Preparing for Surgery

I have been reading a lot of blogs, chat groups etc trying to get all the info to be fully prepared for my surgery.

A few things I already have on hand:

Paw-Paw lip ointment- recommended by lots of people in my chat groups!
Eye covers and ear plugs for the Hospital so I can try to get some rest
Note pad and pen for the hospital to communicate
Comfy clothes for the hospital and for home
A Humidifier
dental tweezers to help place band when needed - Amazon  - OdontoMed2011 Dental College Tweezer Serrated 6" College Plier
Face exfoliator - recommend by another surgery patient...that it feels really good after surgery- I bought Natural Aqua gel Cure Exfoliator - Amazon
Baby toothbrush
Plastic Ketchup bottles - To help with liquids
Saline spray
lots of qtips
Lots of wash cloths- I hear they are needed for the excessive drooling....


I am also working on loading up my book library and my Netflix and Prime library
 

I have done some research on what supplements will help with the healing process.

I will begin taking Vitamin c- 1000 MG a day, Zinc 30 MG per day and Bromelain( this is the nutrient that is in Pineapple- it has anti inflammatory properties)   I am already taking the Vitamin C and will start the Zinc and the Bromelain about 2 weeks before surgery-  I also have all of them in liquid form for after surgery. Of course I will review all of this with the Dr and the Anesthesiologist

In the next few weeks I am going to test out some shakes and count some calories to be sure I am getting enough calories during the time I am banded shut and strictly on liquids - could be 2-4 weeks.

 I am scheduled for my pre-surgey testing and my visit with the surgeon on Dec 22nd.  Pre-surgery testing should take about 3 hours- That is about how long it took last time-  I meet with the Nurses, Anesthesiologist get an EKG etc etc and ensure I am all ready for surgery.  I will them go from the appt right to meet with Dr Taub for molds measurements etc etc...I have Not seen Dr Taub since Aug back when I still had a gap!

I will also be getting a cleaning this week with my regular dentist-  I thought it would be a good idea to have a professional cleaning done prior to surgery

Surgery Date is set!

So last week( Oct 31st to be exact)  I was sitting on the couch-  somehow fixing my shirt and I guess pulling pretty hard and my hand slipped and my knuckle made direct contact with my front tooth.  I could immediately tell that it had moved since until that point it had been pretty straight  and now was quite twisted.  I immediately took some Tylenol.  I had an ortho appt the next day so knew it would be taken care of.

I walked into the office and immediately told the staff what I had done...they pulled up the last xrays and could definitely tell that I had moved my tooth.  As you know this is nothing for Dr Tunjay..He just pulled it right back into place...

We did place new Sure Smile wires and we decided on my surgery date.  Dr Tunjay says I will be ready and I can move forward with January 4th as my surgery date.

I will see Dr Tunjay 3 more time before surgery for two wire changes and to have the wires with the lug nuts places..the lug nuts are what the surgeon used to move things around in surgery and also what the bands are attached to after surgery to keep everything in place and healing properly.

I will do a better job keeping up moving forward now that we are getting in the thick of it..

I am loading up my Netflix library so If you have any recommendations send them my way!

I found the perfect tee-shirt to wear during my time at home...

2 Visits to the Orthodontist and NO MORE GAP! FINALLY!!

Sorry I missed a few visits to the orthodontist...the first was more of the same..tighter power chains..more pulling etc etc...the 2nd Dr Tunjay decided that the root that was causing issues had gone back as far as it was going to so it was not time to put all our focus on closing the gap...well we didn't put much focus..we just put on a power chain and closed it...yes..I walked in what a gap and walked out without a gap...and the process was not pleasant at all to say the least...

I did finally break my first bracket while on vacation in Florid...well on the plane on the way down...pretzels were the culprit...it was he last tooth on the bottom so the bracket actually slid right off and sine we now are using stainless steel wire the wires did not move or bother me at all.  We find that on the last visit as well.

I have started to reach our to Dr Taub scheduling person and we are looking at November 16th for Surgery.  I have a visit with Dr Tunjay tomorrow and will verify with him if he thinks that is a good date.  Fingers Crossed...

I am starting to gather things I will need for surgery..first purchase was a humidifier which I was lucky to find at a yard sale yesterday!   I have read that it is extremely important to have one so I have checked that off the list...

I will post a pic in the next post or so with my gapless smile!

Let's talk about Propel

Thursday was the day for my propel treatment.  This will hopefully get my teeth moving the last 3.5 mm and the gap closed.  I discussed with Dr Tunjay why my gap is being so difficult to close.  He explained the multiple movements we are trying to do..pushing my  teeth back and together at the same time..as well as the fact that my bones are thin and the scar tissue that has developed since my sarpe surepgery.  Once you out all of these factors together you come up with a very stubborn gap.

