Sunday, November 23, 2003
The Tooth Is Pulled
Dr. Karils pulled the protruding front lower incisor on Wedneday morning. Getting this done was traumatic, as I wanted to feel 100% sure that I was doing the right thing. We went to find Dr. Weston to talk about this beforehand, but he was apparently in class. The procedure itself was easy, easier in fact than even having a cavity pulled. She just gave me a shot and taking it out took about six seconds. Afterward I had a little bleeding for about an hour, but I was able to have soup for lunch and get through the day without any trouble. I now have an upside down, triangle shaped space where the tooth was. The space will have to be closed up with tooth movement from the braces. I am looking forward to getting the lower wire and starting the adjustments. The tooth extraction was $200, which I paid for my check. She gave me 20% off her normal fee of $250. I sent the receipt in to the insurance company. Hopefully I will be reimbursed for some or all of it.
The Brushing and Flossing Ritual Gets More Complicated
It now takes me considerably longer to go through my before-bed oral hygeine regimen. Since my upper teeth are now wired, they are much more sensitive to pressure, especially in the front. At the same time, with the braces on I want to make sure they are very clean. I've been brushing everything twice with two different toothbrushes, toothpaste and then baking soda. Then flossing. For the upper teeth I have to thread the floss under the wire. It is like sewing. Then I brush one more time with toothpaste. This week, since I had a tooth pulled and the hole has not completely healed yet, I have been rinsing with salt water. Then I massage my upper gums and incision site with a gloved finger. After each step I rinse. Then I pack a big clump of wax over the rear right bracket and protruding wire (I have been wearing the wax over that back wire 24/7). I also replace the rubber band from the expander to the right lower rear molar, then finish up with blistex lip cream.
The Facial Discomfort Continues
While I have made some progress in the past couple weeks in getting some feeling back, the lingering facial discomfort from the surgery still is a huge concern for me. The good news is that I seem to be very slowly getting more sensation back in my upper gums. Now instead of them being 100% numb, they are only about 65% numb. My upper left lip is still about 75% numb. I am also still experiencing the phantom nose dripping sensation from my left nostril. Worst of all, my nose and upper lip feel stiff all of the time. This seems to be even more pronounced first thing in the morning when I get up.
Coming Up
I go back to Dr. Weston on Tuesday, December 9. I think I am going to ask him to show me on the model of my teeth where he wants to file and to mark those areas with a magik marker or something. He says he will remove the expander at our January appointment (hopefully this will be before my trip to Palm Springs). I see Dr. Varnai for a cleaning on January 5.
Dr. Karils pulled the protruding front lower incisor on Wedneday morning. Getting this done was traumatic, as I wanted to feel 100% sure that I was doing the right thing. We went to find Dr. Weston to talk about this beforehand, but he was apparently in class. The procedure itself was easy, easier in fact than even having a cavity pulled. She just gave me a shot and taking it out took about six seconds. Afterward I had a little bleeding for about an hour, but I was able to have soup for lunch and get through the day without any trouble. I now have an upside down, triangle shaped space where the tooth was. The space will have to be closed up with tooth movement from the braces. I am looking forward to getting the lower wire and starting the adjustments. The tooth extraction was $200, which I paid for my check. She gave me 20% off her normal fee of $250. I sent the receipt in to the insurance company. Hopefully I will be reimbursed for some or all of it.
The Brushing and Flossing Ritual Gets More Complicated
It now takes me considerably longer to go through my before-bed oral hygeine regimen. Since my upper teeth are now wired, they are much more sensitive to pressure, especially in the front. At the same time, with the braces on I want to make sure they are very clean. I've been brushing everything twice with two different toothbrushes, toothpaste and then baking soda. Then flossing. For the upper teeth I have to thread the floss under the wire. It is like sewing. Then I brush one more time with toothpaste. This week, since I had a tooth pulled and the hole has not completely healed yet, I have been rinsing with salt water. Then I massage my upper gums and incision site with a gloved finger. After each step I rinse. Then I pack a big clump of wax over the rear right bracket and protruding wire (I have been wearing the wax over that back wire 24/7). I also replace the rubber band from the expander to the right lower rear molar, then finish up with blistex lip cream.
The Facial Discomfort Continues
While I have made some progress in the past couple weeks in getting some feeling back, the lingering facial discomfort from the surgery still is a huge concern for me. The good news is that I seem to be very slowly getting more sensation back in my upper gums. Now instead of them being 100% numb, they are only about 65% numb. My upper left lip is still about 75% numb. I am also still experiencing the phantom nose dripping sensation from my left nostril. Worst of all, my nose and upper lip feel stiff all of the time. This seems to be even more pronounced first thing in the morning when I get up.
