A Little Less Metal

Updates from a couple of appointments... Five weeks post op!

Orthodontist
I went to the orthodontist last week. I was a little nervous about how it would be getting work done since I still haven't really been able to open my mouth. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't necessarily fun either. What is exciting is that my metal mouth is a little less metal! All of the surgical wires and hooks were taken out along with the regular wire. This gave me a chance to brush and floss my teeth. It was so nice to really clean them, but my poor gums are really tender.

I mentioned to Dr. S that I was a little concerned about the midlines of my upper and lower jaws not being lined up. He said we'll have to tweak that through the next couple of months of orthodontic work.  He put me in rubber bands on both sides, and said to set an appointment for just a month away.

When I was leaving he mentioned that I might notice some spaces appearing between teeth.  Well, I have. There are really small spaces between some of my front/side teeth. What I can't remember is if he said not to worry about that or give the office a call. Whoops! I called them to clarify that. He was out of the office, but I left a message with an assistant and will hear back from them if I need to come in before my next appointment. One concern I did have was that I noticed my bite had changed from when I entered the office to when I left.   I don't know why! Maybe just from having to hold my mouth open more than I have in six weeks, but I was hitting heavy on the right side again! There's no quick fix to that though, so I hoped the rubberbands would help.

Surgeon
I met with Dr. M on Monday.  Thankfully, he is still happy with how I am healing. He saw that stitches were still hanging on, so he put on a topical anesthetic and finally took out the last stitches. They are dissolvable, but in some cases, like mine, they take forever to disappear.  Swelling is mostly gone, but Dr. M told us that the residual puffiness across my cheeks will be gone in about six months. It will be unnoticeable to most, but he, my mom, and I will be able to tell it is still there. I mentioned to him that the bite was only hitting on the right again, and he said to stop wearing the rubberband on the right side.

Orders from Dr. M are to continue to pucker and smile a lot. (He got a good laugh when my mom said to just imagine kissing someone...) He said that I'm still really stiff around my mouth because they had to cut through all those muscles during surgery.  It is really stiff, but I don't really like doing it for that exact reason.  It isn't comfortable and takes a lot of effort.  I guess the puckering is like a bench press for my lips; gotta build that muscle back!

My diet menu is growing little by little.  I think I technically could have been allowed to eat pasta the last week or so, but never chanced it. Oh, well. So, now I can now eat some pasta and some meats. Finely shredded chicken and small bits of ground beef or turkey are okay, but I still have to be very gentle with chewing. Even though I've mostly been craving vegetables, we went to Waffle House for an easy dinner in celebration of chewing.  I had a little omelette and part of a waffle.  Chewing is such a strange feeling to me right now.  I was making myself use my teeth for the waffle, but it makes me so nervous now. I haven't used my teeth in so long that now it just seems alien to me.

Dr. M mentioned that he thinks I could be out of braces in about six months! Honestly, I would not care how long it took as long as it was correct when this was all done.

Concerns at this point
- My bite not hitting correctly.  I'm getting real tired of it hitting on that low hanging molar on the right.
- The jaws not being lined up perfectly.  I know that's pretty much just aesthetics though.

I got upset with both of these being an issue earlier this week.  It's just frustrating when both of these present issues are the reason that I had double jaw surgery.  Dr. M mentioned that my bite will probably change and hit in all different places all through this recovery.  I try not to stress because it isn't productive, and I have a lot of faith in these doctors. They won't be happy with the outcome unless it's perfect. We all want the same thing.

Things I've noticed
- The facial swelling that is lingering.  It's a lot better, but I still know my face is a little squishy.
- My upper lip is definitely a little fuller. It has just a little bit more pout/pucker than it used to.  I don't mind it, but it's odd getting used to a new feature.
- My mouth stays closed.  I had no idea how much this affected me, but I will be laying in bed, watching tv, or relaxing and realize that my lips are still together.  It's really nice to realize I'm not sitting here looking like a grouper with my mouth falling open.
- Slowwwwwly but surely getting a little (seriously, just a little) feeling back in my palette.

I doubt there is significant change from my last pictures, but here are some 5-week-post-op pics.