First Post Op Visit - Orthodontist

I had my first post op appointment with the ortho yesterday, one week exactly since my SARPE surgery. 

We had a quick chat about how I was doing and what the surgery day was like then he had a look at mouth. He said everything was healing very well and my oral hygiene was great! Such good news to hear. I've been making sure I brush after every meal and I've been rinsing with a mouth wash the surgeon prescribed every 4-5 hrs!

My ortho said he wants me to continue turning the expander once a day for the next few weeks. He will be away on a conference in the next couple of weeks so I'll see him once he gets back. However, if I have any concerns before he leaves I'm free to come see him. He said that my upper is really narrow so a lot of expansion is required, he wants me to turn it approx 30 times but we'll have to see what the results are. I have noticed some difference between the way my bite is now compared to before and I can't wait to see how different it will be once I finish turning. 

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Post SARPE Surgery - Day 6 / 4 Turns

Just a quick update - below are some pics of my progress. My face is still swollen and my upper lip area as well as my front 6 teeth is still numb. Good news is, there's no pain. There hasn't been any pain at all actually just discomfort and tireness. I've even stopped taking painkillers on day 4.

I've been up and about alot which I think helps. I spent the first few days in front of the tv and constantly napping and waking up with an even more swollen face despite laying elevated. To date, I've turned the key 4 times - I have a teeny tiny gap but hardly noticeable, thank goodness.

I have my first check up appointment tomorrow with my ortho so I'll have more to post about then. 

Hope everyone is well, speak to you tomorrow! 

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Post SARPE Surgery - Day 3 / 1 Turn

I had my first turn of the expander last night. My brother helped me as I still find it difficult to fully open my mouth. It was quick and there was no pain as well. I made sure I took some painkillers about an hr prior to the turn. I will continue to do one turn each day until my next appointment with my orthodontist next Friday. I have the smaller gap between my two front teeth which is barely visable so far. I can only just fit my nail between the two teeth.

I'm super swollen today, much more than the last few days. I'm not too sure why, I've been sleeping upright and still icing my face. I've also been on a soft food diet, I can't wait to be chewing normal food again.

Here's a photo of my progress today, super swollen. 

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SARPE Surgery

Yesterday was the day of my surgery, I was booked into the afternoon session. My brother and I arrived at 12 as advised by the hospital staff, however was put in the waiting room for at least 4 hrs before they had a room ready for me. We sat in there for another hr or so and then I was put in my hospital gown and off to the theatre. I was laid down in "another" waiting room where my surgeon came to see me. He explained to me again what we were doing, 3 wisdoms and SARPE surgery. It was really comforting to see him, I was thinking I wouldn't see him at all until I was in the operating room. I was then pushed into the anaesthesia room where I was prepped with the drip needle in my arm after that I was finally pushed into the operating room. I took a glimpse at the time 5:18. They put an oxygen mask on me and the anaesthesia in, I remember the anaesthesis talking about what he was doing, I also felt a funny feeling in my throat like I was going to choke or something, must've been the anaesthesia so don't freak out, it's completely normal. Next you know I heard the nurses calling my name to wake me up, I was already in the recovery room, the time was 6:15. 

I wasn't able to see my brother again as visiting hrs were over by the time they pushed me back to the ward. It would've been comforting to see him, he said he waited for me but was then kicked out because the visiting hrs were over. I was so curious as to what I looked like. I was numb from my nose down. I wasn't as swollen as I'd expected, thank goodness. I thought I was extremely swollen because people were staring at me whilst in the recovery room. 

I spent the night at the hospital as advised by my oral surgeon. The nurses were so attentive and made me feel really comfy, despite not being allowed to lay on your back, you have to lay at an angle, apparently this will drain the swelling a lot faster. I was hooked up to a drip all night and they continuously monitored me blood pressure as well as gave me my meds every how many hrs. I couldn't sleep much but I wasn't tired. I also had no pain at all only numbness. 

Pre-surgery  

Post surgery, please excuse the blood

I had an ice pack around my face the whole night

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RPE - Day 1

I had the RPE put in yesterday after having the spacers in for about 3 days or so. The experience was so quick and much more pleasant than I'd expected, it must also be because of the awesome assistants and my ortho! The process took about 10-15 mins, start to finish. I had the moulds done back in December 2014 - and the SARPE surgery probably would've already been done if it weren't for the Christmas break.

So, day 1, its definitely uncomfortable, especially not being able to eat without food being stuck to the expander. Its also a little sore when I bite or chew. There are these hooks on both sides which have been scrapping the insides of my mouth, so uncomfortable. I've also developed a lisp, I hav trouble saying "you", or anything with "uuooh" sounds. Thankfully my work doesn't require much speaking. 

My SARPE surgery is scheduled in for this coming Friday - 16th of Jan. I'm extremely nervous but I know I'm in good hands. My oral surgeon is renown in his field and I've actually heard of him before when I was looking into jaw surgery in the past. It'll also be my first time under anaesthesia as well as my first time staying overnight in hospital. Wish me luck guys!

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The Beginning

I remember the dentist saying to my parents when I was in my early teens, "take her to see an orthodontist". Of course, this meant nothing to me at the time, and to my parents nothing seemed that serious. Fast forward 10 years, here I am starting my journey for the perfect smile. 

"Why?" Some people have been asking me. Well, although it's not always obvious, I have a cross bite and my jaw deviates to the right. Over the years I have learnt which side is my "good side" so it's almost always never noticeable in photos. This is however very exhausting (as silly as it sounds) and I want that full teeth Hollywood smile. Besides from the appearance thing, my dentist also advised an incorrect bite can lead to more serious issues in the future. 

Okay cool, so I'll need braces and then perhaps even jaw surgery, okay, I'm prepared for that. What I wasn't prepared for was the SARPE or Surgically Assisted Rapid Palette Expander. I hadn't even heard of this procedure before all of this. My orthodontists said my upper jaw is too narrow for my bottom jaw and in addition to this I'm also missing on tooth in the bottom left, so all my bottom teeth have pushed to one side. 

So the plan is,

- SARPE: to expand upper jaw

- Braces: to straighten out teeth and create a spot for where I'm missing a tooth and then eventually have a crown put in

- Jaw surgery (?): to correct my bite

Luckily I'm blessed with a supportive boyfriend, family and friends. I know there will be some tough times ahead, especially once the dreaded "gap" appears but I'm just taking it one step at a time and hopefully this blog would be helpful to you (if you are or will be going through the the same journey) as it would be to me to look back on the progress. 

Xo

My bottom teeth are pushed to the right due to a missing tooth. My chin deviating to the left is also visible here. 

Spacers are put in to make room for the expander.

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