Coming Up
I go back to Dr. Weston on Tuesday, December 9. I think I am going to ask him to show me on the model of my teeth where he wants to file and to mark those areas with a magik marker or something. He says he will remove the expander at our January appointment (hopefully this will be before my trip to Palm Springs). I see Dr. Varnai for a cleaning on January 5.
Thursday, November 13, 2003
The Braces Are on Now, but Only the Top Wire
I had my appointment on Tuesday to have my braces put on. I opted for the metal brackets. He used two types of glue that bond when activated by a special blue light. It's really a very nifty procedure, and the whole process went by much faster than I had expected. The pain and discomfort were minimal. The plastic device used to hold my mouth open got to be uncomfortable after a while. The worst part was when he used a drill to remove the glue that held the hook to the lower right molar. That hook was replaced by a bracket. He left brackets off the four rear molars, telling me he will tie them in in the future. He also left a bracket off the protruding front right lower incisor, which he wants me to have pulled. They said I have crowding on top and they wanted me to come back to have my front teeth filed (more on that in a moment), but I objected to that and so we're holding off on that for now. He put a very light wire in on top, but he left the lower wire off. He wants me to first get the tooth pulled, then come back the second week of December for the top adjustment and lower wire. Shortly after getting home from my appointment (about two hours after getting the wire) I noticed that my front teeth were already starting to move. By morning they had moved significantly. The baces themselves don't look too bad. They certainly are noticeable, but they are smaller than when I was a kid. Right now they feel like barbed wire, but I know I will get used to that, and i have wax for when the irritation gets really bad.
The Game Plan
We had a big conversation about pulling the bottom tooth, and a subsequent email exchange and phone conversation about it. The thing is, when I look in the mirror and compare my upper teeth and the lower, it seems to me that all of the lower teeth I have now will fit, and when I try to envision the same with the tooth pulled, it looks to me like the top is going to be much bigger than the bottom. Nevertheless, wiser minds have made a decision and that is what we are going to do -- pull the tooth. So now the game plan is for me to have the tooth pulled, then return in four weeks to start moving teeth on the lower. I am to continue wearing the elastic band, this time hooked into the actual braces bracket.
How I'm Feeling About All of This
I feel terrible about having to have my tooth pulled, and great dread over the very likely prospect of having enamel stripped from healty teeth (he calls it "re-contouring"). I have not been happy for the past 48 hours, nor have I slept well the past two nights. I am unhappy over the one month delay in beginning movement on the lower. I wish we could have had the fucking tooth pulled in July, August, September or October. Now it's mid-November, and I have to wait until mid-December to get my lower wire. Adding to my angst is the facial stiffness and numbness that I am still experiencing, left over from the surgery. I am worried that this facial discomfort will last forever. Also my bite is still off, so I am not able to chew properly. Than means no green beans, no apples, no salad, and not much fruit. The good news is that he plans to remove the expander in January, so I can see some light in the tunnel. He told me today that even with the lower wire, I won't get my bite back until the exander comes out.
Two More Complaints
After getting extremely irritated inside the right rear of my mouth, I noticed this afternoon that he left a wire poking out the end of the right rear bracket. I think this might be a mistake. It is painful and irritating. There's also a little bit of wire poking out the back of the left rear bracket, but not enough to bother me. I can hopefully get that annoying right rear wire clipped off when I go in for the extraction. Also, before my appointment on Tuesday I had to wait for 45 minutes in the overcrowded waiting room. There were no seats, so I had to stand. But that is a minor issue compared to everything else.
Trying to Keep Chin Up
I really want to get into a good frame of mind about my treatment and its progression. This experience should not be hell. I have to learn to be more patient and keep remembering that this all shall pass. Five years from now, I won't even remember that I had to wait an extra month for this or that.
I had my appointment on Tuesday to have my braces put on. I opted for the metal brackets. He used two types of glue that bond when activated by a special blue light. It's really a very nifty procedure, and the whole process went by much faster than I had expected. The pain and discomfort were minimal. The plastic device used to hold my mouth open got to be uncomfortable after a while. The worst part was when he used a drill to remove the glue that held the hook to the lower right molar. That hook was replaced by a bracket. He left brackets off the four rear molars, telling me he will tie them in in the future. He also left a bracket off the protruding front right lower incisor, which he wants me to have pulled. They said I have crowding on top and they wanted me to come back to have my front teeth filed (more on that in a moment), but I objected to that and so we're holding off on that for now. He put a very light wire in on top, but he left the lower wire off. He wants me to first get the tooth pulled, then come back the second week of December for the top adjustment and lower wire. Shortly after getting home from my appointment (about two hours after getting the wire) I noticed that my front teeth were already starting to move. By morning they had moved significantly. The baces themselves don't look too bad. They certainly are noticeable, but they are smaller than when I was a kid. Right now they feel like barbed wire, but I know I will get used to that, and i have wax for when the irritation gets really bad.