He discussed that hopefully the propel would help but we could do surgery without the gap being closed and either close it in surgery or continue to close it after surgery.  Dr Tunjay told me that my treatment plan was part of the offices morning huddle discussion...Hopefully this works.

So let's talk about propel.  First I will say I was having anxiety about the whole process... More anime try that you would have during normal dental work.  I normally require more than normal shots anesthesia etc at the dentist in order to not feel anything.  When you are at the dentist and you feel something, you can raise a hand etc and they pull back and stop.  This process was a little different.  They could not just pull back and stop.

The anxiety I was feeling had to do with the anticipation of the excruciating pain that I was expecting to feel at any moment.  I first rinsed with an antiseptic rinse.  Then a gel type of numbing agent was put on my gums and we waited about 10 minutes. Dr Tunjay poked around a bit to see if I could feel anything and I could not so we began.  The process involves a special tool which is like a hand held drill..small holes are drilled yes drilled into my gums..the tool is the switched to reverse and it is reversed back out.  I will say I did not feel anything at all..I never fell the pain I was waiting for but that did not make the process any easier.  There are about 5 holes total all are around the front part of my upper gums.  Of course because I have to be the test case for everything I had more bleeding than they normally see..so I hope that means that the blood is rushing to the area to help the healing and things are moving faster.

When we were all finished I rinsed again and set up my next appointment.  I think everyone in the office was a little worried about me..they offered to walk me back to work or get me a cab if needed.  I was fine and walked back to work to get my car and go home.  I did take some stronger pain meds when I got home and slept most of the afternoon.  The next day I was still sore of course but I did go to work and no pain meds.  So we will see.  Next visit August 30th.

My Latest Visit to Dr taub

I went to See Dr Taub on August 5th...Really all I could do was say hi...I still have a gap that is about 3.5 mm wide so he was not able to start any pre-surgery measurements , molds etc.  He tools a look and said everything looks good.  He did let me know that his surgery schedule is running about 6-8 weeks out so I need to be sure to get on the scheduled by the end of September if I am shooting for Nov/Dec  which I am..He at one point even said well even Jan would be ok..to which I replied.......NOOOOOOO..- He said I know you want to get going and get this done...

I did give him my timeline-  I told him that my 10 year anniversary is in July  and I am planning to spend it in Spain and I want to be completely done by them...to which he replied so your giving me a deadline - Absolutely!

I have already reached out to the surgery coordinator to see when I need to start speaking with her to get on the schedule and she said by mid to late September.  I am hoping when I see Dr Tunjay today he can tell me that by beginning of October I will be ready for Surgery.

Today is Propel day...Which will speed up the process of getting my top teeth moving to where they are supposed to be since they are begin so stubborn.    We will see how that goes.  Hoping to be gapless by the end of August!

Word of the day..Propel..

So today was my latest visit to the orthodontist..He mentioned that my gap was not closing as quickly as he would like and I mentioned that I am also getting a little sick of looking at it.  I mentioned that I would be seeing Dr Taub  in a few weeks and his first though was to ask Dr Taub if he could close the gap surgically to get my surgery date sooner..I was not a big fan of that idea..I did not feel that rushing that process was the right ideas..I said I was fine with surgery in November or December which would actually be best for work and if we needed more time that was fine.

He then mentioned there was another option to make things move along a little quicker.  When you have a wound blood rushes to the area which will make the teeth move quicker so out comes the word of the day PROPEL.  which is the process of drilling little holes or wounds in my gums..so that the blood rushes to that area to heal and power chaines are then put on every week to get things moving a little quicker.

Since I am already a huge fan of the power chains...not ...I can tell this is going to be lots of fun!

I just keep telling myself that it will all be worth it in the end...

My orthodontist..

Where we are now...

At this point I am visiting the orthodontist every 2 weeks to have my wires replaced a  new power chain placed across my front teeth to get the gap closed...it is getting pretty small now...still dealing with the stubborn root issue which has just started to hurt again.   I am hoping that doesn't mean a further delay for my surgery date.  Everything needs to be straight and my teeth need a little time to get comfortable in their new place before surgery.

I got back to see Dr Taub in a few weeks ..if the gap is closed we will start doing some molds in prep for surgery.

I have found a chat group of people from around the world who either are going through or have recently gone through surgery.  It is very helpful to hear what works during recovery and how it has been.  The experiences are very different...some going back to work as early as 3 weeks ..which seems crazy since most people do not really seem to be able to sleep for the first few week more than an hour or two at a time..also learning what you need for recovery has been helpful..especially the severely chapped lips and the best thing to use.

All for now!