Spacers finally gone and ... YUP still no molar brackets

First things first! After reading through the Common Questions for Oral Surgery section of my blog, I thought that the original formatting I used was a tad bit confusing. I have now changed it to a table format, left side with the questions, right side with the answers. Please click the links above or click HERE to check out the new updates. I had to use HTML coding for the first time in years so I am quite proud of myself. 

Now, onto the update! 

I saw Dr Klein last week on Thursday. I was excited to see her mostly because I was so done with these spacers. They were difficult to clean and hurt like a bitch the first few days I had them. I had forgotten what orthodontist pain felt like (haven't had an adjustment since the end of may since my teeth are straight)  but the memories came back real quick. Spacers really suck. Anyway, I went back and we tried different brackets. Low and behold, the brackets didn't really fit. Dr. Klein and one of her technicians had been going back and forth with the rep who sells them their brackets. What's hilarious is that he told them that there isn't anyone who exists in this world with molar teeth that small. He assured her that these would fit and well, they really didn't. So apparently I'm the only adult in the world with baby teeth sized adult molars. She was able to fit one bracket on the left side but it was legitimately uncomfortable. I don't think giving it a few days would make it any better, I would be uncomfortable for the rest of my treatment. Thanks but no thanks. 

She decided to take them off and not adhere them. She took some models (i'm such a pro at impressions) and said that she'd review them and get back to me. I probably wouldn't need to have them put on but she has to make doubly sure. Thankfully I have lots of time before my surgery so she has time to make the decision. 

Long story short, I attempted to try to do the molar brackets again and they still didn't work. Basically wore spacers for 2 weeks for no reason. 

My next appointment will be my last orthodontist appointment before my surgery. ;( and at that appointment, I will become "jaws" haha. This appointment is right before my pre-op day at MGH on Thursday September 24th. Every bracket will need to be ligature tied and then tiny little hooks will be placed in between each tooth in the front. I've been told to expect to be sore after so I'm definitely going to take some ibuprofen before the appointment. I've taken the day off too since their appointments typically run long. They told me 1.5-2 hours so I'm planning closer to 2-2.5. I really don't want to go into work late and have to rush around. I'd rather take my ibuprofen, grab a milkshake for lunch and then relax for the rest of the day without having to worry about causing a major hiccup at work because I'm late. 

Dr. Klein is so awesome, she really has a terrific bedside manner. We talked a bit about feelings at this appointment which was nice and helpful. She warned me that 95% of patients become depressed during a long surgical recovery like mine. I loved that she was upfront and honest with me. I know this isn't going to be easy. In fact, this will probably be one of the hardest things I ever do. Talking with me about these things wasn't something she had to do but she took time out of her schedule to talk about them anyway. And we talked about them in depth, a good 10-15 minutes extra from what my original appointment was. Once I have kids, if they need orthodontic treatment, I'm going back to her because she's phenomenal. 

I also spoke with Dr. Keith's new insurance coordinator Viviene. She never did return my original phone message that I left her a few weeks ago. However, I'm going to mark that down as her getting settled into her new position. And the phone number I called may have been an old number, who knows. I did speak with her and she was very friendly on the phone. She easily gave me all the information I needed in order to submit paperwork for my work leave. I'm looking forward to meeting her in person come October. I think she'll have settled in by then and hopefully everything will be a breeze. 

I can't believe summer will be over in just about 2 weeks! Pumpkin everything is already here in Massachusetts. Can't believe how fast it went by! 

Speaking of fall, I've recently gotten into canning! It'll be a great way for me to store some food supplies, especially when I may not be able to run out and grab something at the store. In the next few weeks, I may post an update or two with some info about my canning progress! Look for it soon!

This winter can suck it.

I am so done with this winter, it's not even funny. Seriously mother nature, we get it. We are very sorry for whatever it is that we did. We apologize.

