DECEMBER 2014 BUDDIES!!

[snapdresser]

Thanks Mel! Only 5 days now!!! Eep! Good to hear that you're healing well and good luck getting those braces off! I remember when I got mine off after a couple years it was very strange. Took some getting used to and my teeth just felt amazingly smooth lol

[gutsygumshoe]

How are you doing, snapdresser? Hope it all went well!

Not a lot new to report, but I just wanted to drop in to say I'm six months post-op today!! The time's gone so quickly... does that mean I'm getting old?? I was going to post some proper before and after pictures, but I didn't get a chance to take any this morning and then had a very long day at work and the gym, so the ones I took this evening didn't look great, haha. I'll take some at the weekend after my hygienist appointment, when everything's squeaky clean!

Hope everyone's well!

[gutsygumshoe]

I come bearing six month before and after photos

Front lips at rest:

front_neutral.jpg

Front smile:

front_smile.jpg

Profile smile:

profile_smile.jpg

I have a couple more but it won't seem to let me upload more than three attachments at a time...

[gutsygumshoe]

These are the worst photos I've ever taken in my life haha... But they show how much my bite has improved. One of my front teeth has decided to pop out of line though, gonna talk to the orthodontist about that on Wednesday.

bite.jpg

And finally my current elastics configuration. Also to show off what an amazing job my awesome hygienist did cleaning off all the horrible brown chlorhexidine stains (please ignore my stained ligs, I've cooked curry a lot recently!!)

elastics.jpg

Does anyone else have elastics that are the same colour as the pack they come in? I had blue ones earlier on too. They're the TP Orthodontics Tru-Force ones, but I remember having the green ones back when I was a teenager and the bands were definitely white back then, it was only the bags that were green!

[gutsygumshoe]

Hey guys! Hope everyone's doing well

So I have exciting news... I saw my orthodontist on Wednesday, and we finally arranged a debanding date... all being well, my braces will finally come off on 16th September! All we're waiting on now is my sticky-outy front tooth to pull backwards slightly - you can see it in the bite photo in my last post. I still have the same elastics configuration and I still have the same little kink in the upper wire on said tooth.

Fingers crossed the tooth moves quickly!!

[gutsygumshoe]

Hey guys!! Just thought I would pop in here for a quick update just to say... I'm a whole year post op today! (I had double jaw surgery for overbite on 17th December 2014) The time has absolutely flown by, I can't quite believe it. Exactly a year ago I was in the recovery room, drifting in and out of consciousness and having a nurse come rushing over with a suction tube every now and then as I was coughing up loads of blood. MMM NICE! At least there was Christmas music playing on the radio...

My braces came off on 16th September, so a day over 3 months ago. It is much, much easier getting used to NOT having braces than it is to get used to having them! I'm loving having smooth teeth and how quick it is to brush them now in comparison. My orthodontist wasn't keen on bonded retainers so I just have Essix retainers which I wear at night only, but so far so good. They were super tight and difficult to remove at first - I chipped one of my back teeth a little taking them out the day after I got them - but they've loosened up a bit now so it's easier. They're still tight enough though that they fit properly, obviously Back to the orthodontist for a 6 month check-up in February.

Numbness-wise I think it's still improving. The patch remaining on the right side of my lower lip and chin is getting smaller, and everywhere has some degree of feeling, nowhere is completely numb. My range of movement is back to how it was before surgery, and for the most part I can bite into and chew harder foods with no problem. Very very occasionally my jaw will ache on one side, but it doesn't last long. I still have dents in the bone on either side of my lower jaw and can feel the plates if I press hard enough, but I think that's kind of cool!!

I have some anniversary before and after photos... The left side was taken the night before surgery, on 16th December 2014. The right side was taken last night, exactly a year later. Apologies for the rubbish lighting making weird shadows in the after pictures! (I'll add these over two posts as the forum only lets me attach a couple at a time)

front_neutral_1year.jpg

I am so excited that my lips close at rest now

front_smile_1year.jpg

Also excited that I no longer have a gummy smile! I show maybe 1-2mm if it's a reeeaally big smile but I like that

[gutsygumshoe]

And finally some profile shots

side_neutral_1year.jpg

side_smile_1year.jpg

It's not so obvious in these pictures, but the shape of my nose has changed slightly - the tip is ever-so-slightly curved upwards. I'm happy with that!

