First time braces at 33

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41Braced
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 2:37 pm

Re: First time braces at 33

#46 Post by 41Braced »

I am glad you are recovering and am so inspired by your journey so far, thank you for posting. I get braces on Friday and have a challenging 2.5 years ahead of me. I have the vampire tooth thing going on as well and really hate my current smile. But at least we are finally doing something about it, right?

Vega
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:32 am

Re: First time braces at 33

#47 Post by Vega »

Day 7 today, things are going good!
I did change my elastics again last night, because they stain like crazy. And yes, I hurts.. again :D
Thankfully a painkiller relieves the pain.
The feeling when I take the elastics off is kinda weird. It doesn't feel right without the elastics. It really puts pressure on my jawjoints.

No more stuffy nose, I find myself breathing trought my nose a lot more.
Since surgery it seems my mouth has gotten more spacious, wich is a nice feeling.

Lost a lot of weight, I'm down to 40 kg now, so a 5 kg loss.
I really need to work on my eating. I went to the pharmacie to pick up some of those protein things. It's gross, it's chocolate -flavour going in, and eggs when you burp... brrr

Vega
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:32 am

Re: First time braces at 33

#48 Post by Vega »

Day 9 and today I have my first follow up appointement with my surgeon.
I hope he will say that I can part with 1 of the elastics (have 3 now) and that my progress is going well.

Not much happening, I'm back at work but only half time. Next week I go back fulltime.
Eating got better, I now feel confident enough to remove my elastics, so I'm eating pasta and other more 'filling' things. I also discovered a real treat, some kind of banana milkshake thing, it's really yum.

Numbness: on the right side of my face, there is still a numb feeling. Left side is almost back to normal. Roof of my mouth is numb and gums too.
Stitchess: are all still there, I have one that bothers me, one of my brackets is rubbing against it and it's sore.
Nose-stuff: no more nose stuff, sometimes a drip but no blood.
Pain: I'm not really in any pain right now but there is this overall feeling of 'blah' and a pain that reminds me when you get a heavy wire-adjustement, kind of an itchy/pressure feeling. I sometimes rub my whole face with my hands to feel some relief.
Also pins and needles in my chin and lips and a sharp pain in my ear. But I understand that is normal.
Swelling, on the right side of my nose and under my nose. I also 'hope' there is swelling on my jawline, because it's really not as pronounced as I hoped. That's just me being impatient I guess.
No bruising at all!

I started making a list of things to eat when I'm recoverd. I miss food, I like food..mmmm food...
On sunday my boyfriend ordered pizza, it came from our favorite place where they use a lot of fresh ingredients and they topp heavily... I had a little tip of pizza cut in to microbits. It's not the same... you devour pizza, you don't dissect.
But this weekend is spaghetti weekend, the sauce is not going to be a problem and I'm going to squash the pasta into uhm paste. Looking forward to that!

Vega
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:32 am

Re: First time braces at 33

#49 Post by Vega »

Back from check up and everything looked great.
"It's like you never had anything done" he said. :D (swelling and bruising- wise)

One more week of full time the 3 elastics and then only at night, 2 elastics.
I'm aloud to chew, but just softly, so guess who is eating lasagna tonight! :D

Next app in one week.

Vega
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:32 am

Re: First time braces at 33

#50 Post by Vega »

Day 12
I hate the elastics, I really do!!!
When I have them on my teeth hurt a lot (only the left side, but I have double elastics there), painkillers doesn't help with the pain but.. I do feel instant relief when I take them off (eating and brushing).
Yesterday I managed to cut my lip with an elastics when putting them on.
Only a few more days and then I can leave them out during the day.

Numbness, has gotten better on my lips. It's not a 100% but getting there. The part under my nose feels numb and also bruised. I can feel it when i move my mouth or touch it.
Right cheek is still numb but also getting better.
Roof and gums still numb, altough my teeth are waking up (the elastics- pain)

Swelling, still swelling on my right cheek and below my nose. My profile did improve in the last 2 days. It looks more refined now. So I guess there was a little swelling going on.

Stitches, I lost one stitch! Others still firmly in place.
The inside of my cheek got a little better, it's not as sore anymore.

Besides the toothache I don't feel any pain. I can sleep on my side again but try not to.

Eating is a little better, I feel more relaxed when I can eat soups and purees. It's frustrating not being able to eat proper. So to avoid frustration i'm going with the easy way. I will try soft foods again in a couple of days.

What I forgot to mention in my earliest posts, I need an implant to replace one of my lost molars.
I lost it when I was a teen and at that time I didn't take my oral hygiene as serious, I was in a lot of pain and it resulted in about 10 trips to the dentist to fix everything. Spending that much time at the dentist really helped me to not be afraid of going to the dentist because it was such a relief of not being in pain.

