I've been...

de-braced!!!!  I am brace free and I LOVE IT!  Got them off yesterday and I can't believe how good it feel and looks pretty good if Ii don't say so myself.  I got my teeth cleaned this morning and had my molds done for bleaching trays.  I do have a filling that the dentist says is "leaking"...whatever that means :)  But the filling is an old silver one so it will now be white, which is cool.

It is so amazing to eat and not have to worry about having the pick food out of your braces. Though I still run my tongue over my teeth "checking", which I imagine I will do for while.  And I had gum for the first time in over 2 years...yum!

I have two sets of the Essix retainers and will get fitted for an upper Hawley retainer after I get back from Haiti.  I leave next Saturday for my first missions trip. So much happening this month!

I will post pictures over the weekend.

Wow...it's been a looong time!

I can't believe I haven't posted since November. I've replied on others post...but never realized it has been so long since I've posted.

I'm almost to the end :)  I get my braces off on March 31st and I can't wait!  My recovery has been really good. Part of my chin is still number and I expect it to be for a few more months. I do think the capsaicin has helped the process. I have days when brushing really gets the nerves going.  I move my chin/jaw area a lot too...anything to stimulate those nerves.

I'm really pleased with how well my recover has gone! I've had lots of compliments and have been told that I look younger...which is awesome consider I'm turning 40 this year.  I can't wait to post pictures with no braces...the before and after is so amazing!

Hope you are all well! Will post pics in a couple weeks :)

6 weeks Post Op

Well I finally made it!!!!  I had the splint removed on Monday afternoon!  Brushed and flossed like crazy.
Went for my first meal that I was allowed to chew....was disappointing. One because we tried a new restaurant and it wasn't that good. And chewing isn't like it use to be, was very sensitive.

Then Tuesday morning I went to the Ortho..no loose brackets or anything. They gave me my new wire band configuration. Let me tell you my mouth hurts more tonight than it has in 6 weeks.  I think it is so ironic that I can have my entire jaw and chin moved and screws placed in my skull...but go to the Orthodonist and get rubberbands on and my teeth hurt so bad! That's just messed up! Oh well...whatcha gonna do.  And that little plastic thing they give you to put on the rubberbands....worthless.  I'm borrowing the hemostats from the OS.

I am so impressed with my Oral Surgeon and his staff. First of all, Debbie, who does all the insurance, has been such a huge help since the very beginning. They did not accept my insurance and yet she took the time to tell me what steps I needed to take. She was right along side me for the 9 months to 1 year of going back and forth with the insurance company and never gave up!  She is the reason I was able to get the surgery. And Dr. Whitman is probably the best Dr. I have ever had in my whole life. I can text him anytime and he responds. He send me encouraging text messages....I've never heard of a Dr. doing this. I laugh so much when I am at their office. His assistant Felicia has been fabulous, always answering my questions, taking my calls. The BEST customer service I have seen in a long long time and I am so big on customer service!

So still not really chewing, but LOVE having the splint out. And I get to go to the Dentist in the morning (well in a few hours) and get my teeth cleaned....never have I been so happy about that!

Work has been stressful but as soon as I catch a break...new pictures will be up.  How is everybody else? So grateful to have had you all to experience it with....you guys have been a great support. Haven't seen an update from George....hope he is ok!

Will update again soon ;-)

Ouch

Well the last couple days I have been waking up with more pain than usual...UGH...I was doing so good.  So I called and talked to the Dr.'s assistant today and while on the phone, I remembered having dreams about the splint bothering me, not necessarily about the splint but having something stuck in my mouth. I had these dreams at the beginning too...only in those dreams I was dreaming I had bubble gum stuck to my teeth.  Anyway, she thinks that I may be grinding my teeth in my sleep. So they called in a muscle relaxer...I really hope not to wake up in pain in the morning.

Just over 2 weeks until I get the splint removed!  I can't wait! I'm a little nervous about actually biting into food.  And I'm nervous about getting my teeth cleaned.  I'm sure it will all be fine...the thoughts/anxiety are always worse than the actual event.

3 weeks later

Well it's been 3 weeks since my surgery.  Went back to work last week. It was a long week...not because I was in pain...just was emotionally up and down. I think just from being tired and then jumping back into the stress of work. We are only working for 4 days a week and last week I was grateful for that. Needless to say, I didn't do anything on Friday!

