Anyhow about the teeth. I am getting my braces off on Wednesday. I am so extremely excited! I am now about seven months post-op, and have been in braces for a year and four months. Due to my departure to Japan with my husband my orthodontist and I have had to really push up the visits. I have been going in about once every two weeks for the past two months. But my OD says I'm only coming out of braces about a month earlier than I would have. So I think that isn't overdoing at all.
A little update on my surgery recovery. I still have not completely gotten all my feeling back in my lower jaw. I have had full sensation in my upper since about a month post-op. Not so fortunate in the chin and lower lip area. I have regained feeling to about the corners of my lower lip, but it is slowly regaining sensation. Some days are better than others; strangely it seems after I get done with a strenuous workout that my feeling is somewhat more numb in my lower lips.
The one area where I am experiencing major problems is in my TMJ joint on the left side. In this same location immediately after surgery I had extreme pain, that never was eased by any amount of pain killers. This is a problem that not many people experienced with this surgery. I know a lot of individuals started their ortho journey in order to help with TMJ, it appears b/c of my journey this will be the new problem. I am still unable to open my jaw fully w/out pain. It feels as if I have a rubber band around that joint not allowing me to open my jaw. It is extremely painful sometimes, and I always have limited motion in the area. I have spoken with my doctor about this, He said more than likely when my surgeon adjusted my jaw he did not ensure that the disc that lies in the joint socket was in place. And of course if this is the problem it is only fixable by means of a third jaw surgery.
He did inform me that by wearing a splint at night I may be able to reduce the tension and pain.
And finally... with the end of my braces journey comes the dental work that must be completed. As you will soon see from my pictures, I have a large gap between my two front laterals. I will be getting a veneer placed on my peg tooth. My left second lateral does not exist. I currently have a bridge there that has been cut during my braces to allow movement. Due to time constraints I will have bonding done to cosmetically correct the tooth. And during the next year I will be having a implant placed. This will mean I will have a third surgery, but I'm sure an implant is nothing compared to jaw surgery. :)
That is the bulk of my progress. I will add photos to a second post to show some of my progress over the past few months!
A little update on my surgery recovery. I still have not completely gotten all my feeling back in my lower jaw. I have had full sensation in my upper since about a month post-op. Not so fortunate in the chin and lower lip area. I have regained feeling to about the corners of my lower lip, but it is slowly regaining sensation. Some days are better than others; strangely it seems after I get done with a strenuous workout that my feeling is somewhat more numb in my lower lips.
The one area where I am experiencing major problems is in my TMJ joint on the left side. In this same location immediately after surgery I had extreme pain, that never was eased by any amount of pain killers. This is a problem that not many people experienced with this surgery. I know a lot of individuals started their ortho journey in order to help with TMJ, it appears b/c of my journey this will be the new problem. I am still unable to open my jaw fully w/out pain. It feels as if I have a rubber band around that joint not allowing me to open my jaw. It is extremely painful sometimes, and I always have limited motion in the area. I have spoken with my doctor about this, He said more than likely when my surgeon adjusted my jaw he did not ensure that the disc that lies in the joint socket was in place. And of course if this is the problem it is only fixable by means of a third jaw surgery.
He did inform me that by wearing a splint at night I may be able to reduce the tension and pain.
And finally... with the end of my braces journey comes the dental work that must be completed. As you will soon see from my pictures, I have a large gap between my two front laterals. I will be getting a veneer placed on my peg tooth. My left second lateral does not exist. I currently have a bridge there that has been cut during my braces to allow movement. Due to time constraints I will have bonding done to cosmetically correct the tooth. And during the next year I will be having a implant placed. This will mean I will have a third surgery, but I'm sure an implant is nothing compared to jaw surgery. :)
That is the bulk of my progress. I will add photos to a second post to show some of my progress over the past few months!
4 comments:
Hey Jennicole,
Congrats on your recent marriage! So looks like you are getting your braces off before me! That is so not fair! I go in on the 18th and we are supposed to be planning a debracing date at that time so it should be soon for me too!
As for the implant stuff, check out my blog. I just had the screws removed from my bone graft today and went through stage one of my implant surgery. They put the post and abutement in. I posted pics so you can see it pretty clearly.
I had to laugh when I read about your lip getting more numb after working out. Mine does exactly the same thing, especially when I do high impact aerobics or advanced step classes. Takes awhile for it to sorta thaw out.
Can't wait to see your new pics! and thanks for the update, I still check your blog pretty regularly!
Brandy
CONGRATS to you and your hubby! Im from Jacksonville FL, what part are you from? Cant wait to see your updated debraced pics!!
Woah! Been a while since we heard anything from you! Congrats on becoming a wife - a military wife at that. ;) I too share the title.
A third surgery would totally suck! Fingers crossed for you!
Japan sounds awesome! Your lucky.
I'm glad to hear of your recent wedding. Congratulations, you're now a military wife! When it comes to my teeth, I'll have some porcelain veneers. Chicago-based dentist advised me to have it before my flight to Japan. I hope we can both share stories of our dental issues. Congratulations again!
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