So for those of you reading this blog NOT from New England, we've been getting crazy amounts of snow this year. So crazy that public transit has been forced to shut down multiple times. In total, I believe we have collectively gotten 6 ft of snow so far this winter with 4 ft the past 2 weeks alone. And we have another BLIZZARD bringing another 2 feet of snow tomorrow night. What a joke!

Because of all this weather, it's really screwed around with my dental appointments. I was supposed to have another appointment this past Wednesday. I didn't want to drive in because I thought parking would be terrible. There are snow banks everywhere in Boston, especially around the Mass General Hospital area (just my luck, the worst place for traffic and snow just so happens to be where I need to go. Figures.). I decided to take my chances with the T and was just about halfway there when I get a phone call from the dentist telling me that my appointment has been cancelled due to the Doctor being unable to make it into the office. GREAT. Thankfully, it was my day off so I didn't need to rush into work or anything but now I had to reschedule my appointment to a different day and that day I would be working. Even better. I was a little irritated because the dental office tried to reschedule my appointment to 3 weeks after this one. I don't want to be a bitch or anything but, in my opinion, it is unacceptable. I'm not a patient getting a routine dental cleaning and I'm not going into the office just for shits and giggles. I'm going into the office to prepare for a major surgery. Even minor delays can really impact my timeline. And the sooner I have surgery, the sooner I won't be coming into their office every 4-6 weeks. They just need to get their shit together. I also maybe threatened the secretary with tooth decay and my teeth falling out (because of the spacers) so maybe that's why I got a better appointment. I guess going into psycho-bitch mode really does work!

I had my appointment today and my orthodontist was so impressed with how fast my teeth are moving. She couldn't believe how much my teeth had moved in just 2 weeks! I got the spacers removed because I was supposed to get bands put around the back 2 top molars. Unfortunately, those 2 teeth are kinda problematic. They aren't fully down all the way. Half of them are still underneath the gum (WTF teeth!). She tried putting a band around one of them and it just wouldn't fit without totally destroying my gum around it. She decided to omit the back brackets for now and thinks that 6 more weeks of straightening might give them some more room to come down so that she can put the bracket on. Why can't the gum recession happen back there?! Geez. But she was so impressed that she told me that they were going to do some impressions and then she would look at the models and give me a better idea of when I can expect to have surgery. Once they dry and she gets a chance to look at them, we'll talk about surgery. !!!!!!! She told me that I'm very "close" to almost having straightened teeth. And now I might have surgery sooner rather than later. Wahoo!

This whole roller coaster of emotions is a little exhausting. First being told Jan-Mar 2015 for surgery, then told Jan-Mar 2016 for surgery. Then the disappointment. Now it's looking like potentially August or September 2015 for surgery? Maybe? I don't know! Now my spirits are up just a little bit. It's very tiring and almost impossible to plan anything life-wise.

My next appointment is in 5 weeks and that's when we'll talk surgery. I guess I'll just keep doing what I'm doing until then. I ended up getting an appointment at the Danvers office next time so I refuse to go into Boston proper again until winter is over.

I know I don't say it often, but I really couldn't go through this experience without my family and friends. Their support means a lot to me, even if it's mostly me bitching and complaining. Either way, thank you to everyone who listens to me with a sympathetic ear.

I'm trying to keep my promise of posting photos along with my updates but it's hard. I always write something and then forget the pictures. Here is one new photo taken today. I've also reposted 2 other photos so people can see the difference. I've only gone back 5 weeks so check out my recent progress!

Taken 2/14/15

Taken 1/30/15 (two weeks ago)

Taken 1/7/15 (5 weeks ago)

Ok, let's try this again...

After winter storm Juno ruined my dental plans for last Wednesday, I finally had my appointment on Friday. They ended up having to fit me in during the office lunch break so the place was very quiet. It was nice and refreshing. Dr Klein was very excited to see the progress of my teeth and wasn't disappointed. She said my teeth are coming along beautifully which makes me happy. It makes everything I'm going through sorta kinda worth it. Haha!

