Clinician Appointment

Hello everyone!

So, today I went back to the hospital in order to have an appointment with a clinician so they could take photos and impressions of my mouth at the start of this journey. This is the second hospital appointment since referral when they simply saw if they would need to treat me. 

I met with one of the team (who looked spookily like Lisa Kudrow- Phoebe from Friends) who gave me a nice little photo shoot. When reading other blogs and looking at their photos, I had never really considered how weird it would be to have your photo taken by a very large professional camera in an orthodontics room. They had a professional backlight and everything. 

They started by taking photos of my face, and this is when I had to stand infront of the light. It felt like I was getting a mugshot taken and I had no clue what to do with my arms so just held them together awkwardly, like limp noodles. 

Next, I lay in the chair and they used plastic tools to sperate my lips to take photos of my bite. The weirdest part was when they shoved a mirror in my mouth and started taking photos of that. I won't lie, I found this bit more uncomfortable than I would've expected; I do have quite a small mouth. 

Then, she had to take impressions. Now, I think I mentioned this in my braces off post, but I HATE getting impressions done (though, saying that, I don't know of anyone who doesn't). It was also annoying seeing as I literally had them done last week. For some reason, the mould they use at the hospital is a lot more stubborn than the one my normal orthodontist uses. This was good as it was in my mouth for considerably less time than normal, but also sucked because I am still picking little blue pieces of sludge off of my tongue.

Finally, I had to go to the imaging department to get more x-rays done (which I am told I have to do at each appointment). The dental x-rays are in a different room to the other x-rays, and as a result at the two appointments I've been to so far, the staff have forgotten about me. The previous time, I'd had an x-ray using a machine which points plastic spikes into your ears (it was unpleasant). However, today, I luckily got to use the one my family call "radiation robot". I am sure you're familiar with it if you have had any jaw x-rays; it is the one where you bite on some plastic and it circles your head. However, the one my hospital has says "radiation complete" in a robotic voice when its finished and I'm not sure why but my family all find it hilariously cute. 

We were told the next appointment would be a consultation with my orthodontist and surgeon where they would further discuss the exact treatment plan. However, because of the fact they have to get both of them free for such an appointment, and there are currenlty quite a few patients, I could have to wait for months for my next appointment. I'm not sure why, but this really upset me and I almost started crying. I know that's really stupid its just I've been insecure about my face for such a long time and just as I think things are getting started again, they slow back down. I guess it's just a bit harsh on my mental health.

Anyway, I'll update next time something relevant happens, though I am not quite sure when that will be. 

E x 

Braces Off- Part 1

Hello,

Is it weird to say I'm excited about my first comment? It'll be nice to know someone is actually reading my ramblings.

Anyway, so I got my braces off yesterday! Obviously, I'm going to have more put on by my orthodontist at the hospital but the local orthodontist took theirs off so my teeth can reach their equilibrium. 

I mean, after you've gone through a whole jaw surgery I don't think anyone would be worried about braces removal but I was very worried about getting them off so I thought I'd make this post. 

As I spoke to my friends about it, they kept telling me I had nothing to be worried about as it didn't hurt at all. I didn't want to say it, but this is not why I was worried. You see, I have struggled with some pretty bad mental health problems that left me debilitated at times, and my teeth brushing suffered as a result of this. It is bad enough not to keep good oral hygiene without braces, but with braces, it's probably the worst thing you could do. However, this wasn't something I thought about when I was stuck in the depths of my mind. Anyway, as a result, I was terrified that I would have horrible stains all over my teeth. 

Luckily, this wasn't the case! If staining is something you're really concerned about please don't worry. I had them for a really long time and, in all honesty, was shit at brushing them. I will insert a photo of them below, but apart from a bit of yellowing which is easily fixed and a couple unnoticeable white spots, they're really nice! 

Everyone was saying that, while it doesn't hurt, you do feel a pressure. To be honest, I hardly felt it. Sometimes I would hear them click off without feeling anything. The tool they use to get the glue off is a little unpleasant and I find rattled my brain slightly but it doesn't last very long so it doesn't bother you too much. The worst bit for me was getting impressions of my teeth taken because the goo makes me gag EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Anyway, later today, I'm going to get a nice clean and polish from my dentist so I will take the photo afterward because I will feel a lot better about it. When I do, I'll insert it. 

I hope you have a lovely day

E x

Well, How Did We Get Here?

Ah, you may be thinking- surely you got to his point like most other people? 
You would be incorrect, my mouth journey has been a long and confusing one. 

Let's start at the beginning.

So, when I was in Year 4 (8 years old for people not from the UK), my dentist told me I would need braces. I was fine with this and almost excited; I felt like it was a rite of passage to have braces (yes, I was a strange child). Then I discovered I had to go to an Orthodontist...

You see, having new people look around my mouth wasn't my favourite as when I was about 5 an evil dentist gave me a filling with no warning and no anaesthetic. I don't believe he is still allowed to practice... 

