Saturday 19 January 2013

Destined to be a brace face forever...

I went to the hospital on Wednesday for the first time since November.  Since I had my op, several different people have said to me on several different occassions that I will only need my braces for about 3 months after the op because my bite is so good.  I'm 3 and half months post-op so I was thinking it would happen very soon...

On Wednesday I don't think my ortho actually did anything to my teeth, I think she just looked and realised that there's a problem that needs fixing.  She said I'm developing a cross bite on one side (I hadn't noticed this), so at my next appointment she's going to move some brackets and change the wires and stuff, and then after that I'll have another appointment, and then after that I'll get my braces taken off.  That didn't sound too bad... 2 more appointments and then de-bracing.  Well it didn't sound too bad until I went to the reception desk to book my next appointment.  Because doing the moving bracket stuff takes a long time, I need to have a 45 minute appointment, and the next time an appointment that long is available is.... 21st March!!!  And then my appointment after that has to be 6 weeks after, so it's on 2nd May.  And then assuming I have to wait another 6 weeks before they'll take the braces off, it will end up being at least June!

I know it's better that they fix it and get it right rather than try to rush it, and I'm not blaming the hospital or anybody that works there, but it's just so frustrating when they initially say you'll have braces for 4-6 months after surgery, and then they say that your bite's so good it will only be 3 months.  And then because of the lack of appointments, it ends up being at least 8 months!  I really wanted to have normal teeth by the summer, I can't bear another summer looking like a teenager :(

Anyway, the only good news was that I don't have to wear my bands in the day any more, I just have them on at night.  It definitely is nice not to have to keep taking my bands off every time I want to eat, so I suppose I should be grateful for that.  Don't get me wrong, I am always so grateful for everything that has happened jaw-wise... just being able to have it done at all, not having to pay for any of it, getting a cancellation for my surgery, not having any complications... I know I should be grateful and I really am.  It's just so frustrating when you get these time scales in your head and then it ends up being three times longer than you were expecting.

7 comments:

  1. Hang in there Sarah! I know six months from now sounds like a long time, but it'll be here before you know it. Think back to where you were six months ago - pre surgery - didn't that time fly by? I know I'm not there yet, but one of the 'tips' I have taken from all the jaw blogs I read is that no date is ever set in stone - they are more like a rough guide & things will happen when they happen. Easy for me to say I know, I am sure there will come a point where I am frustrated & have lost patience with the whole process too. Feel free to remind me when I get there :)

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    1. Thanks Ellie! Yeah you're right, in the grand scheme of things I suppose it's not that long! Yeah that's definitely a good tip to take on board! Always take what they say with a pinch of salt!

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  2. Any recent pics? Glad to hear your doing well.

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    1. Hi, the photos below on my 12 week post are from a couple of weeks ago. I think I'm just gonna do pics once a month now cos I look pretty much the same week-on-week

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  3. Sarah! I feel you... My next blog post was going to have the exact title... But my predicament is due to my teeth moving so slowly:(

    It's great to see a post from you. Good luck. I hope they get you in quicker than they think. Not fair!

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  4. totally agree with the timescale issue! i hate it before an appointment you assume theres going to be a progression then you come out of the orthos feeling like you've taken 3 steps backwards instead. hang in there :)

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  5. Hi Amanda, I'm sorry to hear things are moving slowly for you too :( Looks like we've got to put up with these things for a bit longer! Hope you are doing well.

    Hey Beth, I completely agree, I always get so excited about appointments because I think things will get moving, and its so disheartening when you realise that it's all going to take so much longer than you thought.

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