Ready for surgery?!

I have a lot to update on since my last post...

On 6/3/14 I went to the orthodontist to get a new wire placed.  He also took molds of my teeth to see how my teeth are lining up.  These are the first molds I have had in this process (pics below).  Other than that, he told me to come back in 10 weeks.... He didn't really say what was going to happen in 10 weeks, so the next day I called to ask what was going on.  I talked to one of the assistants and she said I'd be getting a new wire in Aug, then ANOTHER new wire in Oct, then final wires and I could look at scheduling surgery after that, which puts us at December.  I was pretty disappointed because I thought surgery was going to be sooner than that.  The initial estimate from the ortho had been 6 - 9 months, and I am in the 9th month now.

Fast forward to 6/25/14.  I had a cleaning scheduled with my regular dentist and stopped in at the ortho first so they could remove my wire to make it easier for the cleaning.  (I highly recommend this.  If the wire is not removed they can't get your teeth very clean).  Anyway, I go in to have the wire taken out, figuring I will be in and out in less than 10 mins. So the Dr. comes over as soon as I get there and is like "Hey, guess what, I have your molds and your teeth line up.  You're ready for surgery."

This was pretty shocking to hear.  First of all because after my last appointment I was under the impression it was going to be towards the end of the year.  Second of all just because there has been so much waiting around for the braces to do their thing it just always felt like surgery was so far away.  Surprisingly, I am not totally freaking out. I was caught off guard by this initially, but I am ok with it now and kind of excited actually.

I had already planned a summer vacation in August when I thought surgery wasn't happening until later.  I told my ortho about this and he was totally cool about it.  He said there's no rush, that I can do it whenever I want and to enjoy my vacation.  So that was a relief to hear.

So next steps are: I'm going back to the ortho next week to get the surgical wires put on.  Apparently these are just a heavier wire.  I also scheduled an appointment with my surgeon.

Also, I am still going to my orofacial myologist and working on all kinds of stuff like keeping my mouth closed, breathing through my nose and all of my tongue/swallowing exercises.  She says I am making excellent progress.

Here is a pic of my progress since I've started in braces.  In the collage below the top left is the date I got the braces put on and then every 3 months since then.  It's really amazing to see how much my teeth have changed.

Below are pics of my molds.  It is so cool to actually see my teeth fit together!!! I think the purpose of the molds is just to see if my teeth are straight enough to fit together once my structure (jaw) is fixed.

OROFACIAL MYOLOGY FOR TONGUE THRUST

"Orofacial myology is the study of normal and abnormal patterns of use of the mouth and face and their relationships with dentition, speech and vegetative functions."

The most common oral myofunctional disorder is the tongue thrust. 

I stumbled across the term "orofacial myology" while doing research on my open bite surgery.  I found a journal article that stated treatment for anterior open bite should include orthodontics, surgery and orofacial myofunctional therapy.  

So then I started researching orofacial myology.  Basically it is therapy to help treat your tongue thrust.  I am currently working with a therapist who is teaching me to correct my tongue resting posture, swallowing and mouth breathing.   It is really important to know that these issues CAN BE CORRECTED.  It is all about learning the new, right way to do things and then making it a habit.

I think this is a really important thing for anyone having this type of surgery to know about.  I did not hear about this through my ortho or surgeon, i had to find out about it by myself.

A really good resource is the International Association of Orofacial Myology (IAOM).  You can search for a certified myologist in your area and read about the field. Here is their website: http://www.iaom.com/IAOM/

See picture below.  The pic on the left is from 12/2/13, before I started myofunctional therapy.  The pic on the right is from 3/18/14, after having 4 sessions with my therapist and doing daily practice on my own.

You can see on the right that my lips are closing easier and my chin is less strained.  More relaxed/natural.  I absolutely recommend this type a treatment from a certified orofacial myologist!!!

New Wire

I had an ortho appointment this morning.  They ended up repositioning 4 brackets and putting in a new bigger wire.  This wire has squared off edges, my previous wires were round.  So he said to come back in 8  weeks and then he should put me in the surgical wire and take initial molds.  That was kind of scary.  I am not sure how long I will have to stay in the surgical wires before I can schedule surgery. 

Anyway, my teeth are really sore right now. I have been taking ibuprofen all day... 

Bite Opening more on right side

About 2 weeks ago I noticed that my bite had opened up on the right side.  I could no longer feel my molars touching when I bit down.  I tested this by trying to bite down on a piece of paper,  I was able to pull it right out when biting on my right side, but when biting on my left side I was still touching and could hold the paper in place while pulling.  I know that my bite would be changing and it is possible for it to get "worse" before surgery, but I still called my orthodontist to let him know. He wanted me to come in so he could take a look.  So I went in today and he confirmed that I was no longer touching on my right side.  He said there was about 1mm of space between those molars.  He said the brackets on my LEFT molars were really close to the bite-line and he was going to move them to allow the teeth on my RIGHT side to come back together.  I don't totally understand this.  But he removed/ repositioned the 3 brackets on my upper LEFT molars.

Bracket Repositioning

On 1/29/14 I had my second ortho appt since my braces were put on in September.  During this visit they took off some brackets and repositioned them.  I'm not really sure how many he actually did.  I would say at least 4 or 5, maybe more.  I thought it was going to hurt really bad, but I couldn't even feel most of them.  He did try to take off one on my upper second tooth and that one hurt BAD.  It felt like my tooth was loose and he was ripping it out.  So he didn't end up doing that one.

I'm just starting to feel back to normal after that appointment.  My teeth were really sore for about a week.  It was like I just had my braces put on.  So I was eating soft foods all week and taking ibuprofen or tylenol as needed.

Anyway he put my current wire back in after he was done (I'm in Damon Clear braces and still in the light round wire).  I will have this wire for another 10 weeks.  Then I'll get my wire changed to a heaver wire and 10 weeks after that they will take my initial molds to see if I'm ready for surgery.  So that should be around June.  He also said i might only need upper jaw surgery.  That is kind of exciting because that would probably mean a quicker surgery, less trauma and faster healing.  But I'll try not to get my hopes up yet...

PS. Next time I go to get my regular dental cleaning I'm going to stop at my ortho first to have them remove the wire.  That way the hygienist is able to clean my teeth easier.  Just a tip for anyone else in braces because I had a cleaning last month with the wire in (didn't even know it was possible to have it taken out for cleaning) and they didn't use the scaler on my teeth to scrape the tartar off on the bottom front teeth.  She just used a high pressure water jet and that really didn't remove much.