Day 19: Ortho Stuffs

(June 20th, 2016)

Visit To the Surgeon

This was the quickest visit yet. He told me...

• Everything looks good - healing great.
• Start stretching my jaw/mouth open.
• Still no chewing.
• My stitched won't start dissolving for a few more weeks, but they can remove them if I want.
• (Still no rubber bands.) 

That's it. I see him in another week!

Orthodontic Stuffs

Since nothing of interest happened today, I thought I'd share my ortho experience with you guys in this post.

So I researched all/most of the different kinds of braces options:

• Invisalign - It wouldn't have worked for me. The results are less exact than what jaw surgery requires, at least in my case.
• Lingual Braces - These are the kind of braces that go on the inside of your teeth. Orthodontists who provide these kinds of braces are a little more rare, and none who I spoke with gave these as an option. Plus, watching videos, I notices that people who have these always have at least a little bit of a lisp. 
• Regular Metal Braces - As a high school math teacher, no thanks. I'm already self-conscious enough having to wear braces in front of teenagers. (Who, by the way, were totally fine with the braces. Although, I met a teacher with metal braces and watched her teach - I just think the metal look is distracting and weird.) 
• Damon Braces - These self-ligating braces can be metal or ceramic. The difference between these and traditional braces is that Damon braces don't require ligatures. Instead, each bracket has this little "door" that holds the wire in place. Unfortunately, my orthodontist doesn't do Damon. He thought it was all hype. (He actually helped design my braces, so I think he's just a little biased.) 
• Ceramic Braces - There are many different kinds, but I have 3M Clear braces. They're pretty small and clear, so they're really not very noticeable in pictures or from far away. (Students sitting 10 feet away would sometimes ask if I had my braces taken off already.) My sister's boyfriend had "clear" braces about 2 years ago and they looked terrible. They were all yellow and big and ridiculous looking. So be careful when you choose your braces! 

Okay, so the first few weeks of braces SUCKED. I (cussing is happening here) fucking hate braces. They hurt (kind of like the dull pain from jaw surgery) A LOT. I actually think I was depressed for a few days because I couldn't eat or talk for fear of pain. For the first month, I think I put silicone on almost every bracket. The brackets tore up the inside of my mouth for at least two months. Ugh, I hate them so much.

Plus, I stopped drinking red wine, dark sodas, and regular coffee. I stopped eating anything with curry, tomato sauce, beets, strawberries, cherries, blueberries, and most chocolates. Oh, and oatmeal, quinoa, and cottage cheese - I feel like more of these foods end up in my braces than my stomach. Even now, only eating mushy foods, I still stay away from foods and drinks that stain. (Once, I ate curry the night before getting my wires changes. The rubber bands were SO YELLOW and disgusting. Once they changed everything out, my teeth looked fine. But the stains just make me nervous that I'm going to stain the actual brackets, which supposedly will not happen.)

After a while, the braces are just a normal part of life. A totally annoying and hateful part of life. But, eh, I guess it's only temporary.

I've probably had about 4 or 5 brackets pop off at this point. I'm pretty sure only one was my fault, though - I was eating a rather tough piece of grilled chicken. All of the other brackets just popped off on their own. The only problem with this is that the ortho put some of the brackets back on crooked. Not cool, man.

I see my ortho about every 3 weeks, and it took almost exactly one year in braces before I was ready to have my surgery. And my teeth weren't even that bad! They straightened out the teeth a bit, shaved between each tooth to create more room, and pulled everything in tight. That way, I didn't need to have any teeth removed. I also didn't get any spacers or molar bands or headgear or expanders. So I guess I'm lucky.

Things You Need For Braces:

• a Waterpik (I love my Waterpik sooooooo much.)
• Colgate Peroxyl
• a little purse/travel kit that includes: 1) a baby/travel toothbrush with a cover to keep it clean, 2) travel toothpaste, 3) a collapsible cup 

And... my face.

Even though I hate braces, these are at least inconspicuous.

Pain: 2-3/10

Numbness: Bottom gums totally numb. Chin area very stiff/tingly, but the right side and chin more than the left side. 

Discomfort: My cheeks keep getting stuck in the brackets when I talk. Wax/silicone all day every day.

Weight: -4 lbs

(Black items stayed the same as the last post. RED items changed slightly.) 

Jaw surgery day 19, done. 

~m