December 2013

Well, the weeks have flown by amd the surgery is a distant past event. I have had two Ortho appts and he continues to be very pleased with the results. I am still wearing the bands for 10-12 hours at night but that isn't much of an issue. My numbness is declining but I am still pretty numb- especially my gums. Lip is probably 75% back to normal feeling. Eating gets easier each week and I am hopeful that I will one day eat an apple!  

Week 7

Last Friday I was freed from bands (temporarily!) and this past Tuesday I went to the Orthodontist for my first post-op with him.  He was very pleased with the results of the surgery.  He took out 13 hooks and changed the wires on top and bottom.  He also started the process of making some more final adjustments to my teeth.  My two front teeth (upper) have been uneven for a few months now so he fixed that and also did some work to try to adjust that molar that was bothering me for the past few weeks.  Then, he gave me the dreaded bands again... they are looser but they still hold my teeth closed and I have to wear those 10-12 hours a day.  I put them on sometime after dinner and take them off before breakfast.  It isn't too bad but it is a few hours a day that I am restricted again.  Not sure how long I will have to wear these.  He described them as my "insurance policy" to keep my teeth where the oral surgeon put them.  I am happy to wear them if they help insure that my teeth stay where they should!  The other bit of good news from the orthodontist was that they were all amazed at how little swelling I still have.  I assumed I was typical but they said some people remain quite swollen for a much longer time.  I still see/feel the swelling but I am very pleased with how it has gone down.

I guess the only other news is that I ate a salad... my first salad since September!!!!  Woo hoo!!  Leafy greens :-)  Chewing is still awkward and weird but at least I am able to chew lettuce again.

NO MORE BANDS!

I can't believe it.... I am DONE with the bands holding my teeth together.  I am so happy (and surprised). I completely expected to have to wear them awhile longer so I was grinning ear to ear when I was released!  I am basically free of restrictions... I can eat normally (hooray for healthier food!), exercise and get back to living a normal life.  We are all very happy tonight at our house.  We are going out to dinner tonight and Brian is going to cook me one of my favorite meals tomorrow night... very exciting!  I am also excited to re-stock the groceries in the house.  I have avoided a lot of food shopping because it was depressing.  Tomorrow, we head to Costco to load up!  Woo hoo!

I go to the orthodontist on Tuesday morning and will find out what kind of torture he will put me through to get my teeth in their final positions (may include more normal orthodontic rubber bands- but that is okay with me!).  I have about 10 extra hooks on my wires and I hope he can take those off on Tuesday... too much metal in my mouth!  I can't believe that so much of this process is behind me.  All I have to do is wrap up the orthodontics over the next 4-6 months and have a follow-up with oral surgery in March.  Feeling is gradually returning to my face-- I forgot to ask how long to expect the numbness but I am guessing several more months for my gums and palate to regain full feeling.  I was told that I could have some spots that don't regain feeling... as of now, I seem to be feeling my entire upper lip so that is good news.

Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement through this process.  I am so appreciative of each note, email, hug and word of encouragement.

I may post a few more pictures after ortho but I am hoping that there isn't much to report on this blog anymore!

Oral surgeon today

I go see Dr. Steinbacher in a few hours.... I will post as soon as I can :-). 

Almost 5 weeks post op

I haven't been good about updating the blog (not even sure if people are checking it anymore)... life has just basically been going along fairly normally, except for the moments of frustration over having my mouth banded shut for 5 weeks now.  I knew it would be a long road but I know that when I look back, this frustration will be quickly forgotten.  The swelling continues to improve daily and I look fairly normal now... there is still quite a bit of swelling but it isn't as obvious to people I don't know.  The majority of the swelling is on the left side and my lips/cheeks are still a little unbalanced but that will fade with time.  I look forward to the few minutes each day I can take the bands off and eat and stretch my jaw.  Dental care is a pain because I get so much food trapped in every little wire/band.  Also, my upper jaw is still almost completely numb so when food is up there, I can't feel it.  I am getting a little bit of sensation back on my palate but I only notice it when I am brushing my teeth.  So, I see Dr. Steinbacher on Friday at 10 am and if all goes as planned, I see my orthodontist on the 12th and hopefully he will be able to change my wires and I can get rid of some of these hooks (I may be too optimistic about this one!).

The jaw clicking is almost completely gone.  I still have some tooth soreness at times but it is different teeth at different times.  Hopefully all that will disappear when I am FREE!

One month!

Not much to update but can't believe surgery was a month ago today!  10 more days until next oral surgery appt.....

Saturday photos

Here are the photos from today... I see major improvement over the past week and lots of people at work have been commenting on how much the swelling has gone down.  For the past week, I've had lots of popping and crackling in my left ear.  I finally called the surgeon's office yesterday and the PA said that it isn't likely related to the surgery. I was surprised because I assumed the swelling/irritation had aggravated my Eustachian tube and that was causing the popping.  She recommended Sudafed so I am now taking that.  Seems to be helping.  I am fighting a cold so that may be a part of it, too.  I have also had popping in my right jaw even with movements as small as swallowing (can't be much movement when your jaw is banded shut!).  That seems to be going away-- much to my relief.  PA said that typically goes away with some jaw exercises and when the jaw joint gets lubricated again (I guess from use/movement?).  My final issue of the week is sore teeth on the lower jaw. I am attributing that to the pressure caused by having my teeth closed 23+ hours a day.  I hope/assume that will be gone once I am open again or once the orthodontist starts moving my teeth into a more final position.  My final question for the PA was about when I get these bands off.  She said typically 6-8 weeks.  I see the Oral Surgeon at 5 3/4 weeks so I may be disappointed at that appt... might have more time banded shut.  But, we will see.  Many of his patients are on liquid for 6 weeks and I only had 3 weeks so maybe there is hope for getting these bands off on the earlier side!!!   Either way, I am almost a month post-op and that is really exciting!