I had my rescheduled ortho appointment yesterday. We discussed the conversation I had with my OS, who is conveniently located right across the hall from my OD, so they are in constant communication with one another. Therefore, my OD was pretty up to date on where everything was at. We discussed the May surgery date, and he thinks that is going to work out fine. It was such a great thing to hear! Dr S decided we needed to get things moving towards surgery now, so I now have stainless steel archwires (20's) with little springs between teeth 2 and 3 on both sides. I was told that the stainless steel wires are a lot stiffer, and the springs are supposed to create gaps between my teeth to get them ready for surgery. I am praying to god that these are just teensy tiny gaps, because they are RIGHT in the front of my mouth, and surgery is still 3.5 months away. I am not going to be a happy girl if I have big gaps in the front of my teeth! Have either of my May buddies heard anything about these springs? My teeth are definitely feeling the new adjustment. My entire face is killing me!

You can already see the gap forming beneath the spring and it's been one day. Isn't this working backwards not forwards?

I am going to start having appointments more often now, so my next appointment is scheduled for 3 weeks from now, and I will be doing molds each appointment from here on out.

I saw one of the OA's working with another patient on SureSmile. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's a new treatment method that uses a computer system that they input all of your xrays/photos in and the computer then helps you bend and form the wire in a way that will help you get the desired results in a shorter amount of time. Anyway, I was told at the beginning of my treatment that they would be using this technology to decrease my time in braces. I meant to ask, but I am not entirely sure if that's still the plan. I am thinking that they work on straightening out the teeth first, and may start using it either closer to the surgery date, or post-surgery to get me out of the braces quicker! Has or is anyone else using SureSmile?

For those of you who are from outside of the Midwest, and are soaking up anything above 20 degrees, here is the current weather report in Minnesota.
Yes, that says '-3 degrees, feels like -19' and it has been that way for three days. Today we hit a whoppin' high of about 2 degrees with a -15 degree wild chill. This is one major reason I am so thankful to be having surgery in summer. I cannot imagine Minnesota winters would aid in my recovery one bit.

It's nearly my 6 month in braces mark, so I will be posting progress pictures soon!

I was supposed to have an OD appointment yesterday, but I got a call on Sunday saying Dr. S was really sick and I had to reschedule for next Monday. I was bummed that the appointment was cancelled, because due to Australia it will now be about 8 weeks between my next appointment and my previous one.

I met with my oral surgeon today, Dr. M, which was really exciting! I met with him initially in October of 2009, so it's been a while. He is actually the second oral surgeon I have met with. I previously met with another OS closer to my college prior to meeting with Dr. M, and then met with that surgeon once again after my meeting with Dr. M, but I just wasn't feeling the connection with the other guy as much. I was worried after finding out that my mom's insurance wouldn't cover the surgery done by Dr. M, but because we both felt more comfortable with him, and he was referred to me by my OS, so she ended up switching her insurance provider this year.

The most exciting news to report is he said I will definitely be ready for surgery by May! He is thinking a week after I finish my finals, so sometime mid to late May. He described the whole procedure to me again and said we would definitely be doing upper and lower jaws. I asked him quite a few questions while I was there, I think he was a bit surprised, but was really willing to help me understand.

How much movement will there be?

They will be moving the bottom jaw 6 mm forward and rotating the upper jaw upward to fit correctly with the bottom jaw. I had always thought that the upper jaw surgery always entailed of lifting the jaw upward, so it was interesting to hear that my issue needed a rotation.

How many surgeries does he do a year?

25-30. I kind of expected to hear a higher number than that... but from what others have told me, this number is normal. I am from a small town, so although some surgeons do 70+ surgeries a year, there just isn't the demand where I'm from!

Does upper jaw surgery causes widening of the nose?

They put little stitches on each side of my nose to keep that from happening as much as possible, whew! I have a really little face and do NOT need a bigger nose!

Is there a way I can get prediction images?

It's something my OD could do for me, so I will try to get them asap!

How much time will I have to take off work?

About 2 weeks. I know most people reading my blog have read many other blogs, so I am wondering what you all think is the normal time people have to take off work after surgery? I need to take 3 weeks off of my job as a receptionist for a course I have to take to graduate, and the least amount of time I can take off for the surgery, the better. I just took a month off to fly to Australia, so I don't think they are going to be thrilled when I have to ask for two massive chunks of time off during the summer!

