Sunday, July 17, 2011

The Plan

Why I am a Horrible Blogger
Looking over previous posts I realized I've never outlined the plan – what my surgeries will entail. From the picture you can tell I have a Class II Malocclusion (overbite instead of underbite). You might also suppose that the person taking the picture needs surgery to correct their one abnormally shorter leg that causes them to list to one side. But you can read more about that in another blog.

As a side note, I have noticed that the Class III Malocclusion patients (underbiters) have done a much better job with the blogs. Come on Class IIs!!! We have to fight the stereotype of being buck-toothed hicks!!!! For those of you who don't know, the Class IIs and Class IIIs have a fierce rivalry resembling that between werewolves and vampires in the Twilight series. (Almost exactly mirroring it actually. In fact, I am brooding about it right now.)

The Actual Steps
So after consultations with a handful of various doctors, here's the plan:

1. Braces Get braces to increase my overjet (decrease the distance my jaw will be moved in surgery) and widen my narrow upper arch. (done)

2. Wisdom Teeth Extraction Remove three severely impacted teeth early. The gaps left in my jaws need time to fill-in before the jaws are broken in surgery. Also, have excess irony removed. (done and done)

3. Orthognathic Surgery Break upper and lower jaws and move them forward. Set with titanium screws. Use braces to hold in place. My mother is very concerned that I will lose too much weight. I am concerned that I will not be thinner than my arch rival – Abraham Lincoln.

4. Rhinoplasty and Septoplasty Straighten septum. Remove my "dorsal hump." (Before you get excited, that is just the bump on my nose. I am not a mutant, half man/half fish crime fighter. That would be a "dorsal fin". I hope that cleared up any confusion.) My doctor told me that everyone with a recessed chin has a dorsal hump on their nose. Would you like to obsessively look for that on everyone in the subway like I do? Go for it.

Also, when I try to breath through my nose, the sides collapse. So they will remove some cartilage from a rib and use it to strengthen the sides of the nose. (I have encouraged them to remove as many ribs as necessary. While my heart would be largely unprotected, I'd fit into size 29-waist pants. I know. Medical decisions like these can be so difficult to tease apart.)

5. Throw Pillows and Candlesticks The final bits will involve finishing my orthodontics and cosmetic dentistry stuff and I should be a breathing sleeper-through-the-night.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Tom,

    Class II's rule!

    I loved reading your post. Our paths seem very similar in that I have a class II malocclusion with about a 9mm overjet. I am coming up on my 1-year anniversary of being in braces and am hoping to get an October surgery date.

    I am waiting now on insurance approval, and/or to find out the amount I will have to pay out of pocket if BCBS ends up denying again.

    My claim was originally denied last year, but at that time my teeth actually met. Our policy states that it will cover jaw repositioning surgery if appliance therapy did not work.

    So.. today I did a full set of progress records with my orthodontist to resubmit to my insurance company.

    It clearly shows now that I have a major overbite and that there is no way in heck that I could bite through a piece of bread. Well that is without tearing it like a savage beast! I would say warewolves, but I would not compare myself to a class III.

    Anyway, I really enjoyed reading your post. I have read blog after blog and yours was the first one I replied to. Our case is similar, and I also like following people that are able to laugh at themselves and find the humor in this whole situation.

    I mean, let's face it. Being a brace face at almost 40 is pretty funny when you think about it.

    Anyway, I also have a blog if youre interested. I have not been as detailed as you are, as I didn't start from the beginning. I just did somewhat of a recap of the last year and will blog more daily as the time gets closer, and of course during recovery.

    Let's keep in touch..
    If you don't mind.

    my blog is
    thequestforlesscharacter.blogspot.com

    Hang in there
    Janell

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    Replies
    1. Janell,
      Thanks for posting. I love hearing about other people's "crazy teeth." We're family – like circus folk. And thank you for the image of you gnawing on bread. I laughed out loud. Heading to your blog now to join up!

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  2. Hi Tom, I've just come across your blog, and I must say it's nice to see a man on here with an overjet, nearly all the blogs are follow are of women! Secondly I just wanted to say your blog is very informative and very funny! I found myself chuckling several times whilst having a read through, so thanks for making your blog so entertaining! I especially laughed at your explanation about the difference between a dorsal hump and dorsal fin! It did also confuse me though slightly because I have a recessed chin, and as far as I know, I don't think I have a dorsal hump?!

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  3. I was laughing as I was reading through your blog, but this post just killed me! I'm class III, and I've spent so much time looking for other female 20-something class III blogs! So I understand the feeling of searching for other bloggers that look like you. Still, a well-written blog is a well-written blog (which yours definitely is), and a liquid diet is a liquid diet! Good luck with all your procedures! It will be worth it in the end!

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