Update! I had a CBCT scan and a consult with a periodontist today 😀
Yes, the MSE is my best option. I would be working with an Orthodontist, who would place the MSE but 2 miles away her Periodontist friend would install the screws. I would get the smallest 8mm MSE with the 11mm screws. However, a few concerns: not only do I have a deviated septum, my palate is deviated. As in, the roof of my mouth slopes to one side a bit. The expander wouldn’t be level across from side to side. However, my scans and x-rays and everything from both the Ortho and Perio go to Dr. Moon and his friends in California, they custom make the MSE and ship it back to them, and I get a one of kind treatment. Sounds cool.
Also, my lower jaw might, maybe, we’ll see when we get there, could need bone grafting to add width to it, so my lower teeth can move outwards to match the uppers later on. That sounded painful, and weird. She said she pulls back the gum and adds sandy like bits of bone all around. I asked “WHOS BONE!?” And apparently it’s from a bone bank, that they get it from cadavers. Eww? Anyways, that might not even need to happen.
So I would have the MSE installed and after a few weeks the anchors around the back teeth come off but the expander and screws stay in up to 8 months total (likely 6). These only make sure the MSE is placed exactly where Dr. Moon and his team want it. No pressure is exerted on the teeth. She will absolutely make sure the teeth do not get pushed out or that I get over-expanded or the screws start to tip, working with the Ortho closely. In fact the 3 of us would all text and call and check in daily the first few weeks! Hello new BFF’s.
Also, the success rate of this process is not so much related to age or gender, it’s on how fused your palatal suture is. There’s a scale from A to E apparently. I am at a B so it’s not fully 100% closed up forever. A and B level people haven’t had a problem while D and E are not likely to be successful with an MSE.
The Perio said she can install tads in her sleep and installing an MSE is the easiest thing she does. However, she is the only one in Michigan that installs MSE’s! How bizarre I picked 3 Orthos to consult in my area and I landed on one that works with this Perio! However, they’ve only been doing it for a couple of years and have had about 4 patients do it. 1 was not successful, as they did him 2 years ago before they knew about the A-E scale. He is a 50ish year old man who is a large, over 6 foot and 250lb+ man who is very… well, solid, with a more fused suture. He is going to follow through with SARPE and then continue though. Her other few patients still have the MSE in (ages late twenties to late 40’s.) She showed me pics of their mouths as they agreed to share. So, she will do another CBCT scan after the expansion and maybe after the MSE comes out to show the healed and expanded area. She was thorough with the pictures.
The area does fill in with bone over time. It becomes just as hard as the surrounding palate. There are no main arteries or nerves to hit, so there’s really no chance of losing feeling or bleeding. (My anxiety had to ask). For the installation I can have any type of numbing shots, gas, sedation, etc. however I would just take the shots. I don’t like feeling high or being put under. Her previous patients said it’s not bad, but the last few cranks of the screws feel uncomfortable, even itchy. Before the split occurs they have described as pressure and a slight burning feeling more than actual pain. No one seems to need more than Tylenol though.
And, for me, she thinks I could see an ENT after my treatment to really fix the deviation if needed. I don’t want to think about it yet, but said her patients have breathed better immediately with the MSE. Also, she recommended later in the process seeing her… I can’t think of the word, but person who can teach me tongue and mouth exercises to better talk or know what to do with my tongue, posture, etc. They do 1 on 1 visits but I could opt to do them over Face Time even.
So for the CBCT, I have it on a disk. PSA: We did not talk measurements or look though it there. Here are some snips I made myself. I am messing around with it, it doesn’t come with a training module. These are my best guesses. If I measured at the wrong place, let me know and I will try again. She didn’t give me any specific numbers. However, they look cool.
Conclusion- I’m still nervous. Only because it’s so new, they are learning as they go. Mild pain and discomfort. They seem to be bad ass at what they do and make a great team though. They seem truly sincere and care about my health and a straight pretty smile was not their main goal with me (although I will get a nice pretty smile too). They took as much time as I needed with my questions and I didn’t feel rushed. They even travel and give conferences together to get the word out because they know regular old expanders do not do what MARPE or SARPE do. I feel lucky they are relatively close to me. Grand total, for both the MSE with the Perio and Braces with the Ortho is just a hair under $10k.
Very straight cervical spine.
My upper and lower teeth are very tipped in. This view shows the lower tip pretty well.
Except for a few front teeth, non of my teeth come together. Apparently I don't chew very well :(
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