Good as New Now!

Well I said I would post as soon as my teeth returned to their normal state. By normal I mean that I no longer have numbness in my uppers from the SARPE procedure I had done. It has been 7.5 months since my surgery (it was done on March 3rd) and as of this week, really just these last few days, full feeling has now returned to all of my uppers.

My incisors are no longer sensitive to pressure and while I'm still being very careful so that I don't damage my brackets, I can now bite into things with my front teeth and actually use them for tearing things a bit. It is nice to have things feeling like they were pre-surgery. No more feeling like I have wooden teeth, and actually things feel so much better now as my teeth are much more in alignment and coming together as they should.

While SARPE definitely had its frustrations (mostly that bloody RPE expansion appliance)I definitely feel like it was worth it as my arch is looking incredible now. I look at my pictures and still have a hard time believing that they are mine. They just look so different. I remember when I first started this journey and was looking at the progress pics of others. I remember thinking my teeth would never look like those I saw. Now they do! which is very cool!

My next adjustment appointment is November 1. My ortho will be taking impressions and seeing if I'm ready for my lower jaw advancement surgery. Even if I'm ready I won't be having it til May, but it is nice to know we are ahead of schedule and that we are making great progress. I will post after the adjustmen and let you all know what was decided. For those of you who are contemplating SARPE....I say GO FOR IT! You will not regret it, and it is worth the small amount of aggravation for the incredible results!

Overjet views

Graham asked for a few pics of my overjet. Here is what it looks like from the front, and the underneath view. You can see from the pictures that it really is not that huge anymore. I'm guessing that my surgical movement forward (BSSO) will only be about 4mm.

This is my natural (overjet) smile






This is where my teeth are now wanting to rest since becoming aligned. It is aesthetically more in line with what they will look like after surgery

Here is what my overjet looks like from below



Here is the view from below resting in their new position

7 Months Post SARPE

Well today is 7 months post SARPE (ok yesterday was offically 7 months but whats one day??) I Thought I would do a quick update as to how I'm doing, and just how far we have come in 7 months. Below are pics of my uppers, lowers, and my new smile as of today. I'm quite sure there is still a lot of change left to come with my upcoming jaw surgery and continued ortho work, but considering where I started things seem incredibly different now and I thought I would share what we have accomplished thus far.

March 3rd (day 1 with the dreaded RPE) and now October 15th, 2006













Lowers Feb 3rd (Day 1 in braces) and now October 15th, 2006









My smile February 3rd (Day 1 with Braces) and now October 15th 2006


The last time I posted I still did not have full feeling back in upper left incisor and canine. They were still numb and very tender to pressure. In the past few days things have really changed in that area. I can honestly say that I'm still not 100% but I'm closer than I have ever been since surgery, and I'm confident that very soon I will have complete recovery and feeling in all of my teeth. Sensation is definitely almost back and my teeth no longer hurt when I apply pressure, so that is a big plus. I'm using this time frame as a gauge for my lower jaw advancement. I'm figuring it is going to take at least this long, perhaps longer to fully recover from it but at least I don't have to be so fearful as I'm confident that feeling will return after the surgery and also not afraid of the numbness anymore which is good.

Other than this there is not much else to report. I have another appt at the ortho on November 1 and we are going to take x-rays and models to see if I'm ready for surgery. I will keep you all posted and will try and post my x-ray pics. Chat with you all later!