I asked about maybe getting a better idea of when I can expect to have surgery. She laughed and told me that all her patients have that in common. We just want to know a date! (Well... duh!) She told me that at my next appointment, we'll do some impressions and molds and then she'll have a better idea by looking at the models of how my teeth are moving. I'm excited even though I hate doing impressions.

Some not so good news is that I have some gum recession going on. My aunt and cousin warned me that there was a high probability that gum recession would happen and my orthodontist has told me that it's started. She told me that it happens sometimes which is unfortunate. However she said she wouldn't have changed my treatment had she known this would happen. She told me to think of one thing at a time. Surgery first and then after I've recovered, I'll probably need to do a gum grafting procedure to fix the gum recession problem. Ugh. I'll worry about that later. 

Now that my teeth are starting their straightening journey, they need to close the gaps that the palate expander created. So she tied 2 sets of teeth together with some wire and put a criss-cross band on my top teeth. Holy hell, my mouth was sore even before I left the office. And I took pain medication 30 minutes prior to my appointment. A technician that I haven't seen before worked on my jaw. She kept asking me if I was ok which was very sweet. I think she got a kick out of me cause at the end, she asked me how I felt. I told her I felt, "Awesome.". She laughed. Apparently, she appreciated my dry humor.

On top of my teeth getting pulled together, I also had spacers put around my upper back molars. So my jaw is really freaking sore. It hurt to eat a banana this morning. I eventually had to mash it up and eat it that way. I've got some mashed potatoes and plan on making some squash too. So I should hopefully be set for a little while. 

So, I've promised some progress photos so here they are! 

Right Profile

Left profile

Frontal View with my off center bite. It's hard to see the criss-cross band because it's silver.

That arrow shows my gum recession. It sucks. Fortunately, it's not visible when I smile. Also, don't mind my stained teeth. I've been using chlorhexidine again and it does a number staining your teeth. I have another dental cleaning soon which will take care of that. 

Winter Storm Juno ruined my dental plans!

For those who follow this blog who aren't in New England, we had a blizzard this week! I'm not sure about the official totals for my specific town but I think we got around 26 inches. Some places nearby got 3 feet of snow though! I did end up making it into the hospital like a winter warrior. I was supposed to work in the OR but they closed due to the weather. I ended up coming into work early and working up in the main pharmacy. When I left work at the end of my shift, the storm was still in full swing. Thankfully, my hubby and brother in law drove me in and picked me up. My little ford focus wouldn't have made it, that's for sure! I definitely would have gotten stuck somewhere.
On Monday, I got a phone call from my orthodontist but couldn't answer right away. They left me a message about confirming my appointment and to call them back. So I did. Thank goodness I called them back! I called and they informed me that the office on Wednesday wouldn't be opening until 10am (in order to allow the parking lots to be plowed and such). They were wondering if I would be able to push my appointment back until 11:30am. I told them that I'd be working at that time so I was unable to switch my appointment. I schedule 8:30am appointments for a reason and it's difficult for me to switch my appointments should an issue come up.
I told them that I was supposed to see Dr. Klein every 6 weeks and due to my schedule, I'm actually coming up on week 7 without a check up. I told this to the secretary and she told me that Dr. Klein definitely needs to see me. She told me that she could fit me in on Friday at 1pm. Again, I would be working but I have some flexibility that day. I spoke to my boss and she said I could leave early for my appointment.
I'm just glad I called because I normally don't. I usually confirm my appointments online but they called me after I had already confirmed online so I thought that maybe something was up with my appointment. If I hadn't called, I would have gone into Boston this morning for no reason and probably would have waited around and missed a lot of work.
Not looking forward to this appointment because I think I will have spacers installed on my top back molars. And with the super bowl on Sunday, I will probably only be able to eat mushy junk instead of good junk (like chips and popcorn). ;_; Oh well, might be the perfect time to make some home-made mac and cheese.

