Brace Face!

Well, the process officially started today! I had an appointment with my orthodontist, Dr. K, that I begged for after meeting with Dr. L last week and learning about the need to speed up my timeline. I wasn't totally sure what to expect from this appointment, but Dr. K decided to go ahead and put my new round of braces on. So, here I am all geared up for round 2 of this crazy journey.

Luckily, I was able to get clear brackets again. I think that helps with the overall appearance, but the consensus among my friends/family is still that I look like a teenager. Since I'm turning 30 in 2019 I'm not feeling too broken-hearted about that. It is interesting going through this process as a professional and business owner this time around. Last time I got my braces put on I was 21 and in the process of finishing up my undergraduate degree. It was actually kind of cool to reflect on this whole process with Dr. K today. He has known me and been helping me for almost a decade now. I have been really blessed with a great team through this process. It was difficult for me to decide to go ahead with this surgery, and it has really helped my anxiety knowing that I have a couple of absolutely excellent doctors who have my back.

Now that the braces are on it is a waiting game again. I'll be going back to Dr. K at the end of January for adjustments. He originally said correcting the current misalignment in my teeth would only take a couple of month to correct. So, I'm guessing it will be straightened out (see what I did there? ;)) by the end of February/beginning of March. At that point I'll go get a fancy CT scan done so that my custom joint can start being made. Theoretically, that will also take a couple of months to be completed. So, we're currently on schedule for surgery somewhere around the beginning of May. Here is hoping everything stays according to schedule!

Until my next appointment I'll be readjusting to a mouth full of braces, enjoying the holidays, and then getting back to the grind of graduate school and work.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

Here we go again...

Today I had an appointment with Dr. L, the surgeon who completed my double jaw surgery about 6 years ago. I went into this appointment with the intent of getting more information about possibly going forward with total joint replacement, which he recommended last year. As expected, it appears to be a go.

Luckily, my control freak nature is helpful in this situation. I told Dr. L that I am good to go ahead with this second surgery, but I will need to coordinate with a lighter time at work and my time off from school. My hope is to get the surgery done in early May, and that will give me the summer to recover. I am basing my expectations on my last surgery experience. It took me about 6 weeks to get functional enough to return to school last time. So, I am expecting at least that long this time. This time around I have the added complication of talking literally being my entire job (I am a Licensed Professional Counseling in the state of Alabama). So, it'll be difficult to go back to work full time. My hope is to work my way up. I am only working part-time right now as it is, because I have just started a doctoral program in Counselor Education. So, this is helpful. I won't be taking classes over the summer, and I have put in for a summer job to supplement my income that I can do remotely. So, I'm crossing my fingers about getting the financial side of things figured out.

Here is what I know so far about the medical side of things. I'll be getting braces again very soon to correct where my bite has tried to compensate for the continued condyle resorption. Dr. K has said this will only take a couple of months; however, Dr. L wants me to go ahead and get them on ASAP, because he will need to get a CT scan in order to make the custom joint prosthesis. It takes about 2 months for the prosthesis to be made after the CT scan. So, that is 4 months of prep at best. Since I want to get the surgery in May I need to get started ASAP in order to leave some wiggle room to account for any possible issues. Curious what the prosthesis will look like?

That is the picture Dr. L supplied me with :) It only looks slightly different than the stock version. The benefit of getting a custom prosthesis is that it is guaranteed to fit with no issues. So, it will hopefully help the surgery go more smoothly. According to Dr. L, this surgery should have a slightly easiest recovery than the last surgery, because it only involves the bottom jaw. The primary issue will be the potential for nerve damage, but this is typically a temporary issue and nerves regenerate with time.

Overall, I left the appointment feeling optimistic about surgery and the potential results. I am very hopeful that this will finally be the last chapter of my jaw surgery saga. I will be trying to contact Dr. K to reschedule my braces appointment ASAP and I will update with new before pictures as well. I think it will be interesting the see how my bite has changed since the last surgery. I don't think it is very noticeable at this point, but I've avoided focusing on it until now.

As always, I hope all this information ends up being helpful for someone in a similar situation. From my experience it has been more difficult to find personal stories from people who have had a total jaw joint replacement. So, hopefully I am filling in the gap a bit by sharing my story. If you have happened across this blog in your search for information and answers feel free to contact me. I know this has been a stressful process for me. So, I'm happy to help others in any way that I can!

I'll update as soon as I have more information :)

Total Joint Replacement?

It has been nearly 6 years since my double jaw surgery, and it turns out the story isn't entirely complete yet. I posted in January about my visit with Dr. L, my ortho surgeon. Based on most recent images he believes I will need to have total joint replacement surgery in the future. However, the timing of that was left up to me. I was told to come back and see him in a year for a follow up.

