goodbye, gap!

I had my appointment at 11am this morning, she doubled up on some rubber bands and 45 minutes later the gaps do not exist. Ah, the miracles of modern orthodontics. (And praise the Lord for tylenol and ibuprofen, aye!).

So, we're still on for the big de-bracing! T-29 days!

appointment

They didn't seem very concerned about the gaps - I'm going in on Wednesday to get a power chain or tie-back that will fix them both. Phew! :)

gasp! GAPS!

I have large gaps that just developed over the past 3 days between my rear two molars on either side of my lower jaw. Argh! I'm calling on Monday to see if there's anything they can do... April 14th is the day they decide to cut the wires and whatnot. I would really like these braces off April 28th. April 28th! I already have my sub scheduled and everything...

my practically perfect bite

As my journey is slowly coming to an end I look back and see more positives than negatives. There are many days that go by that I don't even think about my jaw or my teeth - for the first time in years, now. Some of my favorite things about my post-jaw surgery existence:

• When I bite into something, it bites off evenly. Prior to jaw surgery (and before I knew anything about jaw surgery) I would tear things apart with my front teeth instead of bite through them - life was so much messier before jaw surgery.
• Chewing with teeth that meet is incredible! I chew so much more effectively now, and in less time - especially with salads. Before jaw surgery I had to shift my jaw around to find a chewing surface - no more! All (ALL) of my teeth meet!
• No migraines - can you believe it? I'm somewhere around 8 months (9 months?) post-op, and still only the 1 migraine in the week after jaw surgery. Life is good!
• I find myself breathing through my nose without thinking about it - I used to be a mouth breather (and ONLY a mouth breather). Now with my newly widened nasal passages and comfortable jaw resting position, I'm a part-time nose breather! Weird!
• Healthier gum tissue - probably from stopping some of my mouth breathing.
• An overall more balanced appearance to my face, the most noticeable aspect being the lack of a hugely gummy smile. Seeing my newly improved profile in pictures never ceases to amaze me, as well (what? I have a chin!?)
• A wider smile - looking at pictures prior to jaw surgery, only my front few teeth show and then dark pockets filled the sides of my mouth. Now, my smile is very wide, and shows most of my teeth. Neat!

As I'm wearing my rubber bands less and less (and they're weaker rubber bands when I do wear them) my jaw has been less and less painful. My range of motion has already improved despite doing no physical therapy - I can fit 2 fingers in with a little wiggle room, now - even back past my 2nd knuckles. My bite is retaining so well that if I wear the rubber bands all night for a few nights in a row I wake up with my front teeth bumping painfully - so every couple of nights I get to leave them out! And I never have to wear them during the day.

Life is good. And will be so much better when these things come off! Debracing T-47 days (I hope!). I look forward to joining my blogging buddies in falling off of the face of the earth :)

chin numbness

I don't know how much I've mentioned my numbness lately, but I thought I'd give an odd update. So, my chin is still numb (it's the only thing left that's numb, though). For the most part, I don't even notice that it's numb until something lightly brushes against it and then it tickles - kind of like brushing your finger along the side of an appendage that's fallen asleep. Anything with harder pressure I feel pretty much normally, just a little muted.

This week I had a few too many performances on my clarinet (on Monday a regular hour long concert, on Thursday a 3-4 hour dress rehearsal, and then 3 performances over Friday and Saturday in the pit for Cinderella - where we play close to constantly for the 2 hour musical). Of course, my jaw is aching and my entire face hurts - but I can also feel my chin!

Just like right after surgery, I feel like there's a thick layer of dried wax or something stiff on my chin. I can feel it all the time - not just when it moves. I'm assuming that I wore out the muscles so terribly that they're very sore - or, would be if I could feel them completely - so instead I'm feeling them in my weird little way. Odd.