EDIT: So, I just realized in my last post, I said I would post a new progress photo every time I posted something new. Well, I had an epic-fail moment cause I totally forgot that I had committed to that challenge. And my photographer (aka my husband) is at a soccer game right now sooooo.... guess I'm off the hook for now! I will TRY to post a progress photo on Friday after my appointment. WHOOPSIE! :D

Hello 2015! Hello straighter teeth!

It's been almost 4 weeks since my last orthodontist appointment and I feel pretty good dental-wise. I've been fighting a cold since before Christmas and it just hasn't gone away. I went back to the doctor and was told I have walking pneumonia! Geez, not something I wanted to deal with right now, especially since I'm trying to save my earned time at work for surgery. I feel ok but I'm just very tired.

In other news, I got a water pik from my in-laws! They had one that they didn't use anymore and it was recommended that I get one the last time I went to the dentist. It has really changed my evening dental routine for the better. What a difference! It has increased my evening flossing/brushing routine by a few extra minutes but it makes my mouth feel 20 times cleaner.


My teeth have been a little sensitive but I chalk that up to the braces doing their magic. It wasn't until earlier this week when I was brushing my teeth when I noticed how much my teeth had moved. I took some photos and it's really amazing how fast they moved. Maybe my teeth have a memory from the last time they were stuck in braces? Who knows! I still have some large spaces from the palate expander but those will hopefully close soon.

Wednesday, January 7th 2015

I still can't believe how much my teeth have moved. Everything is going very fast!

Last time I was at the orthodontist, I asked about the timeline since I was in that holding pattern. The orthodontist told me that it would be another year (in which I semi-freaked out btw). I was confused and disappointed since I was told a year ago that this journey would be 1 year. I was really expecting to have surgery anytime between Jan. 2015-April 2015.
Well, it's been a year, and now I'm being told it's going to be another year. It was hard not to be disappointed. I'm putting my life on hold and there are things that my husband and I want to do (namely start a family) that we can't do until I've had surgery. When I called her out on the time line, she was honest with me and said that she won't know when I can expect to have surgery until she sees how fast my teeth move. It really depends on them. She said that if they move fast, I might expect to have surgery in 6 months. If they move slow, however, she told me that I might not have surgery until the end of the 2015 or early 2016.
Now that I've seen what my teeth can do in just 4 weeks, it has really increased my spirits. My next appointment is January 28th and I'm hoping that my orthodontist will be excited at my progress. I'll be getting those dreaded spacers for the top back molars at that next appointment. Me and spacers don't really go well together so I'm not really looking forward to that appointment for that reason.

I'm going to try to get better at posting a progress picture with every new post from now on.

Another one bites the dust

Things have been very hectic! We've been going with the flow and preparing for my surgery when BAM, life kicked us where it hurts.

Last Monday night (roughly two hours after my spacer part II dilemma), my husband was playing soccer with some friends when he got hurt. He ended up tearing his achilles tendon in his right leg. We had to rush to the hospital and suddenly our lives got a whole lot more complicated. We made an appointment to see an orthopedic specialist (the next day) and he confirmed our worst fears. His achilles was torn and pretty badly. He recommended surgery and soon. They were able to fit him in for surgery the following Friday.
I've been preparing for my surgery for months, I can't imagine being told, "Yea, you need surgery. Lets do it on Friday." Unreal. My hubby is a trooper cause I would have been a hot mess.
Friday comes and we go in for surgery. Luckily, I didn't have to miss work because he came to my hospital and had his surgery. By the time he got out of the OR, my shift was over. The best part? My husband is one of those people who is VERY HILARIOUS when coming off anesthesia. Since I work there, I was able to check up on him in the PACU (which the nurses don't typically allow in PACU cause their patients can turn critical very quickly if something goes wrong). After I checked in and said hi, I left to let him fully wake up.
The next time I saw him, he was sitting up at the day surgery recovery. He saw me and his face lit up. After I sat down next to him, he started humming and then busted out some awesome rap lyrics. I knew I should have come in with my phone on record. Would have made for an awesome youtube video. Now he is recovering and being a typical pain in the ass patient, haha! He came out of surgery in a splint because of swelling. But last Thursday, they took that off, checked his stitches and put him in a hard cast.
I was amazed because the incision is much larger than I thought it would be. I figured 2 maybe 2 1/2 inches max but he's got a good 4 inches of stitches. He didn't just tear his achilles, he also shredded it as well. The shredding carried very far up his leg. The doctor said that it's the worst shredding of a tendon that he's ever seen (great, should have known that don wouldn't do anything half-assed! haha). So now, he's in the hard cast until June 12th when he'll be fitted for a walking boot. He'll be stuck in the walking boot for a minimum of 6 weeks.