Jamie-Leigh and Nadira, I don't know if you guys are around here much these days, but I hope you're both doing well!! x

[jaime]

You look great, gutsygumshoe! Thanks for updating. Your bite looks similar to my pre-surgery bite so I always like seeing surgery results. I am glad to see your lips close at rest now as mine aren't quite there yet (I'm 6 months post-op).

Congrats, it sounds like everything worked out really well!

[gutsygumshoe]

Thanks Jaime!

Are you still in braces? My lips didn't look quite right until my braces came off (you can kind of see it in my 6 month photos a bit further up). I guess because the braces stick out on the teeth so they make your lips bulge a bit. How is your healing going?

[jaime]

I figured the braces had/have something to do with it! I am still in braces.

Did you have any issues with your bite not coming together properly after surgery? My left side has been open since even before surgery and my ortho is confident we can close it, but 6 months and elastics have done nothing yet. I am a little paranoid, as you can imagine.

Healing is okay...I think. My ROM is still pretty limited, but most of my swelling is gone and I have most of my feeling back (just a reduced area in my chin). I'm starting to be able to chew more and bite into things like a real live adult, which is nice!

[snapdresser]

I concur, you look great, gutsygumshoe!

Cr*p... I just realized you asked me a question back in June that I never responded to I'm much better now than I was then, 7 days post-op tho!

[gutsygumshoe]

I figured the braces had/have something to do with it! I am still in braces.

Did you have any issues with your bite not coming together properly after surgery? My left side has been open since even before surgery and my ortho is confident we can close it, but 6 months and elastics have done nothing yet. I am a little paranoid, as you can imagine.

Healing is okay...I think. My ROM is still pretty limited, but most of my swelling is gone and I have most of my feeling back (just a reduced area in my chin). I'm starting to be able to chew more and bite into things like a real live adult, which is nice!

Yep, my bite was all over the place after surgery! I still had a pretty big overbite immediately afterwards, as my surgeon wasn't able to make as big a movement as he'd originally planned. I'm not sure why, but I assume that maybe I didn't have enough bone. My orthodontist used pretty heavy duty bands to pull my lower jaw forward, he reckoned that while the bones were healing, they'd be able to 'stretch' with the bands... I've never heard of that before but it seemed to work. In fact it worked too well and I ended up with an underbite for the first time in my life!! My lower jaw was off to one side as well, which it hadn't been before surgery. Here's a picture from about 4 months post op:

underbite.jpg

Shortly after this the configuration of my bands was changed to pull my lower jaw back and more central. I wore that configuration for the remaining 5 months until my braces came off, as although it corrected the problem within days, my orthodontist wanted to make sure everything was well and truly set in place.

If your orthodontist is confident he can fix it then I'm sure you have nothing to worry about But I absolutely get why it would make you paranoid! I found my ROM improved a lot once the braces were off and I was free of bands. It's great that your swelling and numbness are nearly gone! Being able to eat like an adult again is awesome isn't it Good luck with the rest of your treatment!

I concur, you look great, gutsygumshoe!

Cr*p... I just realized you asked me a question back in June that I never responded to I'm much better now than I was then, 7 days post-op tho!

Thank you Snap! Hahaha I'm glad you're doing better now! Actually I saw a photo you posted in the June/July Buddies thread, you look great! Are you pleased with your results?

[snapdresser]

I should probably take some pictures like you did showing the before and after side by side, it's pretty neat. The last picture I posted in the June/July thread I was still pretty puffy, but it's gone down more though. Yes, I'm very happy with my results! I assume you are, too?

[oimysizex]

1 yr later and i STILL have my braces on.
when will it end LOL

[gutsygumshoe]

1 yr later and i STILL have my braces on.
when will it end LOL

Ohhh how come? Have they given you a rough estimate for when they'll come off? Hope all's good with you otherwise! x