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!
Friday, May 23, 2014
Sunday, May 18, 2014
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.
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.
Friday, May 16, 2014
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!
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!
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
So many dates!
Now, I'm not upset because I have a 2nd surgery date. But within 2 days, I now have 3 appointments in less than a week.
Tuesday May 13th @ 3pm - Doctor Appointment
Friday May 16th @ 1pm - 5 week Orthodontist Check up
Monday May 19th @ 4pm - Regular Dentist appointment (check up/cleaning)
Wednesday May 21st @ 8:30am - Ortho Appointment to replace spacer
Wednesday May 21st @ 1pm - Cavity filling with dentist
Wednesday May 21st @ 2pm - Pre-Op Appointment with PCP
Wednesday June 4th @ 2:40pm - 3 Week Orthodontist Check up (Appliance Installed)
Thursday June 19th @ 11:30am - Surgery @ MGH
Tuesday June 24th @ 10:30am - Post-Op Appointment with Oral Surgeon
Wednesday June 25th @ 9am - Occupational Health Evaluation to Return to Work
Here's my calendar so far (note: this is far from complete BTW):
I'm probably going to need at least 2-3 more Ortho appointments after the initial 5 week ortho check up too.
My calendar is soon going to be too full to have much of a life.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
2nd Surgery date scheduled!
I finally got a surgery date for surgery #2! Yaaay!
The big day is Thursday, June 19th, 2014 at 11:30am. Thankfully, this surgery is before noon which is great for me! Last time I had surgery, it wasn't until 2:30pm which meant I had to go without food for most of the day. It was beyond terrible. Dr. Keith came in before my surgery and asked me how I was feeling. My answer? Starving!
I'll have to be at the hospital 2 hours before my start time which means that I'll arrive at the hospital by 9:30am to get set up. Way better than last time. :) I also spoke with the insurance coordinator for my oral surgeon and she said that most people are out for 7-10 days. But that if I wanted to go back after a week, Dr. Keith could write a note saying that I can only do "lite duty." She said that if it still hurts to talk, he can even write me a note saying limited phone answering or something like that. I don't think it'll come to that, but it's nice that he's willing to do that. She said that he would make the final decision on when I can go back to work at my post-op appointment.
My boss was very supportive and was ok with the date since she hasn't done up the next schedule yet. I'm just happy that it's set and out of the way. Now I can book other appointments and get things rolling.
The only bad thing is that the surgery is the day before the Wakefield Walk for Relay that I had planned to participate in. A bunch of my friends are walking and I'm wicked bummed out because I don't think I'll be up to walking the day after my surgery. I'm going to see if my hubby will walk in my place. And maybe I'll bring my spirit and my lawn chair and just hang out. I'll bring my drugs, it'll be all good! haha!
And then there's a cancer walk in Salem the Sunday after my surgery. I just can't catch a break! Such a bummer.
But at least it's happening and now I can move forward!
The big day is Thursday, June 19th, 2014 at 11:30am. Thankfully, this surgery is before noon which is great for me! Last time I had surgery, it wasn't until 2:30pm which meant I had to go without food for most of the day. It was beyond terrible. Dr. Keith came in before my surgery and asked me how I was feeling. My answer? Starving!
I'll have to be at the hospital 2 hours before my start time which means that I'll arrive at the hospital by 9:30am to get set up. Way better than last time. :) I also spoke with the insurance coordinator for my oral surgeon and she said that most people are out for 7-10 days. But that if I wanted to go back after a week, Dr. Keith could write a note saying that I can only do "lite duty." She said that if it still hurts to talk, he can even write me a note saying limited phone answering or something like that. I don't think it'll come to that, but it's nice that he's willing to do that. She said that he would make the final decision on when I can go back to work at my post-op appointment.
My boss was very supportive and was ok with the date since she hasn't done up the next schedule yet. I'm just happy that it's set and out of the way. Now I can book other appointments and get things rolling.
The only bad thing is that the surgery is the day before the Wakefield Walk for Relay that I had planned to participate in. A bunch of my friends are walking and I'm wicked bummed out because I don't think I'll be up to walking the day after my surgery. I'm going to see if my hubby will walk in my place. And maybe I'll bring my spirit and my lawn chair and just hang out. I'll bring my drugs, it'll be all good! haha!
And then there's a cancer walk in Salem the Sunday after my surgery. I just can't catch a break! Such a bummer.
But at least it's happening and now I can move forward!
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
RANT RANT RANT
\RANT BEGIN
Ugh! I'm so irritated! I have been waiting for a little over a month now for the insurance coordinator to call me and schedule my 2nd surgery. It's really difficult to make any future plans and I can't move forward with any more orthodontic work until we know the date of the surgery.
Well, she called me today and I missed her call! And when I tried to call her back, she gave me the number to call her back at a different office (which I know she isn't in that office on Wednesdays). And I'm pretty sure she got confirmation that my insurance company will cover the surgery and was calling to schedule my surgery! UGH!!!! I don't want to wait anymore!!!!!!!! ;_;
I just want this stupid thing scheduled so I can move on with my life and get things planned!
/END RANT
On a lighter note, I'm pretty sure that my bottom teeth are completely straight! Hopefully, I won't need another wire to tighten them again cause they look pretty good to me!
Ugh! I'm so irritated! I have been waiting for a little over a month now for the insurance coordinator to call me and schedule my 2nd surgery. It's really difficult to make any future plans and I can't move forward with any more orthodontic work until we know the date of the surgery.
Well, she called me today and I missed her call! And when I tried to call her back, she gave me the number to call her back at a different office (which I know she isn't in that office on Wednesdays). And I'm pretty sure she got confirmation that my insurance company will cover the surgery and was calling to schedule my surgery! UGH!!!! I don't want to wait anymore!!!!!!!! ;_;
I just want this stupid thing scheduled so I can move on with my life and get things planned!
/END RANT
On a lighter note, I'm pretty sure that my bottom teeth are completely straight! Hopefully, I won't need another wire to tighten them again cause they look pretty good to me!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
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
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