Jaw Jigsaw

Well I made it through the long pre-op appointment. Even though it was long- it went by super quickly. SO MUCH information. My brain literally hurt afterwards. Be prepared for a long blog post.  One thing I knew for sure leaving the appointment- I could not have picked a better surgeon team. The chief resident (who I talked the most with) was super fantastic and answered all my questions and then some. He was so easy to talk to. Dr. Ochs- the main guy that is actually doing the surgery- was just as awesome as I remember him. I haven't actually talked face-to-face with him since August 2012! Crazy, I know. I just worked with him through my ortho. I had to sign my life away saying I know full-well all the risks, yada, yada. And sign-off on the procedures. We started with two procedures on the sheet.... and then added two more. HA. The one is pretty minor though. I took a pic because I knew I wouldn't be able to remember them! I can hardly pronounce them still, haha. One thi...

So upper jaw surgery.. that's happening... in less than two months now...  My official diagnosis is related to maxillary hypoplasia and maxillary asymmetry .  Here's a great description of maxillary hypoplasia (from wiseGeek.com) - "Maxillary  hypoplasia  is an underdevelopment of the bones in the upper jaw. This condition can give the middle of the face a sunken appearance, and makes the lower jaw look like it is protruding even if it is anatomically normal." Reason of development - "usually as a result of poorly planned dental extractions. If teeth are removed from the upper jaw, it may fail to develop, and could become sunken over time." Three or four teeth (I can't remember how many) were removed from the upper and two from my lower jaw as a child. My mouth was just too small and didn't fit everything, so they thought they were doing the right thing. I'm sure this is one of the underlying causes of my problems.  In additi...