Vega
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:32 am

Re: First time braces at 33

#51 Post by Vega »

Day 17
Had my check up with the surgeon yesterday.
He removed some of the stitches inside my mouth. Whilst doing that he poked me in the lower lip with a scissor, it was a light poke but I jumped up like I was getting stabbed in the lip. It's incredible sensitive.
I still have to wear the elastics for a week, in the same configuration. Then I only have to wear them at night.
Everything looked great and I'm healing well.

Now that the stitches are gone, it feels a bit more comfortable. The area above my upper lip isn't as sore anymore and I can move it better.

For me an unexpected improvement is breathing trough my nose. Before the operation I couldn't breathe proper trough my nose. After a few in/exhales I became out of breath.
Now I can breath very clear trough my nose without any problems. This also improved my sleep, no more drooling, dry mouth, snoring... nice!
I never realised before that it wasn't normal, I became used to it being like that.

Numbness, no improvement but I'm not to worried about that.
Still some stitches in the roof of my mouth and on the inside of my gums between my upper teeth. They don't bother me.
No pain, just the overall blah feeling of being numb and the little pins and needles.

Next app with the surgeon is in 5 months.

In 4 weeks I have my first ortho- meeting.

Vega
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:32 am

Re: First time braces at 33

#52 Post by Vega »

3 weeks

Not much new :)
I can now chew soft foods without much problem.
Elastics can come off during the day starting tomorrow, then only at night. I'm glad because they can really hurt sometimes. :?
Numbness is definitely getting better in my lips and under my nose. Overall I can feel it when I touch my face but it feels "muted"
Painwise, not a lot of pain and it passes without painkillers.
The only problem I have is that i'm very tired. I've been taking long naps during daytime and still can fall asleep around 22u00.
Also I get exhausted from doing even light physical activity's.

I can put 2 fingers in at the moment (but I have very thin alien-like fingers, according to my boyfriend, I would call them elegant), hoping this will improve because well... 18+ stuff.. :oops:
I did google it, but didn't find a solid answer about that.

Vega
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:32 am

Re: First time braces at 33

#53 Post by Vega »

30 days post op

Yesterday the 2 stitches between my upper teeth fell out, the stitch in the roof of my mouth is still intact. (that's actually the stitch from removing the plates of my Sarpe surgery last year)
Numbness slightly improved overall, I have feeling in every part just not a 100%. I also think I still have some swelling beneath my nose.
Elastics, still wear 2 at night. During daytime I don't use them and it's going really well, no extra pain or discomfort.
Sometimes my ear hurts, a short sting and the feeling there's fluid behind the eardrum. I'm going to call in and ask if it's normal or possibly an infection.
In the morning my teeth feel very sore and sensitive, but not to a point that I have to take a painkiller and the pain goes away by itself.
Eating is getting better, I eat ravioli, beans, rice, chicken, pork, pasta, cooked vegetables, potatoes (mashed), fish, sausages. Almost anything is possible if you can cut it up or mash it (and then swallowing it whole or covered in a lot of sauce)
Tonight we are going out to diner, I checked the menu and they have a lot of fishdishes, so i'm going with the fish. And a Tiramisu.
My weight is going back up, I feel it in my energylevel as well. It improved.

Next ortho app is in 2 weeks.
I'm a bit worried about the cleaning of my teeth. The baby toothbrush is not doing it so well as my electric and I have some staining on the back of my teeth.
I'm not sure if I can use the electric again soon.

Vega
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:32 am

Re: First time braces at 33

#54 Post by Vega »

The earpain is not an infection and also isn't directly related to the jaw surgery.

I've got pills to help congestion and have to do some steaming (towel over head and boiling water)
My nose isn't congested at all right now but because I didn't blow my nose for a few weeks now I'm guessing it could be related to that.

Anyhoo it hope it will help.

Vega
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:32 am

Re: First time braces at 33

#55 Post by Vega »

Week 5 already!

I'm feeling back to normal again. Maybe it's the weather, we've been having a lot of (winter)sun the last couple of days. I get such an energy boost from sunlight. :D
I had some depressed days after the surgery, while doing some reading I noticed lots of jaw-patients experienced this.
It's a long recovery wich you cannot speed up, you have to be patient and just ride it out.

I'm completely off the pain -medication now.
Eating is going great, still on foods that are soft, small, easy chewable and don't require me to open my mouth too wide. I'm doing some jaw excercizing the past days and it feels less stiff, more flexible than before. But still only 2 fingers mouth-opening. But I feel this will improve soon.

My last stitch fell out! Don't know where it went, I think I swallowed it in my sleep.
Numbness didn't really improve. Wishing my gums would come back a little bit, it's the 1 part that's still 100% numb.

