My dreaded gap has finally closed!

I went for my regular adjustment appointment on Monday and as usual I had my power chains replaced.  Now I love it when I get my power chains replaced, mostly because they are fresh and white and everything looks a lot nicer.  Then, this morning when I woke (only two days later) I noticed that the gap in between my front teeth has completely closed.  The fresh power chains had done their job to pull that remaining 0.25mm gap together!

That's a total of 478 days (or 1 year, 3 months and 22 days) from when I stopped expanding on April 8th 2013 to the gap being finally closed.  Phew!  Of course this is still not the end - I still have my big surgery to go, but it's a milestone nonetheless.

Here's a photo of my now gapless smile.

It's been too long - here's an update to my journey

A blog is a big commitment and sometimes it can be really easy to think 'I'll update it next week'.  I've been super busy with work, travelling quite a lot for both work and pleasure and I also moved to a new apartment.  Then I realised that almost a year has passed by since my last post.  I am still very much on my journey and the biggest step is yet to come, so I thought I would finally give an update and will commit to keeping this blog up to date.

So what has happened in the last year?  

To start with the expansion device had to stay in my mouth for a good 3-4 months after the braces were on so my jaw could stabilise.  It was a bit awkward having both in my mouth so you can imagine my joy when it was finally removed - I could touch the top of my mouth with my tongue again!

Since then it has been braces all the way - and my face has changed a lot.  I knew that it would take a while to close the huge gap that was between my front teeth - I just didn't realise it would take so long, but now I am really happy to say that the gap has almost closed.  In fact, there is only a 0.25mm gap right now thanks to orthodontic power chains.  You can see the result for yourself in the photo below - needless to say I am extremely happy with the result.  When I used to smile wide, there used to be huge gaps at each side of my upper jaw due to how extremely narrow it was.  Now my teeth are as wide as my smile.

When you look at yourself in the mirror every day you do not always notice the changes.  Looking at my upper jaw here though - it's amazing to see the changes.  And yes, it's another stupid pose!

I mentioned power chains - but what are they?

Well they are definitely not as scary as they sound.  At first when I heard about power chains I expected metal chains to be placed in my mouth and across the braces.  In reality, a power chain is just a plastic set of links similar to the o-rings that hold the brackets closed on your braces.  They go over the top of your regular o-rings and are quite tight, and that tension pulls the teeth together which in turn closes any gaps you may have.  There are different types of power chains and as the gaps get smaller, so do the links between each o-ring on the power chain.  In the image below, you would start with the power chains at the bottom of the image and slowly move to the ones at the top. 

Other results of the braces

Aside from the closing of the gap, the braces have also greatly reduced the over-jet of my front teeth. I didn't expect the result to be so dramatic because reducing the over-jet has in turn reduced the appearance of the overbite.  I still need double jaw surgery to fully correct everything, but I am well on my way to having a functional jaw.

This side profile shows the reduction of the over-jet

Of course the main function of braces is to straighten teeth and while my upper teeth were always nice and straight, my lower teeth were a mess.  I had a fang on each side of my lower jaw and these were not in line with the other teeth - but the braces soon worked their magic and straightened these teeth out.  In fact this only took a couple of months before there was a big change.

And that's it for now!  I will be posting a couple more updates soon on how to live with braces and the next steps in my treatment leading up to surgery.  Until then, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read and comment - your support means a lot and your questions are always welcome. 

Before and after jaw widening

Throughout my whole SARME experience I have of course noticed my jaw getting wider.  This is mainly because of the gap that has formed between my front teeth.  However because I look at myself every day, I don't think I realised just how much wider my jaw actually is.  Last night I took a photograph of the roof of my mouth and compared this to the same photograph I took before the surgery/widening and I am truly amazed at the difference.  So here are the photographs side by side, so you can see the difference too!  When I look at these, I have no doubt that I am doing the right thing.

Enjoy the lovely nostril shots...

Pass that paper bag

It's been a strange few days.  Last weekend I suddenly became extremely self-conscious and aware of the stares I get in public due to the gap in between my front teeth, and a Facebook post where I vented my frustration prompted an interesting conversation with a very good friend.

Why am I worried about people staring at me, when I have this blog which is showing my jaw (and journey) for all to see?

I thought that was a very good question because my blog if anything, is quite explicit in the descriptions I give and the photographs I share.  To me, it comes down to control and context.  When I post an update to my blog I am putting my face right out there for all to see.  And while I have no control in who reads the blog, the reactions of people who read it are not displayed to me right away.  If someone is reading my blog, they know I am going through surgery and so for my readers, things are put into context.  This is quite different to what happens in public.

When I am out and about in public, people stare.  They can't help it but they just do.  I have had people stare so much that I turn around and they are still looking.  On one occasion the stares have led to all out laughing which was very obviously directed at me.  The issue is this - they do not know I am having jaw surgery, they do not know this is all part of a larger plan and they do not know that I haven't been in a fight and had my teeth knocked out (because after all, I am quite butch).  Of course I don't blame people for looking because unlike my blog there is no context, however after a while the stares make me uncomfortable.  Of course the laughing to me is another matter and just plain rude, and prompted my Facebook frustration.

So there is a bit of an insight into how I am feeling and why stares in public are very different to someone reading my blog!  It has definitely highlighted my coping (or lack of) mechanisms and this is something I will be working on.  On a more positive note, this situation has prompted me to contact my orthodontist who has said they can put some temporary composite (the same material fillings are made from) across my front teeth which will disguise the gap.  It won't look like a tooth, but I won't have a huge gaping hole either so in the short term I can get back to looking fairly normal.

