Anticlimactic appointment

I was really looking forward to today's ortho appointment because I was hoping to learn a bit more about my progress and whether or not I could start booking a surgery date. I'm tired of telling people that I'm having surgery "some time in the spring." I want a definite time frame so that I don't sound so uninformed!

Well, first I had a new panoramic x-ray taken. I think it looks very similar to the x-ray taken before getting braces on in August (my teeth were already straight from the first round of braces), though everything seems to be a bit more evenly levelled now.

March 7, 2012

May 4, 2011 - before 2nd round of braces

I then had impressions taken to make study models. I've never had impressions with braces, and it was definitely more challenging to get all the dried alginate out of my mouth! After the impressions, I was expecting my OD to come by and look at my bite and x-ray and tell me what he thought about it, but he never came! Instead, the ortho assistant told me that she was going to put my old archwires back in and my OD would evaluate the models and x-ray, and I should book an appointment for 4 weeks from now. It was a bit of a let down! I had expected to learn something new, but instead I've been forced to wait a little longer.

The appointment wasn't completely disappointing though. I snuck a peek at my chart and read the letter that was sent from my OS to my OD after the surgical consult. It was definitely interesting! It summarized our meeting, observations of my bite and facial structure, and his thoughts for my treatment in highly technical jargon. I found some of the sentences extremely amusing for some reason, so I thought I'd share them: "orbital, malar, and nasal dimensions were grossly normal," "the nose was prominent in the profile view with an obtuse nasolabial angle," "the oral soft tissues were unremarkable and oral hygiene was excellent." Good to know.  :)

Well, that's the only new news I have. I think my ortho office will contact the oral surgeon's office directly if it's determined that I'm ready for surgery, so maybe I'll hear some more info between now and my next appointment. If so I'll make sure to post about it.