DECEMBER 2014 BUDDIES!!

[gutsygumshoe]

Hi guys! Nadira and oimysizex, hope you're both doing well! How are you getting on with chewing, Nadira?

So if I've counted properly I think I'm on day 53 post-op now! How crazy to think that it's been very nearly eight weeks already. It certainly didn't feel like it would during the first few days, but the time has absolutely flown by. I would have posted a few days ago on my seven-week anniversary, but have had the most ridiculously busy and stressful week at work. I managed three days in the office this week, with Tuesday and Thursday working at home. Next week I'm going to try four days in, with Wednesday as a small break in the middle working from home... will see how it goes. I hope next week is less stressful

Just over a week ago I switched from my baby toothbrush back to my normal electric toothbrush. It's one of the Braun Oral-B ones with a small round head, so for the most part it's been ok, although the first few days I found it difficult to fit between my back teeth. This has gradually eased off and isn't really a problem any more. Without my bands in I can open fairly wide now, probably close to where I was originally, although yawning still makes the joints ache!

A funny thing I've found with the electric toothbrush is that the vibrations send some of the nerves in my mouth completely haywire - for example brushing my back teeth on the right side makes it feel like pins are being stuck in my tongue! And if I press one of my teeth with my tongue, or have pressure on it from the toothbrush, it feels like what I can only describe as a string being pulled tight against my lip and being pressed in... it's very strange! Some of my teeth are super sensitive too and are quite painful when brushing (even though I'm very careful and gentle) - I've noticed it's mostly just ones where the bands are hooked on though, so my guess is it's from the pressure of the bands pulling.

Food-wise I'm trying to eat a slightly more normal diet, although I haven't gone too crazy and am mostly still sticking to soft foods. Chewing is easier now than it was when I last posted, although after a while it does start to ache so at that point I go back to mushing with my tongue instead. I tend to only use my left side to chew as the right side is too uncomfortable - this is also the side where I still have numbness. All in good time I guess. I am for the most part using normal cutlery again though - the only thing I haven't been able to manage yet is a normal-sized spoon! But switching up from a baby spoon to a teaspoon is still an improvement!

[gutsygumshoe]

Hi guys! Hope all is good!

I'm two months post-op today! How crazy is that!! And tomorrow will be nine weeks, which is even crazier! I'm sure I'm repeating myself now but it feels like it was forever ago, but not that long ago at the same time.

I've noticed an improvement in my swelling over the last few days. There wasn't much left, just a little chubbiness in my cheeks, but that seems to have disappeared now. There must have been some swelling in my nose too, because that doesn't look as wide now as it did after surgery. The stiffness in my top lip and nostrils has really improved as well - they're not 100% back to normal yet, but my top lip moves much more now when I talk and smile, so it all looks much more natural.

Numbness-wise I don't think I have anywhere that's 100% numb anymore, except for maybe a few odd patches on my gums, but I only notice that when I brush my teeth. The right side of my lower lip, and then the bit leading down from it to my chin were still numb until recently, but now there is definitely some feeling there, although it's inside rather than on the surface, if that makes sense.

I've had some pain recently. Mostly it's in the joints and it's generally after I've done too much chewing or talking, or if I'm tired. Yawning hurts quite a lot. Occasionally I get little sharp stabby pains in the areas where I think the metal plates are, but they're not severe or anything. Hopefully they're nothing to worry about, but if they're still happening by next week when I see my orthodontist I'll bring it up.

I really hope when I see my orthodontist next week he'll change my ligatures... They haven't been changed since I had my hooks put on, and that was way back on 7th November! So they're pretty gross and stained now haha. Luckily I went with silver as I knew it would be a long time before they would be changed again, and it doesn't notice so much when the silver ones get discoloured from food. Normally I have purple or pale blue... looking forward to having colourful braces again, I'd quite like to try the teal ones!

[oimysizex]

Hello Mel!

The tooth brush and nerves thing completely rings a bell. I've been using my elec toothbrush since about 2 weeks post op but recently, since I can open my mouth pretty wide I get the the weird nerve tingly thing in my chin when I brush certain teeth or chew on certain teeth!!!!!


I'm 6 weeks post op now I can chew properly and have to see my orthodontist 4 weekly now. Yesterday, I went to the orthodontist and he was ramming my wires out and taking hooks off and it was mega painful.

How's your chewing? Elastics? I had my elastics off at 4 weeks as my bite was fully closed however by 6 weeks my bite reopened so have to wear them again.

Hope all is good, not spoken in a while.

Xx

[gutsygumshoe]

Hi Jamie-Leigh, it's good to hear from you! How are you getting on with chewing, are you still on soft foods or have you tried anything more adventurous yet?