Will the upper surgery help with my breathing? I have had two septoplasties and both have resulted in going back to the initial position.

Yes, it might. Many patients notice a significant change in their ability to breath through their nose after surgery. If the surgery does not fix the problem, I will have to wait at least a year before getting another septoplasty.

What do you require for the diet for the first week of recovery?

He no longer requires strictly liquid. Anything soft enough to just swallow without chewing, so apple sauce, banana, etc.

I won't be meeting with him again for another 2 months, but this was the jist of what I learned today. He said he'd be meeting with Dr. S my OD soon to look at the molds of my teeth and discuss a proper time line. I will be updating again after my OD appointment next Monday.

Oh, and I received a date invitation last night for Valentine's Day :) If only I knew there was something with guys and these braces I would have gotten them on ages ago! :-P

Hi everyone,

Just a quick blog to ask my followers a question! Have any of you received comments from me on your blogs in the last 2 days? I have been writing quite a few comments, but when I press submit or send (or whatever the button is!) it just refreshes the page without my comment there. I am confused and I want to be able to communicate with my fellow ortho-bloggers! Let me know!

Also, Tara, I am having trouble seeing your posts on my blog feed as well! Maybe it's something you could just google and you may find an answer :)

xx

I haven't been blogging in a while, but I have been crazy busy! I went to an amazing day before Christmas Eve wedding for my uncle and his new wife, Jeanne, followed by a great Christmas Eve and Christmas with the family! I then took off Christmas night for Denver to meet up with my best friend Aliey (from Australia) who is visiting my friend Geoff in Colorado! After a few days with them, I took off for Australia! My trip didn't go quite as expected, but it ended up turning out wonderfully. For those who haven't turned on the TV in the last few weeks, there was historically high flooding in Queensland, RIGHT where I was visiting. I experienced some pretty bad weather with about 2 weeks straight of nonstop rain, was evacuated from my hotel on the river which was eventually under water, and ended my trip with sunshine and an incredible last few days on the beach :) In the one month that I was gone, my little nephew learned how to crawl, stand up on his own, and is getting his first two little chompers! I've chronicled my winter break into a photo blog.. enjoy!

My cousin Samantha and I at her dad's wedding.

Me and my monkey on his FIRST Christmas :)

Jackson likes gossip mags just like his Auntie !

Overlooking Vail

Showing off my grill.

Me and Aliey!


Me standing on the median of the very flooded highway.

The spider we found in my friends apartment. They all failed to mention to me that this was the FOURTH one they'd found and killed since I started staying there..

:) at Gold Coast

Mikey and I.


Feeding an elephant at Australia Zoo!

Bindi, Terri and Bob Irwin (Steve Irwin's family) at Australia Zoo

I budged in front of someone to take this picture of Bob Irwin with a lizard.. Little did I know it was Terri Irwin standing right next to me (see reflection...)

Seaworld in Gold Coast.

My last full day in Australia, getting a new tattoo :) It says 'no worries' -- a very common Australian saying, and is written in my mommy's handwriting.

I have an ortho appointment next Monday, so look out for another update then!

A candid picture of my profile! I am jutting my jaw forward in this picture to be able to make a kissy face, so it's not a very good representation of my actual profile. I was laughing because my nephew was being goofy, hence the failure at actually making a kissy face. As you can see, there is a lot of tension in my chin from bringing it forward.

I hate my profile, but I love this picture too too much :)

I went in for my fourth (scheduled) appointment at the ortho today. I actually had to drive home from school on Friday because the wire on my upper right was poking into my cheek and driving me crazy. I didn't want to be stuck dealing with it through the weekend and the week, until today's appointment.

Today I got my wires changed! On both top and bottom, and they're bigger! I always get excited with wire changes, because I feel like leaving the same wires on is just keeping me in limbo and I am not making any progress. Well, they bumped me up to 20's! Does anyone know the actual sequencing of wire sizes? I am not sure what I would have started at ?
I am in the midst of finals week, so wish me luck! I have two on Monday (Genetics and Zoology) and a presentation on Tuesday. I am trying to spend a lot of time at home in the next few days between my finals, as it feels more 'Christmas-y' here than it does in my sorority house. I will be jetting off to Australia right after Christmas, so I am thinking it won't feel much like the holidays once I land in 85 degree weather. I am trying to soak up as much of it as I can now!

It's Jack Jack's first Christmas, and we are all SO excited, so expect a few pictures after the holidays :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!