The Game Plan
We had a big conversation about pulling the bottom tooth, and a subsequent email exchange and phone conversation about it. The thing is, when I look in the mirror and compare my upper teeth and the lower, it seems to me that all of the lower teeth I have now will fit, and when I try to envision the same with the tooth pulled, it looks to me like the top is going to be much bigger than the bottom. Nevertheless, wiser minds have made a decision and that is what we are going to do -- pull the tooth. So now the game plan is for me to have the tooth pulled, then return in four weeks to start moving teeth on the lower. I am to continue wearing the elastic band, this time hooked into the actual braces bracket.
How I'm Feeling About All of This
I feel terrible about having to have my tooth pulled, and great dread over the very likely prospect of having enamel stripped from healty teeth (he calls it "re-contouring"). I have not been happy for the past 48 hours, nor have I slept well the past two nights. I am unhappy over the one month delay in beginning movement on the lower. I wish we could have had the fucking tooth pulled in July, August, September or October. Now it's mid-November, and I have to wait until mid-December to get my lower wire. Adding to my angst is the facial stiffness and numbness that I am still experiencing, left over from the surgery. I am worried that this facial discomfort will last forever. Also my bite is still off, so I am not able to chew properly. Than means no green beans, no apples, no salad, and not much fruit. The good news is that he plans to remove the expander in January, so I can see some light in the tunnel. He told me today that even with the lower wire, I won't get my bite back until the exander comes out.
Two More Complaints
After getting extremely irritated inside the right rear of my mouth, I noticed this afternoon that he left a wire poking out the end of the right rear bracket. I think this might be a mistake. It is painful and irritating. There's also a little bit of wire poking out the back of the left rear bracket, but not enough to bother me. I can hopefully get that annoying right rear wire clipped off when I go in for the extraction. Also, before my appointment on Tuesday I had to wait for 45 minutes in the overcrowded waiting room. There were no seats, so I had to stand. But that is a minor issue compared to everything else.
Trying to Keep Chin Up
I really want to get into a good frame of mind about my treatment and its progression. This experience should not be hell. I have to learn to be more patient and keep remembering that this all shall pass. Five years from now, I won't even remember that I had to wait an extra month for this or that.
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
The SARPE Was More Difficult Than I Expected
I met today at NYU Orthodontics with Dr. Weston and Dr. Hochman. Dr. Han did not see me; perhaps he was not there today. Dr. Hochman is an orthodontist who is also a periodontal specialist. He examined my gums, and he and Dr. Weston measured the recession on a number of my teeth on the upper right. He did not seem to be concerned with the gum recession on my teeth on the lower left corner. Dr. Weston told him the plan is to pull the protruding lower incisor. Later Dr. Weston told me he won't be putting a brace on that tooth when I get braces on the rest of my teeth. Dr. Hochman asked me how the SARPE went, and I was honest and blunt with him. I told him that it was more difficult than I expected, that I still had facial discomfort, and that I would not recommend this procedure to another person. I also told him that if I could turn the clock back to July 17, I would not have the surgery. Hopefully a year from now I will feel differently, but as of today that is how I feel. He didn't understand when I told him of the stiffness. Last week I emailed Dr. Karlis, and she said she would see me after I get the braces. I'm scheduled to get the braces one week from today.
Crisscrossed Front Teeth
My two front teeth are now crisscrossed, with the right front tooth protruding. It seems every time I look in the mirror they get worse. I am starting to get worried about this.
I met today at NYU Orthodontics with Dr. Weston and Dr. Hochman. Dr. Han did not see me; perhaps he was not there today. Dr. Hochman is an orthodontist who is also a periodontal specialist. He examined my gums, and he and Dr. Weston measured the recession on a number of my teeth on the upper right. He did not seem to be concerned with the gum recession on my teeth on the lower left corner. Dr. Weston told him the plan is to pull the protruding lower incisor. Later Dr. Weston told me he won't be putting a brace on that tooth when I get braces on the rest of my teeth. Dr. Hochman asked me how the SARPE went, and I was honest and blunt with him. I told him that it was more difficult than I expected, that I still had facial discomfort, and that I would not recommend this procedure to another person. I also told him that if I could turn the clock back to July 17, I would not have the surgery. Hopefully a year from now I will feel differently, but as of today that is how I feel. He didn't understand when I told him of the stiffness. Last week I emailed Dr. Karlis, and she said she would see me after I get the braces. I'm scheduled to get the braces one week from today.
Crisscrossed Front Teeth
My two front teeth are now crisscrossed, with the right front tooth protruding. It seems every time I look in the mirror they get worse. I am starting to get worried about this.
