It may seem pathetic but I'm actually a little sad that this journey is coming to an end. It's been an amazing (and terrifying!) phase of my life that I dedicated a lot of energy and emotion to. I think it's not unreasonable to have a short mourning period! The braces have also become a sort of security blanket for me. If I feel that a tooth is "off" somehow then my OD can fix it, but once the braces are gone I'm going to have to accept my teeth the way they are, and hope that they don't move! This makes me a bit paranoid. I know that perfection is impossible, but is near-perfection too much to ask for after what I've been through? :)
At my last ortho appointment I was told to wear elastics in a box configuration around the back 4 molars on each side. This was to bring them a bit closer together since there was some space between the top and bottom outer edges. I wore them full time for about 3 weeks but then I started to have joint pain and was afraid that they were going to trigger joint problems again! So I quit wearing them and it took about a week before my joints felt better. I figured it's better to have happy joints than perfect teeth. I mentioned this to my OD today and he said that joint pain can sometimes happen while wearing elastics because the jaw muscles are constantly trying to fight against them. He checked how the molars look and apparently they've settled nicely so there's no need to wear them any more. Good riddance! I still have to wear elastics in the front at night though, but for some reason I never had joint pain from these elastics. Maybe because they're farther from the joint itself?
Good luck to everyone having surgery soon! Remember to take it easy and have lots of patience with the result. I'm still seeing subtle changes in my face at 5 months, with some days being more swollen than others. In the end I'm sure you won't regret it. I definitely don't!
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| I never would have allowed this angle before surgery! |
Congrats on your 5 month mark! You look great! I know what you mean about being a bit sad when it's over! Don't get me wrong, I can't wait til it's over and I can get these stupid braces off, but at the same time, I've thought about it so much for over 2 years, that I feel like I'll be a bit empty once I don't have it in my life any more! I'm always looking forward to the next stage, but once it's over they'll be nothing to look forward to! Kind of like how when you're a kid you get so excited about Christmas, but once you've opened the presents and got everything you wanted, even though you're happy with what you got there's nothing else to look forward to!
ReplyDeleteYou definitely summed it up perfectly! We'll both have to plan an even better (and less painful!) adventure after our journeys are over so that we continue to have something to look forward to. :)
DeleteGood luck with your upcoming surgery!
you should post when you get them off. i wanna see! lol
ReplyDeleteHaha, I will absolutely post some brace-free pictures when the time comes!
DeleteIt's nice to hear that you are happy with the results! I am getting surgery on November 12th and am completely terrified! I'm trying to find all the information I can before the surgery, and your blog is really helpful. You look great!
ReplyDeleteBrytt
sixyearsinhell.blogspot.com
I'm glad my blog could be helpful! I totally sympathize with you...I was terrified before surgery too! I kept having horrible dreams. One involved me waking up in recovery and my surgeon came in holding a glass jar with my jaw in it and said "sorry, I couldn't reattach it." Haha, of course that never happened. Don't worry, things will work out great! And the recovery will be so much easier now that you've done some research and know what to expect. It definitely helped me a lot to read other people's blogs.
DeleteGood luck with your surgery!
Hi Lindsay, long time no chat! How are you doing?? I hope all is going well :) Congrats on your good news...you must be very happy!!
ReplyDeletePS- I get mine off on the 3rd! We are almost there friend! :)
Hi Nikki,
DeleteI'm so glad your bite improved and you don't need surgery again!! What a relief! Congrats on the debracing date!! I can't wait to see your brace-free pictures!
My date has actually been postponed until after Christmas. I went in on Tuesday to have impressions taken for the bonded retainers and I pointed out a space that had opened up between my top front teeth. My orthodontist said it was due to the shape of the teeth so he did some IPR between them (shaving the enamel) and then also did some between my bottom front teeth to keep things balanced. Now I have to wait for another month or two for the powerchains to do their job and close the spaces. Ah well, they look and feel a lot better already so I'm really glad I mentioned it! After going through jaw surgery, what's another few weeks with braces? ;)
Thanks Lindsay! I am very happy about not having jaw surgery again!! Even though you'll have your braces on for a little bit longer, I think that is smart you are getting it perfect. We go through all of this...so we might as well have perfect teeth!
DeleteHow are your joints doing? I know you and I both have issues with them, and I was just curious to see if you've noticed any improvement. I just went and saw my doctor last week, and I'm going to have to have arthroscopic surgery on my joints to clean out any adhesions,lubricate them, and check on my disc! Uggh. Since surgery, the right side has stabilized, and I have more joint space there, but the left isn't looking too good. Oh well, what can you do?
Sorry to hear your joints aren't cooperating. :( Hopefully the arthroscopy will help! My joints are doing pretty well as long as I don't go overboard on the chewing and I try not to clench my teeth (easier said than done!). I get some clicking once in a while on the right side but no pain, and it's much better than before surgery! I still have to be careful when yawning because sometimes opening wide feels really strained and uncomfortable, but it no longer pops like before surgery. Since the swelling has gone down I find my bite tends to shift around a little more. It did this before surgery too but I think it's a little bit better now than before.
DeleteAren't joint problems frustrating?