DEBRACING DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Went and saw both my orthodontist and my surgeon last week. I saw the ortho first and he asked my how I felt about my teeth. I told him I was very happy and he said 'well, if we did anything more it would just be tinkering so I think its time to get them off'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SO IM GETTING MY BRACES OFF ON THE 8TH OF APRIL!

I can't believe the journey is nearly at an end! The ortho brought Dr Ellis down (the woman who will be eventually fixing my veneers) and they've decided that I'll get a general tidy up, clean and polish at the start of May (just in time for my graduation ball) then they'll be looking into veneers after that! SO EXCITED!

My surgeon was also very pleased and didn't even take an x-ray of me, he said I just have to see him annually now for five years! BEST. NEWS. EVER.

Day 28 (FOUR WEEKS!)

Another ortho appointment today! He said I was still healing well. I was a bit corncerned as I woke up on Christmas Eve morning and - to me at least despite reassurance from my stepdad - my bite had shifted a lot. However, my orthodontist said although it had moved it was by the tiniest bit and I still only have to wear my elastics at night :) I also told him I still feel I look swollen and he was all 'really? I think you look great!' but reassured me that it's only been 4 weeks since the op and there's still plenty of time for swelling to dissipate.

In regards to my treatment the next step is to reposition some brackets on my top teeth so they're moved up, which will make the gumline more aesthetically pleasing. When he was talking about this he was saying 'final tooth positions' a lot which makes me think I could have these braces off soon! I was too scared to ask though in case I was dissapointed with the answer! I'm going to ask next time (in two weeks) and as long as he says we're still on track for June I'll be very happy! also said he'd talk to the dentist concerned with my veneers (see my previous posts if you have no idea what I'm on about) to see what is going to happen after the braces come off. 

I'll do eating updates etc on my one month post op blog on Sunday!

Three weeks!

I've just got back from an ortho appointment. It took an hour! I told him the hooks were digging into my lips and now I'm getting some feeling back they were quite painful. So he tried to cut them off without removing my archwire or any of my modules which didn't work. He then took the archwires out and I lost about 5 brackets including one composite! So he had to fashion me half a new tooth with composite, cure that, then replace 5 brackets. He thinks they've probably been loose since the surgery. I got a new softer wire for my bottom teeth and my orthodontist said we can start focusing on getting my teeth really straight for the final result now! So I'm experiencing the old adjustment toothache that I haven't had for a while.

Moving on to my bite he's really happy with how I'm doing. Apparently I've shifted half a mm to the right but he said it actually looks better that way as my chin is central rather than my teeth (if that makes sense). It doesn't bother me at all that my midlines are off and the orthodontist doesn't seem to mind either so I'm not going to worry about it.

In other news, I've been upgraded to only wearing elastics at night! I've also been given less tight ones which you can see below. Also I'M ALLOWED TO START CHEWING!!!!!! Obviously I've got to start with really soft stuff but I'm over the moon because I can start expanding on what food I eat and I don't have to purée my christmas dinner next week!

New elastics - my old ones had a 4oz force 

Diagram which shows how my teeth should stay - if the bottom starts veering left I should wear the elastics more. Unless that happens I wear two on the left side and one on the right nightly.

Day 20

Some stuff to report in the last 10 days:

• I am now changing my elastics myself - the ortho said once a day but i'm doing it twice (i.e. when I brush my teeth). I wear one on the right side and 2 on the left during the day/3 at night. I'm just using a pair of tweezers to hook them on and its become easier the more I do it
• Saw my surgeon yesterday and i'm not allowed out on New Years Eve in case I get my face hit :( I suppose I was being rather optimistic as i'll only be a month post op then - but i'm a party girl and I'm really starting to miss going out! I can drink just not head to a crowded club, which makes sense. On the plus side i'm saving money by not spending it on alcohol (ha)
• He also didn't give me a straight answer about when I could start going out (drinking) again, and just said it takes 3 months before you can do contact sports again. Hmm.
• I think most of the 'surgery' swelling has gone now but I definitely still have some residual swelling there.

And the rest...

Eating: 

No changes - i'm still on soft food. Was supposed to ask my surgeon yesterday when I can start chewing again but I was too distraught about not being able to go out! I'll be asking my orthodontist tomorrow.

Sleeping:

I don't need to update on my sleeping anymore as its completely back to normal :)

Medication:

Again, no more updates on this section as I am medication free! I take two ibuprofen if i'm in pain (rarely)

Numbness:

Before I fell asleep last night my lower lip was tingling for the first time! I was so excited. I still can't feel my upper chin/bottom lip but i'm used to it now. I have tingling/burning sensations around the numb areas 24/7 which is promising. I can also feel the surgical hooks digging into my bottom lip again so the wax is back on which makes my lip look way fatter than it is

And just a quick question: if you're post-op when did you start exercising again? I'll probably leave it until I go back to uni (when I'll be 5 weeks after) and i'm hoping to get back to the gym. Thanks :)

Day 0/Day 2/Day 7/Day 14

Day 19 (in my dressing gown AGAIN)

Days 8-10

The last few days I've been feeling more and more like myself. I can taste the normality! Swelling is still going down daily which I LOVE - I get a new face every day! 

Eating: 

Now I just ask my mam or dad to blend whatever they're eating. It always looks gross but tastes yummy. For example, I've been eating curries and casseroles that have been stuck in the food processor. This makes me feel more normal as I'm eating exactly what my family are :) 

Sleeping:

I AM SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! I've slept all the way through for about 3 nights now. I find I'm a lot more 'awake' when I wake up (if you get my drift) and I have more energy though the day.

Medication:

Today is my last day of antibiotics. I'm still taking 10ml of ibuprofen and 2 paracetamols morning and night.

Pain:

My mouth gets tired if I talk too much. It also feels pretty achey by the end of the day which is why I'm still taking meds before I sleep. I'm still waking up in pain in the morning but it's very tolerable.

Numbness: I think my chin is slightly less numb? It seems to be gaining more sensation in the left side first (incidentally the least swollen side)

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

I took some better photos today as I'm actually making the effort to look presentable again. I'll post before and after comparisons soon!