3 Months!

Three months! There has definitely been progress. First and foremost - I can feel most of my tongue again! Just a little bit of numbness/tingling in the front right section - but I can feel it when I bite it - and yes, I'm still biting my tongue when I eat. It's just been "trained" to be over to the right for too long, so I'm trying to retrain it by eating a lot. Which brings me to weight - I've gained back approximately 5 lbs. of the 11 that I lost. I'm good with that. :) I can feel about 1/2 of my bottom lip, the left half is still mostly numb, so that hasn't changed much. My chin is still mostly numb, but I'm starting to feel a bit on the right side. Brushing my teeth, or putting ANY pressure on my teeth still feels like nails on a chalkboard. Hate it, but it's a necessity. I'm hoping that once I'm completely healed (in about 3-5 more months) that the sensation will go away. All in all - I'm fairly happy with the results. My smile will never be perfect (according to me) and my jaw will never be totally straight. My face will never be perfectly symmetrical, but lets face it - I ruled out modeling when I was 12. My husband loves me, loves the way I look, and can't wait for me to get my braces off in 45 more days! December 17th is the big day! Here are some pictures taken today to mark the 3 month post-op mark.

That's not a gang sign - it's 3 in sign language. That's how I roll.

Right profile.

Left profile.

Angled left side.

Angled right side.


These next 3 pics are to show how quickly things change! Less then a year ago, the first pic of my teeth was taken, showing the crossbite and crooked teeth (which I thought were pretty straight at the time...HA!).

This next pic is just before my surgery, 3 months ago. My teeth were mostly straight, but I couldn't close my bite because of how "off" my jaw was.

The last was taken today at the ortho's office. After they take off my rubber bands and wires for adjustments, I always ask if I can brush my teeth. My ortho always laughs and says I'm the only one who asks that, but it's so NICE to brush my teeth with only brackets on my teeth so I shot this pic when my bands and wires were off. My ortho said he was "extremely pleased" with how everything looks and that I just need to continue to wear my rubber bands exactly as I am.

That's it! The next pics will probably be my "after" shots with braces OFF! Hooray!

2 Months!

Ok, so these are probably my last pics til my braces come off - hopefully in the next couple of months. It's been 2 months since I had surgery. I'm still not ecstatic with how I look right now - but honestly - the changes from now until my 18 month mark will be so gradual, I probably won't notice unless I do comparision - before and afters. I just try not to think about the uneveness of my face. The "cant" to my teeth and my less then perfect jaw. It's still better then it was - so really, what more can I ask for? I still have an open bite on the left side, and I only have a few teeth touching on the right - but that's all orthodontics from this point. I have an appt. 1 week from today to get more rubber bands - hopefully closing that open bite. I would say about 1/3 of my tongue is still numb, 1/2 of my bottom lip and my whole chin. Overall, not bad at only the 2 month mark. Here are the "official" 2 month pics. I have a sinus infection so I look a little dreary.

I don't think I'll ever get rid of the "nose wrinkle" or my lopsided smile - but I can learn to live with it! :) My eyes in my "after pic" look psychotic. I thought it was a good idea when I was playing with photoshop...

BEFORE Sept. 2009 / AFTER - Sept. 2010

I may not have a totally straight jaw, but it's so much better then it was!

Note the before (left) and after (right) pics!

Right profile pic. Before and After

Left profile, before and after.


Straight teeth! No crossbite! Midlines matching! Before/After

Different angles. Excuse the messy hair: Sick = laying down!

So...because my teeth are still numb, it feels weird to brush them. Like, nails on a chalkboard weird. Like any pressure feels like I'll knock out a tooth, or I'll hit a newly reconnected nerve and a white hot pain shoots through the nerve. Brushing my teeth is not a pleasant experience. I'm sooo grateful for my Waterpik. It's bearable. I'm also tired of chewing on my lip. I have a HUGE canker there because I simply cannot feel when I bite it as I chew. Going on our cruise to the Bahama's last week didn't help. I ate constantly and the canker grew and grew! I'm really looking forward to the numbness COMPLETELY dissapating. It's supposed to be 90% gone in the next 2 months. Can't wait!

