I wish I could tell you that I feel all healed up and the surgery never crosses my mind, but I think I have a few more months ahead of me before that becomes reality.
- Pain is minimal, but I do still get some muscular soreness and stiffness along both of mandibles (lower jaws).
- Sensation is still limited along my entire lower lip, the left side of my chin, and my gum lines.
- Vertical opening is still stiff and not fully returned, although improved thanks to physical therapy! (The stiffness might be partly related to related to the rubber bands restricting movement throughout my day.)
- Headaches- minimal!
- Eating - greatly improved, but I still struggle with harder to chew foods like apple skins, red meat, and bread crusts.
I did see my orthodontist today and we had a nice chat. Before I get into it, I wanted to let ya'll know that I am now 17 weeks pregnant. I talked with my orthodontist last time and told him that I was [First Trimester] frequently sick and that the rubber bands were not working well for me as I was having difficulty wearing them with regularity. He had told me then that even wearing them 50% of the time was ineffective and not worthwhile. So I have worked really hard to wear them 100% of the time this past month, but it is just not working for me. I feel the need to snack frequently throughout the day and it is difficult to find the time to snack and reapply the bands in the couple of minutes I have between seeing patients at work.
Bluntly, I am just tired of the inconvenience and being uncomfortable constantly in the last 3 years of dental/orthognathic work, especially when I have all these new inconveniences and areas of discomfort going on inside my body. I did talk with Dr. R and he felt that a few more months of braces with rubber bands will help sit my bite a little better and allow for a decreased risk of a return of the problems I was having before surgery. I really appreciate his recommendations as I truly do trust him to have my best dental interests in mind. However, I made the decision to have the braces taken off next month.
So I have one more month of braces and then good-bye to my metal mouth! ... Okay I'll have to wear retainers 24/7 for 3-6 months still, but it will be so much better without the rubber bands!