Now all I need to do is wait until the upper braces are fitted and the gap starts to close...

SARME surgery post-op day seven - Look at my gap!

It has now been seven days since my SARME surgery and I'm glad to say that everything is going pretty well.

I went to see my Maxillofacial Surgeon for the first time since the procedure and he has commented that my gums are nice and pink and that I look like I am healing fast.  I still have no feeling in my upper teeth and my gums are completely numb, but he has said it can take months for the feeling to come back!  I mentioned to him my concern over one side of my jaw sitting slightly lower than the other, but he assures me this is normal and that it will be fixed up during both orthodontics and my bi-maxillary surgery next year.

I'm really surprised with how quick my upper jaw is widening.  I know I said before that it would widen by 0.25mm with each turn and yes I know it's called a 'rapid' maxillary expansion, but I didn't realise how quickly it would become a large gap.  After four days of turning the gap is extremely noticeable and I am able to do all sorts of tricks with my gap such as whistle or direct a stream of water through it.

Anyway that's all for now - enjoy the photos below and check out my sexy (not) gap!

I'm sexy and I know it

I can almost fit a straw through the middle

SARME surgery post-op day three - I've started turning!

Three days after my SARME surgery and I am still feeling no pain, however I have been extremely exhausted and sleeping loads.

Today I went for an appointment with my orthodontist to start the adjustments/turns on my expansion device.  I freaked out a little inside when he put the mini spanner into my mouth and shook (quite visibly) as he made the very first turn.  I was so convinced that it was going to hurt, but to my surprise it didn't.  My orthodontist gave me instructions on adjusting my expander and within five minutes I was finished.

The SARME surgery on Monday split the jaw bone which allows the upper jaw to move and now by turning the device I am making my upper jaw wider.  This is not a slow process (theres a reason they call it 'rapid' maxillary expansion) as my jaw is widening by 0.25mm with each turn.  After the first turn by the orthodontist I could already notice a gap (however this did not come out in the photo below) so it's reasonable to say that I will be looking like Cletus from The Simpsons in no time.  

That's all for now - just a quick post.  I will update more in the days to come.

SARME surgery and post-op day one

The big day has come and gone so I thought I would give you an update on the surgery and my recovery since then.

I had to report at the hospital at 1.30pm on Monday 11th March, which meant that I couldn't eat after 7am that morning.  I couldn't sleep well anyway as I was nervous so I was awake and having breakfast at 6am.  I pottered around as much as I could Monday morning (including making the last video) and then set off to the day surgery in Randwick.

I still felt nervous on arrival but the team of nurses and my anaesthetist came to chat to me at different times to go through various questionnaires and I felt confident in their hands.  They advised me that I wouldn't be having the four teeth removed at the same time as my surgeon and orthodontist had decided they would come out later.  

The day unit was a little different than a hospital ward, and I had to wait in reception until they were ready for me.  As soon as they called me through it was time to gown up and go straight through to theatre - no sitting around in a hospital bed for me.

Giving away my age again

In theatre I saw my surgeon Dr Tsakiris who came to assure me that I would be ok everything would run smoothly.  I feel so confident with him that any nerves or worry I had started to disappear instantly.  I also saw Andrew again (the anaesthetist who came to originally talk to me) and while all the team were busy with their jobs their focus was on me - asking if I was ok, keeping me chatting about what I did for work etc.  The drip went into my hand and before I knew it I was breathing oxygen through a mask.  I remember the coldness of the anaesthetic going into my hand and remember saying 'that feels good' before drifting off to sleep.

This was only my second experience of general anaesthesia and it felt like I woke up as soon as I had fallen asleep.  The surgery actually took around 1 hour and 40 minutes.  I was a little groggy when I came around and kept drifting in and out losing track of time, although I did feel quite relaxed.  I remember the nurses calling my escort to come and pick me up, and it felt like only seconds later until he arrived, even though it was 30 minutes.  My surgeon came and spoke to me and said that everything had gone well.  After a short while longer in recovery I was on my way home and soon enough was resting up in bed.

On my way home from the hospital

Resting up in bed

And so here I am one day after my SARME surgery.  I have been quite surprised with the pain levels in the fact that they have been low to non-existent!  I guess I must be very lucky as I have read from other blogs that people have been in tremendous amounts of pain after this procedure.  I am religiously taking the antibiotics and the panadeine forte (very strong painkillers) they prescribed me so the pain does not creep up on me.

While there has been no pain there is a lot of pressure and numbness on my upper jaw and the swelling is very, no extremely noticeable - think Joan Rivers meets Alvin and the Chipmunks.  

I am not allowed to spit or blow my nose for two weeks and this is because the sinus walls are damaged during this kind of surgery and need to repair.  I'm not even allowed to sniff which is frustrating as my nose is clogged, but I have been prescribed some nose drops for this.  Sometimes I have sniffed without realising which has caused some blood to come through to my mouth, but not tremendous amounts.

So what else can I say?  Well apparently a lot because I have not lost my ability to talk!  I thought it would be too painful but if you watch the video below you'll realise I'm the same old me!

The day of my SARME surgery

It's the day of my jaw widening surgery (SARME) so I thought I'd let you hear it from the horses mouth!