Ok, want to know the REAL reason that I want all the feeling back?

So I can KISS MY HUSBAND AGAIN!

(I mean ReEEAallly kiss him!) :)

These pics are from our cruise last week. The Bahama's were AMAZING! I mean, come on - it's the Bahama's! We kayak'd through the Mangrove trees, then went on a Segway tour, we went to the beach, shopped, saw beautiful sunsets...it was incredible!

At dinner - I was really excited to eat! :) We scheduled this cruise partially to celebrate EATING again! This is my "bad side". My smile is crazy!

That's all!

8 weeks

So, at my appt. Thursday he said everything looks good. I said that my jaw looked "heavier/bulkier" still on my right side, but that I didn't think it was swelling. He told me it was normal, because of the rotation. The heavier part of my jaw on that side was brought forward. He said that things will continue to settle for the next YEAR AND A HALF! At that point, if I still think it looks too uneven, I can get "fillers" put in the left side to even it out. My fingers are crossed that it "settles" as evenly as possible, but I hope I can deal with pictures and life in general with this asymmetry for the next (at least) 18 months. At least I'll be able to chew, eventually! When I get back from my cruise, my ortho will be rubber-banding the left side of my mouth to close my open bite, but he's optimistic that I'll have them off by Thanksgiving! Yesss! Bring on the rubber bands. I did it for 6 weeks already - I can handle 6 more!

Updated pics. You can see the crookedness (thickness of each side of my jaw) in these pics. Hoping, praying it evens out. Guess what I discovered? Everything looks better in black and white!



Uneven jaw. Oh well.


This is how far I can open my mouth right now. I can successfully eat (bite into) a McDonald's cheeseburger if it doesn't have the pickles on it. Progress! Still have a long way to go, but doing my physical therapy every day is helping!


Overall - I'm glad I did the surgery to have a straight midline and be able to chew/eat better. I'm h0ping everything else (that I'm not thrilled with) will work itself out over time. My jaw still aches after eating or talking/singing/laughing a lot - but I'm not taking pain meds on a regular basis or anything. Usually stopping talking for a while works.

Speaking of which - I'm off to bed!

6 weeks post op - the cheeseburger.

6 weeks. I made it. I am allowed to eat whatever I want. The problem is, I still can't. Well, not easily. I can nibble at just about anything (I had a cheeto) but it's very slow going. I can't imagine eating something like a carrot or steak - and couldn't even make it through my steamed green beans tonight. I no longer have to wear rubber bands related to my surgery - although I will begin a new rubber band regiment according to my ortho. How exciting.

This is today. Still crooked. I supposed there is still some swelling in my right cheek - although now I wish my left cheek looked the same, to fill it out evenly..and permanently. I know that won't happen - but I don't know what 6 more months will do to everything either. Time will tell.

Showing my teeth. Still hoping to have the braces off around Christmas.

Right profile.

Left profile.

I was determined to eat a cheeseburger today...but that initially posted some problems...such as my mouth not opening wide enough.

So, I cut it in half (gave that to Jared) and cut the rest into about 16 pieces which I ate just fine. It was very yummy. I am happy to not have to worry about what I can eat anymore.

Tonight I went to the Mikado with some friends and couldn't eat most of what was on my plate. I brought some sushi home for Jared and decided that's what I should have ordered! It was soft, easy to eat and yummy!

I'll update some before/after pictures when there is more of a difference. Until then...keep smiling!

I only have to wear rubber bands at night!

The title says it all....hallelujah!

Here are the official 5 week post-op pics. First - I just have to put in a shameless plug for the new headband from our product line. I stuck one of our brooches in the middle. Isn't it stinking cute? I look terrible with headbands typically - but this one is alright!

Right profile. Almost no swelling!

Left profile. My nostril still pulls up too much but I guess I'll get used to it!