Don's bright orange cast to match his bright orange hair!

Now, since it was his right foot, he hasn't been able to drive. His coworker lives nearby and has to drive by our house in order to get to work so he's been picking Don up and driving him in when his schedule works out. Unfortunately, we aren't sure when Don will be able to drive again. And he was supposed to be my "reliable person" to drive me to and from the hospital on my own surgery day. Hopefully, he'll be able to drive by June 19th but if he can't, we have a few other people who could potentially drive us into Mass General.

In other news, tomorrow is the big day where I get my appliance placed. I'm hoping that it's smaller than it was when I was a kid. I'm sure this will now increase my 15 minute brushing and flossing ritual to closer to 20 minutes now, haha. Although I do have to say that I will be very happy to be able to floss my upper teeth again. Not flossing because of the spacers makes me feel like my mouth is never fully clean.

Well, tomorrow is just another chapter in this journey. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Kinda stupid but that's how I'm trying to look at it. :D
More to come (hopefully) tomorrow. I make no promises that I won't be a giant whiny baby though!

Spacer dilemma Part 2

Well, I went back to the orthodontist to see if they could replace the spacer that fell out. Apparently, it's not that easy. Typically, they'll replace the spacer and have no issues. However, the reason my spacer fell out is because it did its job and a little too well! There's now a pretty large space where the spacer used to be. If they try to put another spacer in, it'll just fall out again.
This time, they put a thicker spacer in its place and it was such a BITCH. God it hurt so bad after they placed it. They warned me that it could fall out again though. If it does fall out again, my orthodontist told me to not worry about it. So long as it stays in for a few days, everything should be fine. I was just worried about loosing the space and then having an issue when they go to put the appliance in on the 4th. If the appliance doesn't fit when I go on the 4th due to a spacer malfunction, I'll be really upset. But I'll trust Dr. Klein! She knows best so I'll try not to worry...too much!

EDIT (May 26th, 2014 @ 7pm)
The spacer just fell out again!! Darn thing! I hope it's been in for long enough to do what it needed to! I can't wait until the 4th to get all these stupid spacers out cause they are really irrating me!

Spacer dilemma

Well, it's finally happened! I had a slight braces malfunction yesterday. And it only took 24 hours for it to happen, haha! Not a huge big deal, but one of my spacers on my top jaw popped out last night while we were hanging out with some friends. It was on my left side and I'm pretty sure it was the very back molar. I'm just happy that I felt it and spit it out before I swallowed it!

Unfortunately, I don't really have the time to put the spacer back in until Wednesday. I have to work Monday and Tuesday from 7am-3:30pm. And Monday after work, I have a dentist appointment at 4pm. I might as well go to the orthodontist on Wednesday when I have a day off work. That way, I'm not rushing around like a crazy person trying to run to an appointment right after work.

After the spacers were placed, my jaw was ok. But later that evening my jaw started to hurt quite a bit. After the spacer popped out, my jaw felt a little better (uh...no duh!). But nothing to worry about, I've got 3 weeks-ish before the appliance goes in and that's plenty of time to get the spacer replaced and do it's thing.

