Friday, May 10, 2013

It's almost time for braces!

Today I am excited.  Apart from the fact that it is Friday (which calls for some dinner and red wine this evening), in just 17 days (May 27th) I will be getting my braces fitted.  There are many different types of braces to choose from, but i have opted for ceramic lingual braces.  These are braces which sit on the outside of the teeth but where the brackets are made from a clear ceramic rather than metal.

Originally I was only due to get my lower braces on and I presumed this was because my upper jaw needed to recover further from my SARME surgery. I have since found out that there was some confusion and my orthodontist thought I was having incognito braces on my upper jaw.  Incognito braces sit on the inside of the mouth behind the teeth and have to be custom made, and from what I gather it is mostly an aesthetic choice.  As I am not worried about the aesthetics of ceramic braces, I have opted for the ceramics on the upper jaw too.  So to cut a long story short (if you know me, no story is short) I will be getting both jaws fitted!  This is why I am so excited.


For all the other children of the 80's out there, the picture in this post will make sense.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Andy, thank you for sharing your stories.
    I'm a 30 yr old woman from the Netherlands, and had my SARME surgery last Wednesday.
    I found your website through Google and youtube, when I looked up stories about SARME surgery.
    It is very useful to read someone’s blog with a similar experience…also to know for me what is next….. I am quite surprised to read that the sense in the upper teeth can take months to return...I was not prepared for that. But it is good to know. Right now I cannot even chew on a slice of Gouda cheese, partly because of that.
    I was not nervous for the surgery itself, but I am nervous to go outside with my swollen face, and later on, with the gap between the teeth. Do you have some tips how to cover that part of the face?
    After 1.5 year I get the BSSO surgery (I guess you as well?)
    Tomorrow I’m going to the surgeon to learn how to turn the device to open the palate. I found some hematoma today but I heard it is completely normal.
    So, how is it with the braces on? I guess you have them now?
    I’ll follow your blog. Best wishes for you in this process.
    Kind regards,
    Ymke Koperberg (I signed up for your blog updates, so I guess you have my e-mail address)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Ymke

      Thanks for your message - I'm glad that you find the blog useful. How are you healing up from your sugary? Hopefully well.

      Don't be too nervous about going outside. You will get used to it after a while. My orthodontist actually put some composite material between my teeth to help hide the gap, so you may want to talk to them about that. Turning the device will definitely take some getting used to, but it doesn't hurt - it's just weird.

      I don't have my braces on yet, but they will go on in 10 days.

      I will eventually be having both upper and lower jaw surgery, taking back the upper jaw and advancing the lower.

      Let me know how you are doing.

      Andy

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  2. Hi Andy
    I'm a 30 year old English girl living in Sydney. I had my SARME on 23 rd April and have been following your blog, it has been so helpful, thank you! Things are working out slightly differently for me, I stopped turning yesterday and had my upper braces fitted immediately to start closing the gap, my expander is still in! I'm feeling very self conscious but getting n with life, what can I do I'm a mum of 2 small children and as much as I would love to hide away it just isn't possible.
    Looking forward to your next post.
    Katie

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  3. Hi Katie

    Thanks for your message and I hope that you are doing well with your braces. You do seem to be moving along very fast - how many days were you turning the device for? I started turning four days after surgery and turned for around four weeks. I have pretty much taken the expander to it's full extent and expanded around 12mm in total.

    My orthodontist wanted my jaw to heal for a while before the braces went on and I would have had them on by now, but the ortho was away giving talks in the USA.

    Are you still feeling elf conscious? How is everything going?

    Andy

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  4. Hi Andy, thank you for your reply.
    So, in 3 days you'll get your braces :). Any idea how long it will take before your gap will be closed again? How went the healing of your bones?

    I'm completely fine: the swellings and hematoma have gone and I turn the device every day and I'm very used to it. When I travel in the train or bus, I just keep my mouth closed and keep lips stiffly together, but otherwise I just don't think about it. It looks strange but my colleagues, family and friends know about it and otherwise I should not bother. I can almost eat everything now and I prepared myself an Indian meal tonight :). I think I'll have a similar surgery as you but I think even though it feels my upper jaw should be taken back, the surgeon wants to advance both jaws but the lower one much more... but I guess they'll make their plan more concrete when time is there.
    In the Netherlands it is very cold for the time of the year and I'm planning to go with a friend to Portugal soon for a few days adventure with sunshine and in July I'm going to the Himalayas for 3 weeks...
    When I explain to people what has been done they think it must be very painful, but actually I've never felt that way. In the beginning some inconvenience, but to me it was not bad. How about your experience?

    Kind regards,
    Ymke

    ReplyDelete

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