Thursday, February 24, 2011

Hardware out!

A few weeks ago I went back to my oral surgeon for my 6 month (and final) check up on my jaw.  I had another panoramic x-ray taken and everything has healed nicely.  The plates were bothering me some, mainly because I could feel them, particularly the top one, and the lower one stuck out the side of my face a bit. It also felt like my chin really doesn't move quite normally. None of this was a huge deal, but not something that I wanted to experience for the rest of my life.

So, yesterday I went back to my oral surgeon to have my hardware removed and have my wisdom teeth extracted.  The recovery from this has been pretty easy.  I feel no pain at all from the wisdom teeth extraction sites which is really surprising to me.  My chin is sore though and swollen, but not as bad as after the original surgery.  And, unlike the first time, I have almost normal energy levels. Unfortunately, my medical insurance would not cover the plate/screw removal, but it was worth the money to me to have it done. Considering that they promptly paid ~40k (probably ~15-20k with negotiated rates) in medical expenses from the accident I'm not too pissed about it.

This will likely be my last post unless something happens related to my poor jaw in the future. Looking back on my previous posts I'm a bit embarrassed at how OCD/pessimistic/distressed I was during the recovery process, but that's just they way I am I guess :)  So happy to put all of this behind me!

4 comments:

  1. Hi Sandy! I just wanted to thank you for keeping this blog. I fractured my jaw in three places (sounds like the same as yours) on April 21 and am currently in arch bars and elastics after being wired for two weeks. I think because I am older (56), my oral surgeon opted for a shorter wiring period. However, I am having some of the shifting you mentioned having in bands, and I can tell that one or several teeth on the left need to be filed down as that side is wanting to meet before the right side. I am in for orthodontia as well and not looking forward to that at my age! If you see my comment, I'd love to know how your orthodontic experience went. Assume you're all better now and living a normal life -- sure hope so. Thanks again for sharing your experience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Emily, excuse my belated reply, I don't really keep up with this blog because thankfully it is ancient history. Orthodontics was fine, it's a piece of cake compared to breaking your jaw. My teeth are now straight and fit together in a more functional manner. Hope that you are well.

      Delete
    2. Hi,
      I know it’s been years since you’ve broken your jaw but I still wish you well. My partner broke her jaw and unfortunately it’s been a year and she isn’t getting better. She needs corrective surgery. So I started a fundraiser I’d like to share with you . Please support LiAnne on this long journey of recovery ahead.
      I've shared a campaign I care about because I think you'll want to support it too.

      https://fundly.com/wired-shut-1?ft_src=email_share_mobile
      Thanks!
      Feel free to contact me via email LafoxStylesStudio@gmail.com or by phone 774-300-0948

      Delete
    3. Hi,
      I know it’s been years since you’ve broken your jaw but I still wish you well. My partner broke her jaw and unfortunately it’s been a year and she isn’t getting better. She needs corrective surgery. So I started a fundraiser I’d like to share with you . Please support LiAnne on this long journey of recovery ahead.
      I've shared a campaign I care about because I think you'll want to support it too.

      https://fundly.com/wired-shut-1?ft_src=email_share_mobile
      Thanks!
      Feel free to contact me via email LafoxStylesStudio@gmail.com or by phone 774-300-0948

      Delete