Deprogrammer.

Yesterday I got my deprogrammer splint.  Here is the little description that came with it:

The deprogrammer should be worn full time even to eat and sleep.  Dr. (Orthodontist) has this appliance designed so your back teeth are slightly apart.  This allows for jaw repositioning.  This also allows for Dr. (Surgeon) to know more accurately your jaw alignment.

This is similar to a retainer.  It can be taken out to clean.  You may brush this with toothpaste when you brush your teeth.  It may taste like plastic the first couple of days but that taste will go away.  At first, you may want to soften your diet to get used to eating with your new appliance.  

The assistant told me to call the office right away if I were having any problems, even slight, as the splint is supposed to relieve symptoms.  She said, "Remember that doctor's world is in microns; he seeks perfection, so call if you need to."  That was VERY reassuring on many levels.

I go back in a week for my first adjustment (as the jaw shifts, the occlusal plane of the splint has to be adjusted to give the correct "bite").

Also, the very BEST news is, I wear the splint for sixteen weeks, and then I can have my surgery.  And, since the sixteen weeks is a definite time, I can actually SCHEDULE my surgery!!!  I am calling my OS right after the new year!

Here are some pics of the splint:
* (note: this is a pre-surgery splint; I don't think it is anything like the splint some have after surgery)
** (those little metal wires hook over loops in my braces to hold the splint in)

Hopeful.

I am getting a new type of splint on Thursday.  It's called a deprogrammer splint.  It's the last step before surgery.  I will probably need to wear it for about 4 - 6 months before a date for surgery can be set.

Although I don't feel like I had much luck with the MAGO splint I wore before braces, I am hopeful for this one.  I've been having a lot of pain, headaches, and muscle tension, and I'm hoping that wearing this occlusal splint will help with that by preventing clenching at night and by overall giving me a better bite surface, since I currently have no bite surface at all.

The bummer part is that I'll need to wear this splint 24/7, which means I'll have to eat with it in.  That gets gross pretty fast.  I was supposed to wear the MAGO 24/7, but in the nine months I had the thing, there were times I didn't wear it -- like when I had a meeting with a big client or a Friday night out with friends.  This new splint is supposed to be smaller, so we'll see.

By the way, surprisingly, the impressions they took last week were not too bad in themselves.  But, I was in quite some pain for the next days afterwards from having my mouth open so long and stretched out.  I can't wait for this to be over!!

One Year.

Today marks my one year anniversary of getting lower braces (well, now it's one year + 10 days since I had trouble uploading the pictures on the actual day).  It's hard to believe it's already been a year.  It's gone by fast and slow at the same time.  While I'm eager to have the surgery sooner rather than later, I have to say that this year wasn't as bad as I thought it would be even though it seems I need to wait longer than most to be surgery ready.

Here are some flash back pics and the current state of affairs:

Before anything began... until now...