Ten weeks/seventy days post-op today. I just got back from seeing my orthodontist - finally had my ligatures changed (just to silver, didn't get to choose a colour this time, booo). It's the first time I've had anything adjusted on my brace for months (apart from having some loose hooks clipped back on the day after surgery) - and oh man I totally get what you mean about it being painful! Some of my teeth have become so super sensitive to pressure, especially the lower front ones. Hopefully that will go away with time.

Sooo my orthodontist mentioned the magic 'de-banding' words today!! He's really happy with the position my teeth are in and doesn't think they need any more work to move them about. He's also really happy with the position of my bite now - my lower front teeth are pretty much directly behind my upper ones now, there can only be about 2-3mm in it. He said technically he could have taken my brace off today, but he wants me to wear my elastics for another three months or so to keep everything held in place for a bit longer, which I'm perfectly happy with because I'm not ready to give them up yet haha!! I'm going back to a normal six-eight week gap between appointments now so the one after next he reckons it should be good to come off.

I'm excited about having the brace off, but scared at the same time... I only take my elastics out to brush my teeth so the idea of not having them in all the time is a bit freaky, they've become like my security blanket! When he said he could have taken my brace off today I think I looked at him like hahaha. When they do come off though I'm so looking forward to going to the hygienist to get everything completely blitzed.

Does anyone else here ever feel mega old when they're sitting in the waiting room? Maybe it was just because I had a morning appointment today, but it seemed like everyone else waiting to go in was a good 10-15 years younger than me... I was the only one not wearing a school uniform, and the only one old enough to sign my own patient details form and not need my mum to do it for me!!

Hope everyone is well!

[oimysizex]

Omg imagine if you had your braces off today! They're meant to leave them on a minimum of 12 weeks post surgery anyway!!

It was my back teeth that were mega painful!!! He couldn't get my steel wire out and had to clip it in in loads of places to get it out. And had the thinnest of thin wires in? Have you had a wire change yet? I can't wait to get my braces off!! How wide can you open your mouth?

I'm pretty much back to full chewing (within reason) been fuling my kfc cravings lol! Are you able to chew fully yet? Xx

[Ridingboots]

Just letting you know I have been stalking this thread and have enjoyed it as I found it very positive, had a giggle a few times and most of all informative.

[gutsygumshoe]

Hi Ridingboots! I'm so glad you've enjoyed the thread and found it useful!

Oimysizex, one of my back teeth is mega painful and sensitive when I brush it, although it does have a huge filling in it lol. I hate when he changes the wires, trying to slot them into the metal bands on my back teeth is the worst, I'm always so scared I'm gonna hear a crack and the tooth will come out!! I've not had my wires changed for ages now, probably not since like spring/summer last year. I doubt he will change them now as he doesn't seem to think any more adjustments are needed. With the elastics out I can open my mouth pretty much normally now I think! It does ache a bit though. How far can you open?

Yay KFC!! I've had Dominos a couple of times in the past few weeks haha. It's good that you can chew again! My chewing's not fully back to normal yet, and I only really chew on one side at the moment, because the other one feels weird and aches more. Avoiding it is probably not helping but oh well! Can you bite into things yet? I've tried and can manage with really soft things, like birthday cake and chip shop chips (I do normally eat pretty healthily I swear!!) but anything else my teeth just feel way too sensitive and weak and I'm too scared!! It will be a very long time before I can eat an apple again haha.

[oimysizex]

Mel - When they change your wires beware, they will NOT come out easily, lots of pulling clipping and all sorts, before my surgery they couldn't even pull them out to do moulds.
I cant really open THAT wide, i feel like when i can open normally my jaw will just do a massive pop/crack (The same as pre surgery, my jaw used to lock and not being able to open it without a loud crack)

mmm ive had loads of dominos aswell, that nice 15 pounds i lost - well ive prob put it on again hahaha. I cant really bite into anything haha, it hurts my front teeth, i cant chew anything harder than pizza at most, i fancy some doritios but i am scared ill re break my jaw hahaha!!

do you grind your teeth? i keep grinding them and waking up cracking my teeth/jaw im suprised i have any teeth left.

how are you feeling today?

[gutsygumshoe]

Hi guys, hope you're all doing well!

