Orthodontics Phase II

When Rachel was little, and we saw the Craniofacial Team on a yearly basis, there was this timeline for all the surgeries and all the things that accompany being born with a cleft, including two phases of braces. At that time, it all seemed so far off in the future. But here we are at the beginning stage of our next leg of Rachel's Journey.

Today, we saw Rachel's Orthodontist, Dr. Garcia, for a follow up Xray from 6 months ago to determine if she'd stopped growing. We were supposed to have this appointment the beginning of May, and then follow up with Dr. Martin, but the Coronavirus Pandemic caused those appointments to be cancelled and moved out.

Because of the Pandemic, the amount of people are limited in the office, therefore I wrote out my note of concerns and questions and sent Rachel in the door to her appointment. She didn't like that one bit. Honestly, it felt strange sending her in to such an important appointment without me.

She didn't make it too far into the office before she was summoning me to come in. Apparently limiting how many people are in the office means you can still bring one parent and not both or all the siblings.

I had texted with Dr. Garcia last month when our appointment was cancelled. It happened to be that she was actually with Dr. Martin and they were able to discuss Rachel's case. And they felt she was ready to move to the next step.

So today, we began the next step - Orthodontics Phase II.  X-rays and impressions were taken, as well as photographs, financial contracts were signed, and future appointments made. 

After Rachel sees our regular dentist for a cleaning next month, we will return to Dr. Garcia's office for spacers between her teeth, and then a week later we return for braces! I'm not sure if they will do top and bottom at the same time, but eventually she'll have both.

This phase of braces will help straighten everything out, align everything, and get everything in place for her jaw correction surgery next summer.

The jaw surgery I believe will be the last "required" surgery for Rachel. Any future surgeries Rachel will have - lip revisions and nose jobs, are surgeries that are up to Rachel as to whether or not she wants them.