Back to reality

It's been quite awhile since I last posted. But I haven't had much to post about since I haven't gone to the dentist since the beginning of April. Today, however, I went back to the orthodontist for the first time in several weeks. Today was the big day that I got the dreaded upper spacers put back in. I took ibuprofen before the appointment so I wasn't too sore. Now, almost 8 hours later, I'm starting to feel a little sore. I took another ibuprofen a few hours ago so hopefully it won't be too bad overnight.

I think I'm in for a rough night though. I returned to wearing my night guard after my spacers came out the first time. It helped me to sleep easier. But now that the spacers are back in again, I won't be able to wear the night guard since it won't fit. At least I'll get to sleep in if I do end up waking up a ton. Until I get used to these dumb spacers, I'll probably have to do the whole 600mg of ibuprofen 3-4 times a day.

In other news, I found out that my orthodontist is pregnant. I can't believe I didn't notice last time I saw her. However, she was only 4-5 months along and wearing a rather large lab coat. But today, she was definitely pregnant! Haha. The nice thing is that my timeline and her timeline match up quite perfectly. After my surgery in June, I'll need to have at least 6 months of healing before the top braces will go on. She's due to give birth in September which means that she'll be on maternity leave from September thru December. And once we hit January, she'll be back and I'll be ready to continue with my treatment. I thanked her for timing it so perfectly because this means that I won't have to post-pone my treatment or my future surgery. She laughed.

My next appointment is June 3rd and that's when I get the appliance fitted and glued. So I'll have a few weeks to get used to the expander before my surgery. Wish me luck!

Good News, Bad News, and Even Better News

The Good News: I went to the orthodontist today and was told that I will not be getting my top braces on until after my SARPE procedure. This is GREAT news because top braces can be pretty uncomfortable. My orthodontist said that my teeth won't be able to move until after the SARPE procedure so why make me uncomfortable in the meantime? I say hell yes!

The Bad News: Since my surgery is looking to be sometime in May/June, the spacers I had put in 2 weeks ago had to be taken out. It's bad for my gums to have them in for longer than a few weeks. They will have to go in two weeks before my palate expander gets installed. These spacers totally suck. To go through them twice just really blows.

The Better News: Because of the spacers and my SARPE surgery, this has pushed my time line back a little bit for everything. After the SARPE surgery, my jaw needs approx. 6 months to heal before having another procedure. So I won't be able to have my surgery until December/January at the earliest. This is GREAT news because I was worried about job security if I had to have my surgery earlier than January. That is one less thing I have to worry about. 

PS: A friend introduced me to boloco today after my ortho appointment and I can't believe I've never been before! I might have found a new food love. :D 

Day 1 - Getting Bottom Braces put on

Well, today was the day that I got braces... sorta. A small hiccup at the dentist's office yesterday is the reason why I have to wait 2 more weeks for the top braces to be put on. I have a couple cavities that the orthodontist wanted filled before the top braces went on. But that's ok, not a big deal. It'll give me time to get used to the bottom braces that I had put on this morning. Neither the brackets or the wire hurt. What hurts the most is the spacers I had placed for the back molars. God, those elastics are such a bitch! I was told to try and do all my chewing on my back teeth. However, the teeth are really sensitive now so I could barely eat any of the dinner I made tonight. Bummer. This will probably happen fairly often from now on. Le sigh.

Also, apparently, getting colored O rings (the little rubber bands that hold the wire to the bracket) is no longer cool anymore. The technician automatically put grey bands on my teeth. I asked for colored O bands and she seemed surprised that I had even asked. She told me that they were thinking about not ordering the colored ones because no one really uses them anymore. Not even kids! Last time I had braces, I had all the colors! But she told me that she'd redo the bands if I wanted colored ones. I figure that I might as well have some fun with it! I got pink for Valentines Day HAHA. I think next time I'll either get purple or teal. Depending on what they have. Hopefully they don't stop ordering the colored ones because I want to have fun with this stupid braces thing.

Here is the first of many photos.

Day 1 - Getting Bottom braces on (pink)