So today I am three months/90 days post op! Weird to think that this time three months ago I was in my hospital bed with an oxygen mask and a bandage full of ice wrapped round my head! And the catheter... fun times hahaha. (Apparently my body did not like being under anaesthetic)

I don't have too much different to report from last time really. The main thing is that eating is getting easier. I still can't chew anything too hard or ambitious as I have to keep my elastics in and they restrict my opening, but it's definitely much better than it was. I'm also starting to bite into food more, rather than always just cutting it up to eat with a knife and fork, as my front teeth don't feel so weak and sensitive now. Again, nothing too hard or ambitious - it's mostly been things like cooked vegetables, chips, pancakes, peanut butter sandwiches...! I'll manage an apple again one day!!

Numbness-wise I think the patch from my lip down to my chin is improving. It feels quite tight most of the time, and tingles/prickles quite a lot. It also feels weirdly cold a lot of the time, kind of similar to if your arm or leg goes to sleep and that sensation you get as the blood flow starts returning. Although it is still partially numb and gets the itches you can't scratch, I do have some feeling there. When I drink it feels like cold water is running down my chin, even though it isn't... but if I do manage to dribble water down my chin, like if I'm brushing my teeth, then I can't feel it! And if I lick my lip, I feel it in the little crease at the top of my chin as well as on my lip, it's all very weird!

Swelling-wise there's no visible swelling left, at least not that I can tell. The last bit of chubbiness in my cheeks disappeared a few weeks ago. When I saw my orthodontist a couple of weeks ago he reckoned there was still a teeny bit of swelling along my jawline, although I can't see it. You can definitely still feel the dents where my jaw was moved though, and in the right lighting you can see them too! That's pretty fun for freaking people out with

I have very little pain now, just the odd twinge from time to time where my plates are, or achy teeth. My jaw joints don't hurt anywhere near as much now when I yawn - most of the time there's no pain at all, unless I'm really tired and run down. I did have some quite bad pain in the joints a couple of weeks ago during a bout of flu, but I think that was more to do with my ears being very painful inside rather than a jaw issue.

So yeah, that's my three month progress update! I see my surgeon for a follow-up appointment in about three and a half weeks, so we'll see what he says!

[gutsygumshoe]

Hi guys! Just a quick update today, as I saw my surgeon for my three-month follow up (although it's much closer to four months now!) - the last time I saw him was the beginning of January, just over two weeks after my op. Last time I saw him he 'hmm'-ed a lot and said 'it's not bad', which didn't fill me with joy. But over the last few months my remaining overjet has basically disappeared thanks to my elastics, and he was much, much more positive today!! He seemed genuinely very happy with my results, and asked how my bottom lip was feeling - it's still kind of numb-tingly in one section, but he said the tingling was good as it means the nerves are still recovering. He also said the amount of teeth on show when I smile now is very good

When I first went in he was looking through my notes from the orthodontist. He said he was surprised I was still in braces as my notes said they were ready to come off - but then my orthodontist had said that the last time I saw him, he'd just wanted me to wear my elastics for a while longer to make sure everything was definitely settled. So my surgeon wants to see me again in six months, as my braces will definitely be off by then and then he can take my final photos!

I see my orthodontist again in two and a half weeks... there's a teeny chance he might take my braces off then, otherwise it'll be the appointment after. Keeping my fingers crossed - after three and a half years I am definitely ready to get rid of these things!!

[oimysizex]

Hello Mel, how are you feeling 4 month post op? How is the numbness is feeling all back yet? Wow you still have your elastics, my bites closed as much as they think they can get it. It's not perfect but it's okay.
How is your chewing? I am 90% back to normal diet and can chew.

How is pain? Do you still get pain?
Can you open your mouth properly my jaw is still very tight and can't open it that wide.

How do you feel about possibly getting your braces off? Me and my orthodontist had the chat about getting them off, I've got to have my elastics off for 6 weeks to see if my bite opens up again, even then they are gonna take my braces off because they don't wanna go round " in circles" which is kinda gutting because i went through all this for perfect teeth.
Here's a picture of my teeth, I think they look okay, could be better. Hope my gap doesn't open up!

Hope you are well x

[gutsygumshoe]

Hi Jamie-Leigh! How are things with you, are you pretty much back to normal now with energy and work and everything? Your teeth look amazing!!

Glad to hear you're eating normally again! Do you have any numbness left? I have some left on the right side of my lower lip and leading down to that side of my chin, but it's not totally numb - I can feel it if I touch it, but the area just feels kind of weird and tingly a lot. My tongue and gums on that side have some numbness too - down that side of my tongue feels similar to when you burn it on hot food, it's been like that since surgery and hasn't changed at all so I expect that's permanent. It makes chewing on that side feel weird though so I tend to avoid it and just chew on the left! Other than that chewing is pretty normal now and I can bite into food as long as it's not too hard.

