Oh boy...

This post is a doozy, but first a quick update on the orthodontics from the past month or so.

At the orthodontist appointment in October, Dr. S put some brackets on my very back upper molars.  I knew when I left that they would be a pain because they are wayyyy back there! Since then, these brackets have buried themselves into my cheeks.  It is not just an irritation; you can physically see a hole in my cheek.  It's probably more difficult to eat now than it has been through the whole journey.  The brackets will catch on my cheek, and I will have to do a weird maneuver with my lips to unhook it.  I got a pitiful laugh out of my mom when I told her I felt like a snake because I have to unhook my cheeks before eating anything. I have gotten used to it, and complaining about it won’t do any good. I know they need to be there, and the lack of space is the whole issue of why I’m having surgery. So, for now, I've learned to suck it up and toughen up.

It is a little embarrassing how excited I get for meetings with the surgeon.  I genuinely cannot wait to get there, hear how things are progressing, and what the next step will be.  This was especially true for this appointment because it was the records and Q&A appointment. 

Once I got there, I was taken back for a few different things to update my records.

1. A panoramic dental x-ray was taken.  It is the crazy machine that complete circles your head, so the doctor can see the entire mouth (teeth, jaws, surrounding tissues) in one image.

   

   Just an example!

2. Dr. M took a series of pictures of my face from different angles, both relaxed and biting.
3. One of the wonderful assistants took me to a consult room to make some impressions of my upper and lower jaws. I’ve become a pro at these over the past decade.

   

   The purple impression is needed to make the model (on the left). Again, example!

4. I had to help Dr. M and the assistant use the face-bow. They needed me to guide the earpieces into my ears, while they both screwed certain things in place.  It looks like something that would have been used in medieval torture, but according to The Medical Dictionary website, a face-bow is defined as “a device used in dentistry to record the positional relations of the maxillary arch (upper jaw) of to the temporomandibular joints (the joints that connect the mandibal/lower jaw to the rest of the skull) and to orient dental casts in this same relationship to the opening axis of the articulator (make a representation of my exact bite with the models of my jaws).”
   

After all the records were done, Dr. M examined my face and bite. And by that, I mean he looked and looked and looked at my face... all the while he has his hand gently on the side of my head, and I am trying to figure it out where to direct my eyes, because it just seems a bit too intimate when eye contact is made. Haha!

Mom joins the room while he is continuing to evaluate my jaw's progression. He then takes a step back and says that the upper jaw looks perfect.  He is very pleased with how that has been prepared for surgery. You can almost hear the big ol' "but" (Hahaha!) that is about to happen.

... he then says, "After looking at her jaw right now, I would not feel right going forward with the surgery as we had originally planned.  Because of how great the top jaw is now, it is magnifying the fact that the lower jaw is not correct." 

Great.

He continues to explain that none of us have noticed that my lower jaw is off center.  It is shifted slightly to my left, and if we continued as planned, moving the top jaw to fit with the lower jaw, my mouth would be askew. Mom immediately sees what he is talking about.

And there is my self-consciousness rising...

We have a few options as to what to do from here.

1. Lower Jaw Surgery - He would move my lower just in position with my upper jaw.  Unfortunately, this would not correct the lack of space in the back of my mouth with the upper jaw.  Plus, there was also a chance it would weaken my chin, and genioplasty would need to be considered. There are too many negatives with this, and I'd like to stay as natural as I can.  
2. Double Jaw Surgery - He would end up cutting and re-positioning both my upper and lower jaws before bolting them into place. This would fix both problems, and genioplasty would be less likely. 

So, okay. Double jaw surgery. Okay, fine. Alright. No biggie. 

Will surgery still be the same day?  

 - Yes, but about two hours longer. 

Can we get it covered by insurance in two weeks?

 - The amazing ladies at the office were already on getting it approved before we left. PLEASE, everyone, cross your fingers!! 

How does it affect recovery?

 - It will now be a little longer. 

My biggest concerns:

 - Pain.  For some reason, I have it in my head that lower jaw surgery will be more painful. Plus, it is double the surgery, which means double the swelling and recovery.

- There is a very, very small chance of this happening, but a genuine concern nevertheless. Where Dr. M will cut the lower jaw is very near a large nerve, and IF that nerve were cut, I would lose feeling in my lower lip and chin area.  Again, possibilities of that are slim, but he has to warn me of it for liabilities sake.  Not like I needed anything else to worry about. 

- Two more hours of surgery means two more hours where I could wake up in the middle of a horrific surgery!  Again, the odds of this happening are incredibly slim to none! But that's a terrifying thought! I reached out to a friend who is studying anesthesia who reassured me that everything will be totally fine.  It will not happen, but on the off chance that I do wake up, I'll just hear the sound of chainsaws.... so funny, Becky! 

- What am I going to look like afterwards?  I know this surgery is a good thing. I do! But it's really scary to know that I will look different when I wake up. Luckily, it should only be minor changes because my open bite was not super extreme.  I've never been uphappy with how my face looked, and surgery is going to change it.  I only hope that it will be an improvement!  I've seen a few before and after pictures on the internet where I like the person's before smile better, and it terrifies me to think I might be one of those.  It doesn't help that everyone has always told me how beautiful my smile is and how it is my best feature.  My jaws are changing. I just hope my smile doesn't.  But hey, if I was smiling with a sideways smile, it can only improve, right?

- Insurance not covering the second surgery. I constantly worry about being a financial burden to my parents, and I just hope and pray that insurance approves this surgery. My biggest worry when we found about about needing both surgeries was, "how much stress is this going to add on mom and dad?"

While I am talking about my parents, I just want to give them a HUGE shout out for being so amazing. They have never second guessed this whole ordeal, never hesitated to do something that will improve my life, and insisted on taking care of me while they still can.  Their answer to all of my worries have been, "We can handle it. We are here with you through this. Don't you worry."  Thank you, both! I love you!


On a different note, THIRTY-THREE different countries from all over the world have read this blog!! That's so cool! Thank you so much to those of you who take time out of your day to read this silly thing.  It meas a lot!