Sunday, February 25, 2007

I couldn't help but wonder....

Why some people remain rubber-banded 24/7 for 6 to 8 weeks (according to message boards), while I only had to do that for about three weeks? And why some people have to wear the splint 24/7 for weeks, while I only had to do that for two weeks, after which I'm now only required to wear the splint at night?

Is my surgeon being too liberal? Is there such a thing as a liberal surgeon?

On the other hand, I feel perfectly fine. My jaws tire easily, sure, but that's to be expected after the surgery. I can't wait to ask my OS at my next appointment on March 1st.

2 comments:

mumu said...

I think it all depends on your OS' technique/preferences and your individual case. In my case, I only had to have the splint in for 3 weeks (which I thought was kind of weird as they did do upper archway expansion for me) but I have to stay banded 24/7 for 8 weeks and then banded at night for another 4 after that. My OS told me the banding was to ensure my jaw muscles don't attempt to realign themselves as per pre-surgery.

In any case, I'm sure your OS knows what he's doing and I don't think they'd be offended if you asked as to why they're doing things in a certain way. I mean, it is your health at stake here so if anything you're simply expressing interest which I don't think can be construed as a bad thing. Or you could think of it this way, you trusted this man/woman to break your jaws and rearrange your face pretty much so what's so bad about trusting them in their decision to keep a few elastics in or out of your mouth. =)

- iamthefebo from Orthognathic Support Boards

~*Hui*~ said...

Hello!

I am 3 weeks post op. I had my rubber bands removed the day after my op. And I wasn't made to wear rubberbands after that. My splint was out in week 2 too.

I was wondering about that myself too...

YuHui