Since that time I applied, interviewed, and got accepted to a PhD program in Counselor Education and Supervision. YAY! I've move to a new city. I'm working part-time in private practice while I'm going to school. I'm helping to run the non-profit I founded with a friend back in 2015. I have a lot on my plate. BUT. I need this stupid surgery.

We knew this was a possibility back in 2012 when we planned my original surgery. I was just hoping my joints would remain stable and not deteriorate any further. Anyway, after getting the news in January I have mostly put the surgery out of my mind, and I've been focusing on the many transitions I have going on right now. With the fall starting and the end of the year approaching I feel like I should probably start considering it again. I am a planner. Even though I would prefer to not be dealing with this, I am going to deal with it in the best way I can.

SO. I got in touch with both Dr. K (orthodontist) and Dr. L (surgeon) this week and scheduled appointments. I need to talk with Dr. K because my teeth have shifted, and they will need to be back in line before surgery. I am going to see him later this coming week. I scheduled my appointment with Dr. L for mid-December once the semester is over. That is pretty close to one year since my last appointment with him, and I won't have classes to deal with for a bit. I'm sure he will take new scans at this appointment, and I'm curious to see if the situation has worsened any more. I am also wanting to get more information about the surgery. He didn't have an opportunity to talk me through it much at the last appointment, and now that I have accepted the reality of the situation I need all the details.

From the little I have researched on my own, supposedly Jaw Joint Replacement Surgery has come a long way, and tends to yield good results. I had a candid conversation with another ortho surgeon who claims one joint replacement should be good for my lifetime. So, I am keeping my fingers crossed on that. In terms of recovery, everything I have read seems to indicate it will be similar to last time, and this is my biggest concern. That surgery took me out for 2 months and I wasn't eating normally for more than that. Luckily, I was in a life position at the time that I could rely on family and take the time off. I was on break from grad school, and my job was on campus. So, I didn't need to request additional time. I was 23 for the first surgery. I'm 29 now. I have a business and a non-profit and TONS of responsibilities. It is tougher to prepare for this time around, but I'm figuring it out.

Like last time, I'm going to document the journey to the best of my ability in this blog. I know it was helpful for me to read others' experiences last time, and I want to make sure this blog tells the whole story. Hopefully, some of the info I share will be helpful to someone else. If not, it at least gives me a good outlet for venting, haha.

5 years post-op!

Hey everyone!

I know it has been an incredibly long time since I have updated this blog. Honestly, after getting my braces off and making it past the year mark surgery stopped being something I remotely thought about. I have maintained yearly check-ins with both my surgeon and my orthodontist, but things have held steady until this year.

I'll start with all the good news. I no longer experience any side effects from surgery except for some minor sinus issues that may or may not be related. I do not experience any jaw pain or stiffness. My range of motion is great. I can eat pretty much whatever I want. The scars from surgery have faded substantially, and although I still know that they are there by touch I can't really see them. So, everything seems great! I have moved on with my life, graduated with a master's degree, and started my own private practice. Here are a few before and after pictures to show what I looked like prior to surgery and where I'm at these days :)

 2017

 2012

2012

Big difference, right? So, all is good, but there is a bit of bad news.

I went to see my surgeon, Dr. L, for my yearly check-in and after a bunch of x-rays we now know a few things. 1. My bit has re-opened just a bit. It's hardly noticeable, but the fact that it has opened at all is terrible in my book. 2. My condyles have continued to resorb, and the one on my left side is now basically gone. This would explain why my bite has re-opened a bit. 3. It is likely that this process will continue, and my bite will get worse.

All of that is some pretty awful news I was just hit with yesterday. However, there are still a lot of unknowns. My bite has stayed relatively stable over the past 5 years. Dr. L said he would expect my bite to be MUCH worse than it is considered by lack of condyle on the left side. So, there is no way to know how bad the situation could get. It is likely that I will need total joint replacement surgery at some point in the future, but at the moment it is up to me when to explore that avenue. Currently, I have no pain and my jaw function is totally fine. I just don't want to let the situation get out of hand. I also don't want to go back through a major jaw surgery. So, we are on hold for the moment.

I also checked in with my orthodontist, and a few of my teeth have moved. This is entirely my fault, because I stopped wearing my retainer. This movement could lso be making the slight opening in my bite worse. So, he has offered to put one bracket on m upper teeth to fix that situation. Currently, we are going to just do the orthodontic side and hold off on surgery. I will be doing lots of research over the next year about what a total jaw joint replacement would look like, and I will of course be documenting that journey in this blog where it all began :)

I won't be updated as regularly as I did in the beginning, but I'll post new info as I learn. I knew this was a possibility going into the first surgery, but it is a major bummer that it looks like there is another surgery in my future.