A couple weeks ago, 21st Jan to be exact, I had 4 miniature rubber bands jammed between my 2nd? molers (the big double teeth) to force a space big enough to fit the expander bracket. Whilst it didn't cause pain at time of fitting or afterward, there was a great deal of discomfort for days afterward. Actually, on 2nd thought, pain was triggered when I tried to chew hard foods like chips etc for the days following. What was more annoying though, was the discomfort. Took me back to my school yard days where I had a loose tooth and I would twist it and turn it and push it into my gum making kind of a painful yet satisfying feeling. I just gnawed my teeth for 3-4 days until it settled down. The nurses told me that it would feel like I had a piece of steak stuck in my teeth, they were right. And you know how annoying that is.
Currently, it's 2:59pm on Thursday 5th February 2015 and I'm sitting on my couch. In 1 hr time, I will be at Dr Lane's office having my Top Palate Expander device fit to the roof of my mouth. I'm told the device will cause me to have a lisp. I've just realised that I've not yet asked how long I need to have the device in my mouth for (mental note to ask when I go today).
Isn't it funny how it takes an injury for you to realise how good great health & fitness really is?!? I've been preparing for this day for a couple of months now, so a little earlier, whilst I sat on this very couch and reflected about my future events, I seized the opportunity to finish off the 4th and last jar of nutella that my work Secret Santa gave me. I never realised just how much my tongue relied on the roof of my mouth in order to really enjoy and savour the flavour and smooth texture. Simple and everyday things such as this are going to frustrate me I know it. But the end result, I hope, will be well worth it. I'm counting on it. Just as Courtney said this morning when I told her "this is the last time your going to see my mouth like this and speak clearly without a lisp for a while", she said 'you better smile in every damn photo I ever take!!!!' Amen to that!
Pre-op teeth clean
This morning I went to Redlynch Perfect Teeth and had a full clean (free - courtesy of Medibank Private - 1 per year!). It took less than 20 mins, they did an X-ray on a particular tooth that had a suspicious shadow on it but all is well. Teeth clean went fine. I asked if I should be getting my teeth regularly cleaned when I have my braces on and she said yeah go every so often, as per what the Ortho says. Sometimes they want you to use their own hygienist. Guess I will soon find out!
The Last Supper
Peter shouted me to a final and hearty lunch at Brothers today (for my birthday). I ordered the chicken breast with cous cous and mashed potato, it was okay. I'm planning on having a nice salad and maybe steak or something on Sunday night. That will be my REAL final meal for a little while.
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I'm told that my expander operation will need 1 week recovery time. I've spent a part of this afternoon looking up photos of expanders and so now I'm wondering what mine will look like because there are a few to choose from. I really hope it doesn't hurt.
Expander Fitting - done
Okay, device is in. No real discomfort and nil pain; however, I'm having quite a hard time trying to speak. My 's', 't', 'c' so far are the hardest. My tongue needs to figure out what's going on (at the moment, it thinks there's a piece of food in there and so it's salivating quite a bit). I need to re-train my tongue how to talk correctly and of course, swallow again, because right now, it's struggle town! (And yep, I need to do this all over again when it's removed in 6-9 months time because my tongue will have forgotten the 'normal' way to speak). Yes, I said 6-9 months time. I wasn't expecting that! Actually, I thought they might be joking when they said it. Dr Lane said it's 6 months minimum as past experiences have shown that anything less, can result in palates moving back to their original narrowness. Whatever it takes, I'll try to be a good sport.
So the update given by Dr Lane today is as follows:
- Expander fit today,
- Operation on Monday 9th Feb,
- Follow up appointment with Dr Lane the following Tues 17th Feb at which time, they will show me how to 'crank the key' in my expander device, which is going to open my expander bracket, thus open up my top palate. This will be done regularly, over the course of a number of weeks, and each time I crank it, the expander will open 0.8 mm. After the operation, I should be left with a small gap; by the end of Feb / early March, I should have a large gap at which time, I should have my braces fit and I'm told that within about 10 days, my gap should disappear. The teeth move that quickly!
- Turn / crank the key for number of weeks.
- Fit braces sometime in March
- Holiday in NZ end of April
My speech impediment should have settled down in a few days. Fingers crossed.
I realised soon after I had my expander fit, I will no longer be able to roll my 'r' when I practice my Italian. Bummer. Ever since I mastered that skill, I've quietly been enjoying it each morning when I do my Italian lessons!
Levi was the first person I called after I finished up at Dr Lane's office whilst I was driving home. They said I need to talk all afternoon and night in order for my tongue to start reacting properly to the device. He didn't answer so I called my BFF. I figured, since we aren't able to exercise tomorrow (she piked, not me - for good reason though..), I had better give her the opportunity to poke fun at me while I talk like a bit of a sped. And like I imagined, she laughed a bit. So did my mum when I called into her place on my way home. And so did Levi when he returned my call. Mum was actually a little horrified by the look of the device. And she couldn't help but muffle her laugh when I was speaking. Oh, and the Johnsons were home when I dropped into mum's place, so they got a good chuckle out of my misfortune also. Actually, Sister Johnson said she had oral surgery years ago; they removed some of her upper palate skin and replaced it on the bottom. Something to do with receding gum line I think she said. Apparently it was quite painful, so she sympathised with me! When Levi got home, he gave me a kiss as usual and then gestured for me to show him inside my mouth. His eyes lit up (not in a good way lol) when he saw it. I guess it doesn't look pretty.
Actually, the sides of the device are rubbing on my cheeks. They gave me some wax to put on the metal, and cream to put on my cheeks, in case I get an ulcer, or it rubs. As I'm writing this, I've only had it in for <2 hours and I can feel that it's going to rub! Now excuse me while I go and empty my mouth of the excess bubbling saliva thats congregating at the back of my mouth, which my tongue has yet to figure out how to push down my throat. Good times!
Dinner tonight with Shanice, Paula and Sharna was eventful to say the least. I ordered grilled fish (according to the YouTube clip I watched earlier, fish is easy to eat because it's soft and flaky and kind of just slides on down...) I guess once I got into a bit of a rhythm it was okay. My first sip of water however, was a challenge! I drooled all over. And just like the youtube kid said... icy drinks freeze up the metal on the bracket..!
Here is the expander in my mouth!
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