This lovely picture shows how far I can open my mouth now. Looks are deceiving though - because although I can open the front of my teeth that far, between my back molars barely fits my thumb. I'm supposed to start doing "scissor" exercises today to continue widening my jaw. They hurt. I have almost zero side-to-side mobility as well, which makes chewing tricky. Practice makes perfect though - so I'm off to eat a piece of cake! :)

Lortab

So, can anyone tell me the difference between Lortab suspension (liquid) and Lortab tablets? I took the suspension the first week of post-op and did just fine on it. Then, after getting my splint off and being in a tremendous amount of pain, Dr. Egbert prescribed it again last week. I took 1 pill, and was sick (nauseated, throwing up and dizzy) for the next 8 hours. So...there has to be a difference, and I'm just wondering what it is? Since that experience, I've found a cocktail that works for me...namely 800 mgs of Ibuprofin, with a 1000 mg. Tylenol chaser 3-4 hours later. Combine that with heat packs and complete relaxation and I can manage. My mom and sis came in to town for THREE weddings this weekend and I wanted my house to look pretty. (The reason I'm dressed up and they aren't is because I was headed out the door to church, and they were headed out the door to road trip back to CO this morning).

I started a big project and it about killed me to finish it, but I did! I painted some accent walls in my bedroom and bathroom and did some redecorating. My office is red/black/white - power colors for getting good work done. My bedroom is the opposite - soothing beach tones for relaxing. Although I alternated between my project and lying prostrate on my bed in a pain-induced stupor - I got it done. It helped to focus on something (the project) other then the pain for as long as I could stand it - so at least the pain made me productive!

Some pictures (click to enlarge)

I love the combo of our cherry furniture with antique creams and vintage sea-blue's. In the second pic -the flash wouldn't go off due to the sun coming in the window. Oh well.

The pic on the left is a much truer color then on the right. It is a blue-green color, not straight blue. The vinyl says "We will have these moments to remember" and then I put pics of our family in the frames from fond moments throughout the last 8 years. It's the first thing I look at when I wake up in the morning, and it's a great way to start my day.

So - on to face pics. It's been almost 5 weeks now (Tues) and I'm still taking off my rubber bands for 8 hours a day. My schedule is roughly taking them off from 9-11am, 1-3pm, 5-7pm, 9-11pm. That is perfect for all 3 meals plus ice cream at night. My meals have been upgraded. For breakfast I still have cream of wheat usually, but I did eat some Life cereal (thoroughly soggy) the other day. For lunch it's usually Pei Wei noodles (or Noodles & Co.) and dinner is usually an omelet. Last night I broke down and ate refried beans for the first time in a week. It's such a great protein boost!

Swelling is still lingering slightly but is noticeably worse in the morning when I wake up.

Showing my rubber bands...they make me look like a vampire.

Left profile. I hate that you can see all the way up my nostril. I think I'll check into botox to just relax that muscle a little. It pulls up so much more then the other side that it continues to make my smile extremely lopsided unless I am very cognisant of how I'm smiling. Annoying.

Left profile. The swelling under my chin is getting less, and my cheek is only slightly puffy.

All in all - I'm getting there. Chewing continues to be slow going. The right half of my tongue is still numb, so I'm still crunching on it at every meal. I end up swallowing most of my food whole - but at least it's filling! I'm worried now about our cruise in 3 weeks. I'm thinking I won't gain back the weight I lost (which is fine) but I'm still hoping to be able to sample all the cuisine available - even if it takes me a while to actually consume it.

Speaking "normally" takes effort. There is still a slight whistle on certain words due to the open bite, and I now have to form words differently due to my tongue filling in the roof of my mouth different (since my upper pallet is now so much bigger then it used to be). Combine that with numbness and I think I look pretty funny (and sound funny) when I speak. I'm forever learning patience with myself.

I'm hoping on Tuesday that I'll be told I only need to wear the rubber bands for a short period of time each afternoon, and then all night. That will be fantastic and I can answer the phone again! Until then...

Double post

I'm doing a double post today because my day just went downhill after getting the splint out this morning. So - as it turns out - I miss my splint. Yes, you heard me right. Since taking it off and merely rubber banding my braces - I've realized that it REALLY HURTS to have rubber bands pulling your teeth together when they don't quite line up. When there is an "open bite" or a little bit of space between your upper and lower teeth, but rubber bands are pulling for all they are worth to get them to meet - it hurts. A lot. So, I figure, no prob, I'll pop some Ibuprofin and deal.

