Sorry to be late with this update. In the midst of the holidays I came down with the flu, so I didn't feel up to writing a blog post.
Anyway, one more month down! Honestly, not much has changed this month. I rarely experience those stabbing pains or tingles anymore. By my understanding, as long as it tickles or tingles when touched, the nerves are still trying to wake up. I experience these tingles when I touch my lip or chin and I have noticed more tingles as I floss my gums. Before, I couldn't feel the floss on my gums, but now it tickles when I floss. This is by far the slowest process of recovery. It took me a week to get used to my retainer. I still have a little bit of a lisp when I talk and I have a hard time keeping it in all the time. I eat all the time and brushing my teeth and cleaning my retainer is a big commitment to ending my snacking for a length of time. I'm working on it though. I am in the middle of my at home whitening process and it's going well! I can already see a difference in the color of my teeth. Hopefully the results show up in the photos. In a couple weeks I should be completely done and see the full results! Well, I think that is all to report on for now... Please email me or comment below with your questions! I'd love to be of help!
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Today was my appointment to pick up my retainers. I chose the Hawley retainer per my orthodontist's recommendation because of how severe my issues were and this retainer is stronger and more likely to keep everything in place.
How did the appointment go? When I arrived the lab tech brought my retainers and showed me how to put them in and take them out. She then spent about five minutes taking them in and out in order to bend the wire as needed to make sure that the wire fits snuggly against all my teeth. After this was done, she taught me how to clean them and other care instructions. To clean them I cannot use toothpaste because it is abrasive and will scratch the plastic, which will be a place for bacteria to grow. So, I am supposed to use a little bit of hand soap and warm water. She also gave me a photo collage of my before and after photos and we spent some time looking at them. I have gone through a dramatic change and I literally forgot how bad my teeth were. My self-esteem was tied into my smile and I didn't talk to anyone or smile or laugh because of how self-conscious I was. I was isolated and depressed because of my smile. I don't even recognize that person anymore because of how my self-esteem has grown and I can finally come out of my shell. So, if you are thinking about doing this, do it. It will be beyond worth it. I would do it 100 times over if I had to because of how much my life has changed. Two years is all I invested to have decades of confidence and comfort with my bite and smile. How long do you have to wear the retainers? I have a retainer check appointment in two months. Until then, I have to wear them 24/7 except when eating and brushing. After this appointment, hopefully I will get the OK to only have to wear them at night. My orthodontist came by and made sure the retainers fit correctly. I then asked him a few questions: What can I do about the white spots on my teeth? He told me that most of those spots were already there and the new ones should fade with time. He also suggested whitening because it will minimize the contrast and help the white spots blend in. Google says the white spots are there because I did not take care of my teeth during my treatment. I did the best I could with brushing, flossing, and waterpiking. So, hopefully they will fade away soon! When can I bleach my teeth? Right now. He ground off all the glue and I am good to start my whitening phase. Should I use a whitening strips or go to the dentist? He said "try the cheap stuff first." Makes sense. The whitening strips work for some and not for others, so why not give the cheaper alternative a try first? How do the retainers feel? My talking is very slurred and hard to understand right now. I was told this will get better as I talk more and get used to them. The bottom one is sorta cutting into the area under my tongue, which is uncomfortable. I didn't realize this until I got home though, so make sure you move your tongue around a bit to see if you have this problem and maybe it can be fixed before you leave. When I take the retainers out, my teeth initially feel a little sore, but nowhere near as sore as I expected. They are real easy to pop in and out and haven't been an inconvenience so far. As I went in for a typical checkup my wires, tie backs, and power chain were removed and I waited for my orthodontist. He looked at my teeth and said that they are where they are supposed to be and if I had an extra two hours, he