I had my 2 week check up last week and Dr. said I am doing great! I'm still alternating between the pain med and Ibuprofen.  Eating really good....Saturday I even had half of a chili cheese dog and chili cheese tots from Sonic...it was SO good.  I just cut everything up in baby bites.

I have soreness off and on as well as the spasms...still no feeling in the chin.  I'm really sore under my chin/upper part of my neck...I can barely touch it. The splint is a little annoying, especially trying to clean it.  What's weird is for the last 2 days I have this desire to just clench my teeth together and really just bite.  I do have to force my lips close...I'm assuming it is because of the splint.  My lips are finally starting not to hurt so much and I'm glad....tired of using Vitamin E and Vaseline 24/7.

So 3 more weeks of the splint and sleeping on the recliner. I find the recliner more comfortable then being propped up on pillows in bed. Plus I found that I would end up laying down and wake up more swollen...I know I read quite a few of you mentioning that too. Even laying on the recliner I tend to sleep on my right a little and that side is more swollen than the left.

All in all, I think I'm doing great! I'm so glad that I had the surgery and SO blessed that my recovery has been better than expected. Got the x-rays from the Dr. last week....I love that my co-worker puts my pics side by side for comparison. When she did the profile one, she was toggling between layers and it looked like the skull was chomping....was way too funny!!!  Which I could post it animated.

It is really weird seeing the screws in my face and the chin plate too.  Glad to see my smile is looking more normal.

Will post a new side by side comparison soon.  Happy week to you all!

A good week!

Don't know where the week went...but it has been a pretty good one.


I had a rough couple of nights sleeping at the beginning...the one night, I was waking up every hour. Went to the Dr. on Tuesday got my stitches out and more pain meds. I was over the liquid stuff. So, I've been alternating between that and Ibuprofen. Also, I had thrush from the steroids and antibiotics...that was yucky! Thankfully, it is just a one pill treatment and starts working within 24 hours. Not to mention, I brushed my tongue for like 10 minutes the day before.

Went to visit my granddaughter after the Dr. appointment that day and during dinner, I received a text from my Dr. complimenting me on how well I was doing and everything is right on schedule. And that my great attitude makes his job easy. That was so awesome! Really made me feel good and was so impressed with the fact that he took the time out to text me. So though the day started off with a little breakdown from lack of sleep...it ended well. Then again, any day I see my granddaughter is a great day!

Wednesday, I actually went into the office for a little over 2 hours. Was good, at least I got a head start and organized things and cleaned out my junk email. Then I went shopping for a little bit followed by dinner with a group of friends from church. Another great day!

Today, I've just done stuff around the house and rested. I feel really good. I started the moist heat yesterday, which is fine, just not as easy as putting the ice pack in the head band. I've had some tingling in my lip and chin. A little nausea here and there. My heartburn is finally subsiding. The one thing I really want to do is sleep in my bed on my belly or side  I look forward to that and sleeping through the night.

Eating hasn’t been that bad at all. It does take longer and my jaw gets tired after awhile but finding stuff to eat hasn’t been that hard at all. The foods may not always look normal but it all still tastes good  the worst part is cleaning the teeth/splint. I believe next week I will be able to start using the water pik.

Below is a picture of my progress. The one on the left was the morning of surgery, the one on the right was on Wednesday. I was surprised to see the difference in my profile. I was most surprised at the difference in my nose. One of the girls at work actually layered the pictures and that was cool too. I am really happy with what I've seen so far!

I’ll be heading back to work on Monday. Look forward to it, trying to get my sleep schedule straightened out before then. Thankfully I have awesome bosses so I can be very flexible with my schedule. Hope you are all doing well!

A Few Pics & Sleepless nights.

Post Op - Day One with a little smile ;)

Sent Dr. a text with a couple questions and he came up to check on me...Great Dr.

Looking a little better.  Friday - Day 3 Post op

Haven't uploaded Saturday's Pic - Day 4 Post Op - Didn't look so good..really swollen.

On night two of waking up every two hours...golly that's exhausting! Feeling really tired  Going to take a nap :)