Arrrg! The Return of Captain Hook!

You know you're ready for surgery when…



…you have 6 hooks on top and 5 on the bottom! I didn't realize he would have to take the wire out to put them on. As it turns out they are the same type of hooks he put on for the class II elastics; and for those two he just bent them on to the wire. So technically I was Captain Hook before I even realized it!

He made a small adjustment on one of my lower right pre-molars, and I asked him if he could tilt my left central incisor to try to close up the space a bit more. He explained that the space is due to gum recession and that because of the irregularity of the shape of my teeth I would likely need to get veneers to completely eradicate that space. Veneers are also a better and more permanent solution for my peg laterals (which are now bonded in case you forgot). Gum tissue can only fill in so much space. He cited a study in which gum tissue was shown to grow back if the teeth are augmented to the proper shape. I've had a feeling this would be needed, but veneers are $1000 each so I may be waiting a while to get those! Maybe I could do more bonding in the meantime if it's really bothering me. We'll see how things are once my braces are off.

I asked if he would be talking to Dr T before Monday - he said no. They've worked closely together for long enough that he knows what to expect from him and vice versa. My surgery is very routine for him and said they consult only when really special cases arise. Everything I've heard from both docs has been in sync so I'm fine with it. They both have a very good reputation. Dr W said it is really Dr T who calls the shots, which makes sense.

One of the really cool things about Dr W is that he knows how to do some cranial therapy and uses it for his surgical patients. I go back to see him the following Wednesday for 20 minutes of this and again 3 weeks later. I definitely need to go back to the cranial RMT following surgery too. I'm definitely sold and I would highly recommend it to any jaw surgery patient or even just for general relaxation.

I ate lunch avec les hooks. Not too much trouble, and my lips aren't bothering me too much right now. I do seem to have some irritation at the right corner of my mouth though. I think that appeared after getting the models done at Dr T's pre-op. Vaseline seems to be making it more bearable but I hope it clears up. We'll see how things are by Sunday, but I suppose it won't matter much after surgery.

You will notice that I changed my photo links. I ran into some trouble with my Flickr account so I copied everything to a new Picasa account. I will be posting all my post-op photos there.