Luckily I don't seem to get pain where the plates and screws are any more. The jaw joints still get achy though if I'm tired or under the weather, but it's not all the time and it's not too bad when it does happen. Do you get any pain at all? Without my elastics in I can open pretty much as normal again.

I'm really looking forward to getting my braces off, mostly because I'm pretty worried now about if any cavities have formed since surgery, and some of my teeth are a bit stained from the Corsodyl so I'm just absolutely desperate to get to the dentist and hygienist!! I'm a little worried about a bit of a relapse once the bands are off, but my overjet is virtually non-existent now. When my jaws are at rest the tips of my bottom front teeth touch the tips of my top front teeth, and I can quite easily push my lower jaw forward into an underbite (which is so new and weird haha) so if it goes back a couple of mm then it shouldn't be a huge deal. With the elastics out it doesn't feel like it's straining any more, everything feels much more settled and secure so I hope that's a good sign.

I'm sorry about your bite problems, fingers crossed the bit of extra time in elastics has helped to settle everything, and that now they're off your bite behaves itself!! I know exactly what you mean about wanting everything to be perfect though. There's a few bits with my teeth I'm still kind of 'meh' about and it does suck when you think about everything you've gone through to get there!

Update photo from yesterday. This time next week they could be gone... fingers crossed!!

teef.jpg

[snapdresser]

Wowwwww gutsygumshoe your results look AWESOME!!! I'm super jelly... June 10th is my surgery date and looking at results like yours make me a lot less nervous Great smile! Thanks for posting after the surgery too. Nice to see what I might be in for...

[oimysizex]

I am nearly 5 month post op. Still have like 2% of numb patches. Not completely numb but when I touch under half my lip there is a numb "sensation".
How are you doing Mel? I'm 98% back to normal on the jaw/teeth situation. My jaw is still stiff and find it difficult to open it without it cracking. How is your chewing? I can eat anything now.

I can't wait to get these braces off now. Here's an attached picture

[gutsygumshoe]

Wow sorry for taking a million years to reply, thank you snapdresser!! Good luck with your surgery!

Hi Jamie-Leigh! Your teeth are looking awesome, you must be so pleased! Any word on when your braces will be ready to come off?

I get exactly what you mean about the numb sensation, I have the same thing under half of my lip and chin. It's not completely numb but doesn't feel normal either, it's similar to pins and needles. I realised recently that it's been a while since my jaw joints last felt stiff and achy - they had been doing it a lot of the time when I was feeling pretty tired or under the weather. But they haven't done for a while now, and work's definitely been making sure to keep me feeling run down recently haha so it's definitely not that I've just been in better health in general. Chewing is ok, I still tend to favour my left side over my right, and I think it's down to numbness on the right side of my tongue and in my gums/teeth, and also that side just being weaker from lack of use. I still have difficulty biting into hard foods. No carrot sticks for me just yet haha.

It'll be six months post-op for me in just under two weeks, which is kind of crazy - the time's gone so quickly! I wasn't expecting to still be in braces at this point, but they're still there. I saw my orthodontist at the end of April, and he'd hinted before that he might be taking them off then - but when I got there, he decided that he wanted to do some 'tidying up'. He said if I was happy with everything he would have taken them off then, but the way I see it is if he thinks there's still work he can do to make the end result better, then to go for it. It's already been years, so if a few more months means that I'm more likely to get the best result I can then I'm happy to wait a bit longer

He finally removed my surgical hooks, and took out my surgical wire! Haha Jamie-Leigh you weren't kidding when you said taking the wire out hurt But I have a new thinner wire in now, and it has a small kink in it on one of my upper front teeth to try and make them a bit more level, as one was sitting a bit lower than the other. They seem to have levelled out a bit now, although in the last few days it looks like one of them has now pushed back a bit... hopefully they keep moving and sorting themselves out a bit before my next appointment, otherwise I guess he'll have to do some more stuff with the wire.

I've still got elastics, even though he removed my surgical hooks... I've got these weird little loops of wire, rather than actual hooks, to hook them around, which I'd not seen before. There's two on top and four on the bottom, so my elastics are in a triangle on each side. From what I can tell they're pulling my lower jaw further to the right, to correct my lower midline and also my bite on that side. Also they're pulling my lower jaw back a bit, as the original elastics worked too well and were starting to give me an underbite! I'm scared these ones will work too well too, and pull it too far back and give me an overbite again... but it seems to be in a good position now so hopefully it stays there!

The only problem with not having the surgical hooks anymore is that it's now much easier to see all the lovely brown stains from using the clorhexidine mouthwash haha. Got a cleaning scheduled in a couple of weeks which I'm ridiculously excited about...! I'll post another progress photo once they're clean again haha