"Oh. You're not joking?"

In the last week or so, it really seemed that my bite had settled a lot. Everything just seemed a lot more relaxed, and I was feeling pretty confident with how things felt.

Orthodontist
In my last post, I mentioned getting some small spaces between my upper teeth.  Dr. S got my message and did want to see me.  I went in the next day, and they put a power chain on my upper braces to close up those gaps. Easy fix.

A power chain is just really small rubber bands all connected.
(not my teeth)

I saw Dr. S yesterday. They took out the old power chain before Dr. S took a look. He had me "open and bite" quite a few times before asking, "How'd you like to get these off the next time you're in here?"

I laughed, then stopped when I saw his serious expression. "Oh.  You're not joking?"

He wasn't joking! He said everything looks good to him.  We just needed to check with Dr. M to see what his thoughts were. Chances are it will not happen next time, but I'm totally okay with that. I thought I'd be in braces at least another four months!

After getting a new power chain on, I mentioned just a few tiny concerns (again) to him. 

1) My midlines- still not center. I know that truly isn't a big deal. It's just aesthetics, but I had to have double jaw surgery. I wanted it to be right. No one would ever be able to tell, especially since it is improved from what it was before, and I didn't even notice then!  He changed how I wear my rubberbands in hopes of correcting that.  He said he wasn't sure if he'd be able to get them exactly lined up, but that's fine. I had actually already accepted that conclusion. The bite is the important factor here. 

2) The bite - Like I mentioned before, my bite has settled a lot.  The bite was hitting pretty evenly, but I think maybe just a teeny tiny bit more on the right. He did some tweaking with the wire on the braces that I think will push that molar up a little bit more. 

I'm glad I mentioned it, but now things feel different again. Not bad, I'm sure, and not forever, but it makes me nervous! Now it feels like I hit more on the left side. Eek! I don't like this back and forth.

*sigh* But like I've said, I trust both my doctors, and I know it will all be okay in the end. 

Surgeon

Today was the surgeon's appointment.  When I first got there, one of the nurses asked if there were any problems, pain, or numbness. I am still having some uncomfortable tingling on the right side of my chin and numbness on the roof of my mouth.  I have no problem with the amount of time it will take as long as it improves. Luckily, both are slowwwly improving.

There was a lot of "bite and relax" commands at this appointment. Again, he is really happy with how things are looking.  He commented again about some of the cheek swelling left behind.  After his examining, he stepped back and asked if Dr. S has given me any sort of timeline. He agreed that things are progressing towards getting braces off!  He wants to see me one more time (in five weeks) before setting that appointment though.

I still need to work on reanimating my face by continuing the pucker and smile, but a lot of that movement will be easier when the rubberbands, braces, and brackets are gone. 

Diet: I can eat pretty much whatever I want now.  Nothing super hard, crunchy or taking a lot of bite force.  No carrot sticks, bread sticks, chips/crackers, etc...  He said the texture of cucumbers is about the hardest he'd like me to chew.  I am still working on getting some range of motion back in my jaw too.  I doubt I'd be able to bite a sandwich or burger yet. 

Mom took me to Sweet Tomatoes (a soup, salad, and pasta bar) right after the appointment. It was so nice to eat salad, but it was so strange to chew! It felt really uncomfortable, but that will just take some practice.

Exercise: I can do whatever I want! Chicka chicka yeahhhh!