Orthodontist Appointment Post-Op

I went to the orthodontist this morning. Dr. Paz checked things out and then told the tech to put a new wire on the top. An active wire. I asked her what the wire will be doing and she said it was to level things. I was kind of surprised because they said they wouldn't be moving my teeth until 7 or 8 weeks after surgery. I think Dr. Relle wanted this done, so I'm sure it's fine. Two of my brackets had come off, so I had to get those replaced. I was so glad that my mouth is numb so I didn't really feel anything. It took her awhile to get all of the figure 8 wire things off and then put in the new wire. My jaws were really tired afterwards. I can't believe tomorrow will be 4 weeks since surgery.

Day 25/Pictures

It still hurts to smile...




I finally took pictures today. I'm still swollen, but I doubt most people would notice it much. And my eyes still look lopsided. Ah well.
It's so great to have that splint out. I saved it and took a picture of it. It felt so much bigger when it was in my mouth. It's so easy to talk now. Both my kids noticed right away when I started talking to them that something was different. Of course, I got a sore throat and my voice is almost gone. That's a bummer, but at least the splint is gone.
I had a nice day today. I had some coffee and oatmeal in the morning, some Indian food for lunch (very easy to eat if you just take the sauce from the food and mix it with the rice, yum), followed by PinkBerry and then of course my usual rice and beans and salsa for dinner. I'm definitely not going to keep the weight that I had lost off for long. That's okay. No blender food for me. I would rather not eat at all.

Here's my splint: :)

Got the splint out!!!

I just got back from seeing the wonderful Dr. Relle. Wow, that splint was really in there. Lots of wire cutting and snipping and pulling and then it was out. It felt weird at first and the top of my mouth behind my front teeth is numb. It felt really gross behind my front teeth so I asked if I could brush. That felt great. He said that my splint was really clean. I owe it all to the water pic. That thing is priceless.

So right now my teeth are hitting on a high point so Dr. Paz may have to shave down that tooth. My teeth aren't touching completely on the whole left side, but Dr. Relle said it should all settle into place. I am wearing two rubber bands. Ideally, I would have seen Dr. Paz immediately after I saw Dr. Relle today, but because it's a Friday and long weekend, I won't be seeing him until Tuesday.

Well, I am off to eat .... what else? Rice and beans!! Whoohooo! (still no chewing allowed)

Day 23, Last day Before I get the splint out

I will not miss this splint. Good riddance! My appointment is at noon tomorrow to get it removed. I'm wondering why some people have to have it in for longer. Rita had hers in 6 weeks. Sometimes I notice that my bottom jaw "slips." It's hard to explain. But it feels like it goes backwards or forwards on its own and then the rubberbands catch it and bring it back where it should be. I don't like when that happens.

I don't know if anyone else has experienced this, but since the surgery, I have had a lot of dizziness. When I look down, I feel dizzy. When I lay in bed and turn over, I feel really dizzy. It's kinda scary. I will ask the surgeon about it. I don't know how it could possibly be related to the surgery, but that's when it started. For awhile I thought it was related to not eating enough, but I am getting quite a bit of food down, so I don't think that's it.

Today one of my neighbors (she's well into her 80's) said hi to me. I said hi back and of course, sounded like I had marbles in my mouth. She said, "Oh, you've got some big problems going on, don't you." I tried to explain to her what I had just gone through. She didn't get and kept going back to "teeth". She said if my parents had fixed my teeth when I was little, I wouldn't be going through this now. I tried to explain again that it wasn't my teeth. She still didn't get it, so I gave up. Ah well. Even some people that aren't in their 80's don't get it. Most of the time it's not worth it to try and explain. Every time I do try to explain, it seems as though they all bring up having had their wisdom teeth taken out. It's not the same, but I'm tired of explaining so I just (try to) smile.

It's Been 3 Weeks!

I can't wait until Friday to get this splint out. I feel like a broken record, but I really hate this thing. It's really getting on my nerves. I'm tired of people not being able to understand me when I talk. It's very frustrating. Especially in the morning when I am trying to get my kids up and ready for school when I'm tired and crabby already ~ it's not fun. At the same time, I am anxious about getting it out. I hope it doesn't hurt. I'm also anxious about how my bite is going to feel in its new position.

My cheeks and chin feel pretty swollen this morning. I'm wondering when it's going to be gone. It's hard to be patient.

So yesterday I was excited to be able to "eat" oatmeal with lots of brown sugar (thinned down, of course), pintos & cheese from Taco Bell with lots of hot sauce, and then rice with lots of green sauce at our local Mexican place. Food with flavor is so exciting.:) I can't stand all this bland stuff I had been eating.

That's about it for now...

Coincidence?

Last night when I was taking a bath, I put a washcloth with really hot water on my face over and over again and my face started tingling like it was waking up. So today, so far all morning, my face is going crazy tingling. I wonder if the heat helps with the swelling and the nerves. Does anybody know?

Rice and Beans Never Tasted So Good/Day 20

I don't know why I'm posting every day.There's really nothing to tell. Except that I went to a Mexican place down the street and had rice/beans/salsa and YUM was it GOOD. I hadn't really eaten anything all day so it felt really good to get something in my stomach. I tried to eat Spaghetti O's at lunch ~ YUCK. I remember liking them as a kid, but they were really sick today. I couldn't eat them.
I'm still numb, not very swollen, and hate the splint. That's about it. I'll take pictures soon. I'm just lazy.