Surgical Hooks ON

I had my final two appointments yesterday. I started at the ortho, where I got my surgical hooks on. They really aren't terrible, but I don't particularly like them either. I got 5 on the top and 7 on the bottom. I can definitely notice that I have them on, but have no pain or irritation with the upper hooks. There was quite the struggle to complete the addition of the 7 bottom hooks. The OA tried to put them all on my round bottom wire, and then realized after adding all 7 they all kept spinning, that wasn't going to work, so she removed the wire and replaced it with a square one. The square wire doesn't allow them to spin and keeps them strongly in place.

A few of my surgical hooks on the bottom are pointed inward a bit, and I am really worried that they may start digging into my gums and irritating them, especially with the addition of the thick bands post-op. The OA also put SO much pressure while closing the hooks around my teeth that there were times I felt like she was yanking out some of my bottom teeth. With the new wire and all of the pressure she put on my teeth, they are feeling really sore right now. I am not sure if the surgical hooks have anything to do with it directly, but I am hoping they don't become too irritating.

The few lugs on the bottom that are more difficult to see are the ones that are jetting inward

I met the guy who has the early surgery with Dr. M. He is having his ortho work done by the same OD, and the OA's told me he was having surgery the same day with the same Dr. He told me his surgery is at 7:30, and mine is at 10:30, so I am thinking he is only having one jaw done and not both. Does anyone know the difference in surgery length if you had just one jaw done? It looked to me like he would just be doing lower.

Everyone at the office wished me luck and I was on my way! It's so great for them to all be so excited for me. I really enjoy the office staff, and it's really great that I am not just treated as a patient, but as a friend too.

Next I drove over to my surgeon's office. It was my last appointment with him before the surgery. Right when I got there, the assistant told me she would be taking another mold of my bottom teeth at the end of the appointment, ugh. Dr. M started out by doing measurements. When he measures my overjet, he makes me open my mouth fully, and then he pushes SO hard near the bottom of my lip, at the point where my gums meet my teeth, with his finger. I mean, the pressure he puts is nearly unbearable. He is trying to get my jaw as far back as it goes, but it feels like he is digging his finger into my gums, and it is so painful. He had to do it twice, and my eyes literally welled up with tears because it hurt so bad. I honestly don't think he has any idea that it's actually painful to me, I just try to suck it up.

As a side question, I am confused about the way he measures my overjet. He measures it as being as absolutley FAR back as it goes, yet where my teeth actually bite down together is a bit less of a overjet. Just confused why one is measured rather than the other

This is the way he measures my overjet

and this is the way it looks when I bite down so my teeth 'fit' (using that word loosely) together

Dr. M went through the whole surgery with me again. The run-down is: the bottom jaw will be pulled forward 6 mm and pulled to the left about 1 mm to allow my midlines to line up. After the lower jaw is secured in place, he will move on to the upper jaw. The upper jaw will separated into three parts, using the front 4 teeth as one part, and the two side sections as the other two parts. The jaw will be widened to some degree and will be be tilted up 1-2mm, but the back part of the jaw will likely stay at the same level, it will not be brought down or up. This is because my occlusal plane (or my bite plane) is tilted downward, so the rotation will allow it to be even.

He gave me the opportunity to ask a few questions. After so much blog reading, I really don't have that many questions. I brought up the alar stitches he will use to keep my nose from widening. I also have read on both Elisha and Tina's blogs there was some concern of the nose being turned upward a bit. He said that there can be some level of upturned nose right after the surgery, but it will disappear after the swelling goes down. He also said that it typically only happens if the upper jaw is impacted a bit, whereas in my surgery, I am only being lifted 1-2 mm, so there shouldn't be any issue. The surgery splint will be on 6 weeks, and once it's removed he encourages patients to continue to pop it in at night, to avoid the jaw constricting in any way.

Dr M brought up the possibility that with this surgery, I may never get feeling back in parts of my lower lip/chin area. He did say that by looking at my xray, he already knows where the nerve is located and he said it is the best possible location for that nerve to avoid getting any longer term numbness. I am crossing my fingers!

The assistant did another bottom mold, and when that one didn't turn out, she had to do yet another one. After spending a good 5 minutes in the bathroom getting all the gunk out of my teeth, the surgeon came in and told me he needed a new top mold. I was slightly annoyed, and I think he could tell, but I know how important it is to have a perfect mold, especially when he will be running through the surgery on these molds before hand.

Sorry for such a long post, I know I can ramble a bit, but hopefully the information is still helpful for everyone!

4 days until surgery!