could take them off because he had an opening! So, of course I said yes! I literally was not expecting my braces coming off and was actually worried that they wouldn't come off at my next appointment. So, here is what all happened: Permanent Retainers For starters, my front two teeth will not stay together. So, the orthodontist's assistant took a very tight power chain and to hold them together and said that the permanent retainer will hold the two teeth together. It took about 30 minutes to add the permanent retainer behind my top two teeth and then my bottom six teeth. My orthodontist said he would add more to the top, but I have a filling in one of the teeth and that could cause damage if a permanent retainer was attached. The assistant cleaned the teeth that would get the retainer, shampooed them, rinsed, and dried the area for application. It was a bit painful to hold my mouth wide open for 30 minutes. It felt as if I was holding a stretching position for too long. The permanent retainers do take time to get used to. I'd say that after 3 days, I am almost to the point where I no longer notice them behind my teeth. Pain for Permanent Retainers: 2/10 Removing Brackets Most of the brackets popped off without any pain or problems. There were about 5 or 6 brackets that were really sensitive and felt as if my tooth was being pulled out. Thankfully, it only took less than 5 minutes to remove all the brackets. Pain for Removing Brackets: 5/10 Grinding Off the Glue The orthodontist did this part. This was by far the worse of the experience. First, he would grind up into my gums, which really hurt and then some of my teeth were sensitive as well. It felt like an intense tooth cleaning. Again, my jaw feels sore and stiff from having to hold it open for so long. I think this part took about 15-20 minutes. The smell was awful. It smelled like when you grind your nails to shape them (if you've ever done that). Not to mention all the dust that flies off your teeth. When the orthodontist is grinding your front teeth, the dust easily flies into your nose and that makes it hard to breath. Not to mention the constant urge to sneeze and your jaw being angry. Pain for Grinding Off Glue: 7/10 Polishing This is to smooth out each tooth and make them shiny. Again, had some sensitive areas, but this was much more bearable. Once he was done, my teeth felt so amazing and smooth! This was a short process and only took about 5-10 minutes. Sorry I don't have details on more of how he ground the glue off and polished. I had my eyes closed most of the time and didn't see what what he was doing. Pain for Polishing: 1/10 X-Rays
I had two different x-rays taken, one for a profile view of my teeth and another of my full mouth. Again, quick and painless and took about 10 minutes. Molds It is much easier and less awful to have molds done without brackets for the goo to hold onto. It took her a couple of seconds to pull the trays out. The top tray still felt like a mouthful, but it wasn't bad because I knew she would be able to take it out easily. Once she got each tray in, they had to set for a minute, this this took only about 5 minutes. Brushing I was then asked to brush my teeth really well... twice. This was also the first time I saw the "finished product." I didn't like my teeth at first. I thought they looked awkward and incomplete. I have had my braces off for 3 days now and I am starting to get used to seeing my teeth without braces and I like them more and more every day! Photos Once I brushed my teeth, it was time for all the photos to be taken. I had 3 taken with the awkward cheek pull apart things. Then another three: one relaxing my face, another smiling, and a side profile. After that, I was done! Retainers It was recommended that I get the metal retainer, not the clear one, because of how severe the gaps on my top teeth were. The orthodontist said that if any gaps do form that he can use the retainer to close them, which he can't do with the clear one. I go in on Tuesday to pick these up. |
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1 Year Post-Op 9 Months Post-Op 6 Months Post-Op Paying for Jaw Surgery 5 Months Post-Op Retainers Braces Off 4 Months Post-Op Fear vs. Reality 3 Months Post-Op 12 Weeks Day 81- Ortho. Apt. 2 11 Weeks 10 Weeks 9 Weeks Day 59: Surgeon Apt. 4 8 Weeks 7 Weeks 6 Weeks 1 Month Post-Op Day 27: Ortho. Apt. 1 Day 25: Surgeon Apt. 3 3 Weeks Day 17 Day 12: Surgeon Apt. 2 Day 10 Day 9 Day 8 Day 7 Day 6: Surgeon Apt. 1 Day 5 Day 4 Day 3 Day 2 Surgery Day (Day 1) Pretesting Appointment Surgical Hooks 1 Week Pre-Op Insurance is Complicated Caution with Insurance Pre-Op Appointment Planning and Preparing Orthodontist Apt. My Fears Pre-Op Date Surgery Date Phases of My Journey Life with Braces The Operation 3 Months Pre-Op |