Anyway, so I went to this new place and let the woman poke around my mouth. 
"Ooooh, yes, mhm, okay, yep, right" she kept pushing at my front teeth. I knew I resembled Bugs Bunny at this point but I didn't know what she was trying to achieve by pushing them back, did she think they'd fall into place? She finally stopped and allowed me to sit up. 
"Right, yes, they definitely need correcting, but before fixed appliances, I would like to give you a retainer in order to push these teeth back and train this lower jaw so it sits more forward."
Now, you may be thinking, "Okay, retainer, I had one when I got my braces off. They're not the worst thing?"

Hahahahaha, oh you are sadly mistaken. This contraption was not the little clear thing that sits over your teeth, oh no! 
It was a thick plastic and wire mess! The one I needed was so bad that I can't even find a photo on google images. Basically, it covered my whole mouth and connected my jaws together so I couldn't open my mouth. Because it covered the roof of my mouth, I had to suck all the spit out every 5 minutes, which got me a lot of teasing and dirty looks. I could only take it off to eat or brush my teeth. God, I HATED it. I would click it off in my sleep. Anyway, I had the retainer from Year 5-Year 7 (9-11), until my orthodontist just gave up and gave me fixed braces. Without the retainer, I noticed that while my front teeth were no longer sticking out as much from the rest of my teeth, it looked like my bottom jaw had gotten worse. I left it and trusted that my orthodontist knew what she was doing (spoiler: she didn't). 

Finally, she put the braces on and freed me from retainer hell. Now, I got these when I was 11 and I have just turned 16 and still have them on, so, that's pretty much 5 years. My teeth were straightening in this time, yes, but the structure of my face was just getting worse and worse. I was showing more gum when I smiled, my chin was not in the centre of my face, my smile was uneven, and my bottom jaw appeared to be receding. Finally, about 6 months ago when I was 15, they told me that they were referring me to the hospital about a Jaw Surgery. Then they gave the hospital our wrong address so it took a very long time for me to get the appointment. 

On Friday, 22 June 2018, the day of my last GCSE exam, I went to the hospital for my appointment. My orthodontist at the hospital is very lovely, and she actually took measurements of my face and told me exactly what was wrong, which no one had ever done before. She took an x-ray of my face (which I will try and get a photo of next time I go) and you can really see the problems. The right side of my jaw was really small in comparison to the left, hence the asymmetry of my face (if you want my full diagnosis, look at my introductions post). On the side x-ray, it was apparent why. I have a fairly rare joint disorder, where on the right side of my jaw, the joint is flat and worn down rather than sitting in place as it should. She informed me that although they don't know why it is caused, they believe hormones may contribute to it as it occurs mostly in young females. However, she then asked about my orthodontic history. Turns out, the strain on my joints as they were growing from that STUPID retainer may have triggered it. It is a condition that gets worse as time goes on as it continues to wear down. 

So, not only did I hate that retainer while I was had it, it also seriously messed up my face. Oh boy, was that not just amazing news to receive? 

She then continues, that because of that, the years of me having the fixed appliances were futile. For the surgery, they need my teeth at their equilibrium so they can plan it in the best detail with the smallest chance of relapse. So, today I go one final time to my old orthodontist so they can take these things off my teeth and I can watch them go back to how they were in a fraction of the time it took them to get this straight. 

I guess the only benefit is because we need them to move, I don't have to have a post-brace retainer fitted...

E x

Awkward Introductions

Oh Jesus, okay, how do I even start this? I suppose hello would probably help, wouldn't it-

HELLO!

If you've read my little description, you will know that I am 16 years old and am planning on blogging my jaw surgery experience! Let's hope I don't give up on this like I do everything else...

I guess you want to know a little more about me. Even if you don't, I'm going to tell you anyway. I live in England, and at the time of writing this, I have just finished my GCSEs (if you don't know, they're exams that almost every teenager has to take at the end of Year 11 if they live here). I have some messed up jaw bones and that is what has brought me here. 

So, ya gal has a pretty bad overbite (if any of you have an underbite please don't kill me but I'm jealous; I think they're cute! My overbite just enhances the old double chin). I have some other problems that I don't know how to fully explain. I guess it's quite bad that I don't know exactly what I have but they only send me letters in really fancy medical terms that I don't understand. But, in case you do and you're looking for someone with the same problems as you, I will insert the medical mumbo-jumbo below:

'She presents at age 15 with a Class II Division 1 incisor relationship on Class II skeletal base. She has right condylar resorption. The combined orthognathic treatment at the end of growth will address the retrognathic chin, the right-left curvature mismatch of the face and mandibular asymmetry thus chin point position, the secondary maxillary cant, the increased gingival show will be addressed (although this is due to the short upper lip).'

I'll be honest, I don't even know if I highlighted the right things. Basically, one side of the jaw is shorter than the other, one of the joints is a bit dumb, my mouth draws back, to the side and is open when resting(in layman's terms). 

I don't know much about when the surgery will be, but I have an appointment at the hospital in a weeks time and will update you then- I believe I am meeting the surgeon. I am going to attempt to update you on every appointment and their contents because the appointments give me lots of anxiety too; I like to be prepared. 

I hope you enjoy this blog of mine and all the best of luck with your future jaw journey!

E x