Then I had my ortho appt. at 2. Oh the humanity. So, the first thing he does is snaps off a bracket on my very last molar on my right side so he can reposition it better. Ouch. Then when he goes to reposition it, he finds I can't open my mouth very far to get all those instruments in and says "I guess I should have seen how far you could open your mouth first." Um yeah. So, he proceeds to get his assistant, and between the 2 of them, they PRY MY MOUTH OPEN far enough to get the instrument in that holds it open and has the little suction attached to it. So now, not only did it initially hurt to get the "mouth jack" in there - but now it had to STAY in there for the remainder of my treatment today. My jaw could barely handle it. It was starting to spasm with the effort. Since the bracket needed to be cemented to a crown, there is a bunch of prep work that has to be done, like double-etching the crown (wait for each of the etching to dry), then prime (wait to dry) then glue the bracket on. Then between the both of them, they maneuverd the "mouth jack" out of my extremely sore mouth. Ow, ow, ow! Also, I told him that I thought my crown was loose, and he proceeded to push and pull on it and said "I think it's ok" except for now it feels MORE LOOSE! Anyway, after putting in a new wire on the bottom with the new position of the bracket, and a new, thicker wire on the top with new rubber bands I was all set to go. Almost. He informs me that at my next visit in 2 weeks (when I will be "done" with Dr. Egberts instructions and can be turned completely over to my ortho) he will put brackets with hooks on the INSIDE of my bottom molars and then rubber band the inside of those molars to the outside of my upper molars in order to move my lower molars out a little. I asked if Egbert opened my top jaw too far and he emphatically said no, that my bottom molars simply needed to be moved a bit further out, and thinks he can accomplish that in "about a month". I didn't dare ask when he thought I'd get my braces off. I'm sticking with what he said last time about it being the end of the year. I said I was going on a cruise at the end of Sept, and worried about the funky rubber band's during that time, and he said for 5 days I can just leave them off. Phew! I hope the bracketts on the inside of my mouth don't bug too bad!

Anyway, for most of the afternoon I've been in pain, in bed, with heating packs. Finally, I just put my splint back in and rubber banded my teeth closed around it. It felt better to have a buffer between my upper and lower teeth, so the bands weren't pulling fruitlessly, with no relief.

On an UPSIDE though - I ate out, by myself, for the first time. I went to Pei Wei and had their lowmein, sans veggies with a few shredded up pieces of soft chicken. It was DIVINE. That experience almost trumps the negatives of today. Today was a humble reminder that I am nowhere near finished with this process and will be ever more grateful when it's alllll over. Thanks to everyone for offers of ice cream and support! You're the best!

Goodbye Splint. I will not miss you.

Went in for my 4 week post - op and he took the splint off!

Now you see it...
(Arg! Take it off - OFF I SAY!!!)


Now you don't! :)

There is still some sort of funky tilt going on with my bottom teeth and my lips are crooked - hopefully due to lingering numbness. I'm hoping that at the 6-8 month mark it will all resolve itself, but if not - at least my top teeth go over my bottom teeth and my midlines match up!

This is the splint. For you future jaw surgery patients - BUY A WATER PIK. My splint was the cleanest one he'd ever seen. SO WORTH IT!

So - I am still struggling with the result so far. I have more metal in my mouth then I did pre-surgery due to the little wires wrapped around my brackets to hold the rubber bands on. My teeth look suddently smaller without the splint (not that I want it back on!) My jaw still seems to have a "cant" to it, which I hope will resolve in time. My face is still lopsided. I have an "open bite" on my left side (which means my molars don't touch) but it's slight and should be fixed fairly easily by my Ortho - who I see at 2pm today. However - I'm still only 4 weeks out from surgery and there could be many more changes to come. If nothing else good comes (cosmetically) at the very least I will be able to chew my food propery and smile knowing that my teeth are straight and my midlines match up. I know that there are many who would LOVE to have jaw surgery to correct their bite, regardless of the cosmetic outcome, so I will say this: Thank you to Jared who put my jaw surgery as our first priority (financially) when we sold our house last September. Thanks for understanding how important this was to me. And my fingers are crossed that I'll get full feeling back in my bottom lip so I can really KISS you again! :) Love you babe.