 years, my jaw slowly relapsed which in turn made my jaw joints worse. Which brought me to the situation I am in today. I knew the only option for me to get better was to go and see the Oral surgeon.
I had my original consultation with the surgeon back in September and was told the surgical waiting list would be 3 - 8 months. I was lucky enough to get a surgery date within that 3 month time frame for December, 12, 2012. I will know more details about this procedure and what to expect when I go for my pre-op next friday.
I have two big fears going into this. The first is the fear of extreme pain and how I will mentally be able to handle it. The second is wondering how I will be able to balance my healing process with spending quality time with my two beautiful sons and wonderul husband. I thnk about these a lot but know that I have a lot of support around me and hopefully some good drugs.
I will be taking pictures and videos throughout the whole process. My goal with this blog is to help others understand the process and hopefully help those who may have to go through the same thing. I know I have the most amazing family and friends on my side so it just a matter of braving the inevitable.
Take a look at these pre surgery pictures taken Monday, November 26th, 2012
This is my bite (before)
Top Jaw with Large rubber spacers (before)
Lower jaw (before)
Left side profile biting my molars together
Straight on shot
Right side prifle biting molars together
The before photo ~Wish me luck on this crazy adventure~
