I may have a common associated problem with cleft palate repairs called an oral nasal fistula. I had felt it with my tongue and then my brother (who happens to be my dentist) noticed it when he cleaned my teeth. It is basically a connection between my oral cavity and my nasal cavity---this makes eating spicy soups and caffeinated drinks not so fun these days.
I thought my journey with my cleft lip and palate was over but apparently it isn't. I'm beginning to understand the long term ramifications of all my surgeries. Every time a surgeon touched my face it made me look better but it wasn't without its effects--my bone is fragile, my soft tissue is thin, and my teeth move in a heartbeat. Because of 4 sets of braces (Yes, FOUR), the roots of one of my front teeth are so short that it is a definite I will need an implant somewhere down the road (I'm flossing like crazy to delay that. . .) and my teeth move any time they are given the opportunity (they are cemented together but when that bonding comes off they literally move in a few hours).
I finally understand that this will never be over. I am 21 and at the peak of my health bone-wise and vasculature-wise. I have always been a complicated dental case and I will only get more complicated, BUT hallelujah my brother and sister-in-law are just about to be in their own dental practice and they are committed to getting me good care!!
Tomorrow will tell what procedures will be involved with this latest complication--I have an appointment with the Oral Surgeon. It could be as little as just closing it with a piece of soft tissue from somewhere else or it could involve another bone graft from my hip--hope not. Whatever it takes procedure-wise to repair it, I will get done over Christmas break . . . Merry Christmas to me.
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