I haven't really had any new developments to share since the last post. It's been about eight months since the braces were put on and things seem to be going just fine. It's a frustrating point in the process because I can't see any progress myself. Gaps between teeth form and then are closed up again from orthodontist vist to visit, but I can't see any overall change. There have been a few teeth that were twisted that are now facing the right direction, which I take as a good sign. Dr. Swiatek says that things are going perfectly and at the pace he had anticipated, so he expects I may be ready for surgery in November.
I am hoping this will be the case. I graduated with my paralegal certification in May and I am holding off on finding a new job until after the surgery. I am not sure that there's ever been someone more eager to have their jaw cut into pieces. The sooner the better!
Since I hadn't seen the surgeon since August 2010, I decided to schedule an appointment with him in June. During my first consultation with Dr. Levin, I was still concerned that we were in for a long fight with the insurance just to get the procedure covered. I was more focused on getting the coverage than actually talking to him about the surgery, the recovery, and the issues involved. I felt like I needed to get in there and ask some questions to ease my mind and help me plan for what's coming up.
Apparantly this sort of "follow-up consultation" appointment is not normal and the office staff was a little perplexed as to why I was there. After explaining that I was not there for a post-op visit (I wish!), they took down my vitals and Dr. Levin came in to talk to me. He went over where things stand right now and took some more measurments of my bite. He agreed that things seem to be moving along quite well and said that he leaves the determination of timing up to the orthodontist. A little piece of me had kind of been hoping he'd look at my teeth and say "I think it looks ready! Let's do it next week!". Ah well, a reality check was needed. Patience is a virtue, right?
Then he asked "Do you have any questions for me?". My mom, who had come along with me, laughed a bit in the corner of the room and handed me my purse. "Actually... I made a notebook... I'm a bit OCD." For those of you that know my love for notebooks and list-making, this should come as no suprise. I made a "Jaw Surgery Information" notebook. It has the information for all of my doctors, questions that I think of that I want to remember to ask, and timelines for appointments and such. I'm a nerd. I felt like I was interviewing him for the school newspaper as I went through the questions I had prepared. But, I got them all answered and nothing was forgotten.
So, as it stands, I am hoping the surgery will be in November. I am waiting for the ok from Dr. Swiatek. Once he thinks we're there, he'll take models of my teeth (braces and all) and send them to Dr. Levin so he can do "model surgery" on them to make sure that everything will fit right when it's done. Then, it'll be time to schedule the surgery. I've never been a huge fan of the summer season, but this year, more than ever, I can't wait for it to pass by.
