Bye Bye Braces!

The title says it all!

For the first time in years, I have zero metal in my mouth. It is niiiice!

Orthodontist
I got my braces off on April 28th.  It is not the most comfortable appointment, but it isn't the worst either. There is some pressure when they get the brackets off and a lot of pressure when getting the bands off.  I do not like that part at all! Once all of the metal is removed, they have to get the remaining glue off with a high-speed hand piece. Basically, they "drill" it off.

With all the glue gone, my teeth got a quick polish, and I got some new molds made of my upper and lower teeth.  These were done in order to make my retainers.  Thankfully, both retainers are removable.  I used to have a permanent metal retainer across the back of my lower teeth.  It was a pain to keep clean all the time, so I requested not to have it.  The biggest concern is that teeth could shift if I didn't wear them, but I wear them religiously, so there is no problem there!

When we were done with that, I head home with a goody bag of teeth care products, treats I wasn't allowed to have with braces, and balloons!

 

                     

I picked up the retainers the next day.  I was expecting an old school retainer, but the kind I got are called Tru-Tain. They are made of clear plastic and fit onto my teeth like a perfect puzzle piece. I love them because you can't even tell I have retainers in!

When I first put them in, I  did feel a little stressed because my bite hit heavily on the right side. Dr. S assured me that my bite should settle.  He explained that my braces have been holding everything tightly in place, and now that the braces are off everything will relax into place.

He was right. No surprise there... He's the expert.  My bite has settled a lot! It feels pretty even across most teeth when I bite now.  There are still some spots that feel imperfect, but I'm not too worried about it. I will a) see if they will relax into a better position, b) get used to it, or c) get the teeth shaved a tiny bit.

I have noticed my midlines have moved a teeny bit again. They were perfectly lined up when I got braces off, but as my bite relaxed into a better position, the midlines shifted slightly.  I'm sure no one would ever notice it, but since I am now aware of it, I do.  I wish it were perfect, just because that was one of the points of having the double jaw surgery, but it is an improvement!  I'm curious to see if my surgeon will ever say anything about it.

Not having the braces has made my puckering exercises a lot easier! I am noticing the tension in the muscles around my mouth getting better.

Surgeon
I had a follow up with my surgeon yesterday.  His first reaction at seeing my braces-free teeth was, "Braces are gone!? That happened so fast!" to which I responded, "You said that was okay!!" Haha, I MADE SURE my doctors were on the same page before anything happened.

Visits with them are very quick now.  I'd say we are in the building less than twenty minutes.  He said my bite looks great, and my smile looks dynamite.  There is also some swelling left around my nose and upper lip giving me a Who-ville look, but he says that should be gone in the next month or two. I'm glad that he is feeling good about the results because I know he wouldn't settle.

My mom wanted to make sure to voice any questions or concerns, but I honestly didn't have too many right now.
- I was not completely happy with my smile a month or so ago. I thought my smile showed a lot more of my gums than it used to, but that is better. Something about my braces being gone remedied that. That being said, there are still times where I don't recognize my smile.
- I know my numbness and tingling is improving.  That is definitely a slow process, but it is getting better! It is crazy to think that there are still parts of my lip and chin area that doesn't have complete feeling back.
- Diet: I asked when I would be okay to eat harder foods.  I'm eating pretty much everything, but I asked about carrots, apples, and corn on the cob type foods. He said I'm allowed to try those foods at the end of June.

I go back to see him in three months for a recall and final post-op pictures.

It's been a little while since I have posted pictures, so here is 4.5 months after surgery.

 

LOOK AT THAT BITE!
(You can barely see the retainers in.)