I had some comments on my 'new' appearance, all very positive. I'm also happy with the outcome so far.
Next week my app with the ortho, I hope he will remove some of the hooks but I think (feel) I will be in elastics untill the end of my treatment, so maybe the hooks will stay in place.
6 to 12 months to go... that's to long to countdown to, so i'm just going to ride it out.. :D

I'm not sure if someone (recovering or pre-surgery/braces) can find some comfort in my posts.
For me this is to keep track of my progress and not to bother my relatives/friend with it too much. :oops:

Vega
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:32 am

Re: First time braces at 33

#56 Post by Vega »

6 weeks!
Had my first ortho- app since surgery.
They removed the hooks but replaced 2 of them for new ones. No wire change, I did get new rubbers around the brackets.
I only have to wear 1 elastic full-time, it's a very loose one so it doesn't cause too much pain or discomfort.

Everything looked great he said.
Everything is going well too, no pain, just numbness. No improvement there but that doesn't bother me that much.

Vega
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:32 am

Re: First time braces at 33

#57 Post by Vega »

7 weeks

There is not much to report, wich I think is good news :D
My eating and chewing is back to normal, but I still don't eat hard or chewy things like steak or raw carrots.
The only problem is opening wide enough. I had a burger yesterday but I couldn't fit it in properly so I used my front teeth to 'chip off' parts. Tasted great :D
I don't experience pain afterward so I'm guessing my eating is oke in relation to my recovery.
Yawning is a really weird thing, I can't yawn with 'full power'. I really feel it in my muscles and jaw joint. Still have to be carefull when doing that.

A thing that didn't improve is the feeling of being bruised just below my nose.
I think it's where the plates and screws are. When I curl, stretch my upper lip or pinch my nose, I feel it underneath my skin, it rubs agains the plates and screws. (Can't really explain the feeling, I can't even explain it in my motherlanguage)
It's not really painfull, rather unpleasant.
If it doesn't improve by july I'm going to ask if they can/need to be removed.

As for numbness, it's a bit better. The roof of my mouth is back! Gums still numb.
Numbness under my nose, chin and the right side of my face.
Parts of my lips are still a bit numb but it improved. I hope they will recover a 100%.
I'm oke with the other parts staying numb but I would like to have my lips back.

Not really related said the doctor but I think it does;
I still have the problem with my ears. The pain is gone but the fluid-feeling is not. Sometimes my eardrum appears to be vibrating.
I took 3 of the pills the doctor prescribed but after staying awake for +36 hours :!: , I decided not to take them anymore. Crazy pills :?
The cold weather isn't helping, i have more troubles after going outside. When I stay in all day then it's fine.

I keep forgetting to put my elastics back after eating and brushing.
I also had a big audit (lot's of talking) a couple of days ago and didn't put them back in since... Starting from tonight I'll put them back in fulltime.

Next ortho app is in 3 weeks.

Vega
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:32 am

Re: First time braces at 33

#58 Post by Vega »

8 weeks

The feeling in my lower gums has returned and that's pretty much all that is changed since the last update :D
And yawning got a little better, since I wrote it down last week I practiced on my yawning.
Don't hold back the yawn but just let it go naturally. I found that trying to hold it in causes more pain than just doing it. :roll:

The recap..
I would do it all over again knowing what I know now.
I should have taken more time at home to recover, I was back to work after 6 days. I was able to do it, but I should have taken more me-time. This is a problem I have, I feel guilty when I'm not working. :?
I should have gained some more weight before the operation, I still haven't regained the weight I've lost.

Vega
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:32 am

Re: First time braces at 33

#59 Post by Vega »

Week 10
Just had my ortho app.
I was afraid he was going to be a bit annoyed with me not wearing the elastics but I told him it was too painfull and I couldn't sleep anymore. (wich is true).
He was compassionated and he gave me a different configuration. I now have an elastic in the middle of my mouth.. nice :roll: :lol:
Because it only about a mm that needs to be fixed, I only have to wear them untill the midline is shifted. I have to watch it everyday to see when it's okay.

Vega
Posts: 96
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:32 am

Re: First time braces at 33

#60 Post by Vega »

14 weeks and I consider myself as recovered from the double jaw surgery.

Eating is normal but I still avoid the regulars like steak, raw carrots, hard chocolade. But those are also the things you avoid when wearing braces and have sensitive teeth.
Had an ortho app yesterday. Got a powerchain on top archwire to start closing some gaps. He adjusted my elastic to a different configuration. It's on the left side, from lower molar to canine.
Still no adjustment of my archwires. I'm in the same ones as before my surgery, but I still feel pressure so it's doing it's thing.
I like the way my teeth are looking right now, it's a great result.

Numbness, it's there, but doesn't bother me.
Chin is 100% oke
Bottom lip is 90% oke
Upper lip is about 80%
Below the nose 90%
Areas on the side of nose: 100%

I feel the 'dents' on my lower jawline were they broke the jaw, I'm not sure if this goes away or not. Not that it's bothersome but just wondering...
Next ortho app in 4 weeks
Next app with surgeon on the 28th of june.

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