Day 7: First Ortho Visit

(June 8th, 2016)

An Orthodontist Visit

So I noticed right after my surgery that one of my bottom brackets had come loose. Btw, can I just interject here that my "surgical hooks" are not what I thought they'd be? I've seen lots of surgical hooks online.

They look like this:

Whereas mine look like this:

I mean, it doesn't matter, but I wonder why mine are basically looped wire ties. Are they faster to put in? (It doesn't seem so, since the ortho himself had to tie each loop.) Are they cheaper? (Uh, yeah, they were free. I saw a few people who paid up to $10 per hook!) Is my wire too weak/thin to hold the regular hooks in place? (Maybe. I have no idea what wire I have. I wanna say "18 square," but I could also be making that number up.)

So, anyway, I got to see me ortho today. I definitely did NOT think he'd be fixing my bracket today (it's the right bottom tooth, and I have stitches all along my bottom gum line), but as soon as I opened my mouth to talk to him and show him my non-rubber-banded-up teeth he goes, "And you have a bracket that popped off! It's caused your tooth to move already; let's fix that." What the heck? He saw that in like 5 seconds! I mean, I know this is his profession and all, but wow.

So, incredibly, they pulled the wire out a little, affixed the bracket, and tucked the wire back in. And this is a week out from jaw surgery! These people are crazy.

Everyone at the office was really encouraging about my progress. Supposedly, if not for my crazy neck and chest bruises, I'd just look like a version of myself with chubby jowls. Haha. They also really liked my day 3 picture, which I myself find super fun. The most interesting (and somewhat troubling) thing I learned, though, was that my orthodontist has NEVER seen another jaw surgery patient who had no splint and zero rubber bands in their mouth a week after jaw surgery. This is unheard of. (My orthodontist is very... uh... experienced. He's seen a lot of stuff! And he's worked closely with my surgeon for many years.) I'm trying to console myself with the thought that maybe jaw surgeries, combined with adjusted teeth that are only modeled to line up perfectly but may not actually, are just really hard to get PERFECT. So maybe most of the outcomes are good, some are pretty good, and once in a while there's a perfect surgery/bite outcome. And maybe I'm that pretty-much-almost-perfect bite. Maybe?

That bruise is amazing in person. 

Eating Foooood

Eating is SOOO much easier with a straw and spoon! Omg, did I not mention that I can use a spoon now? I figured if I could get a toothbrush in there, then maybe I could fit a spoon inside. And I can! We went out to CPK today and I had potato soup. Like a normal person. Straws and spoons make life so much easier! On the way home, we bought me some more instant mashed potatoes. I'm having it with everything...

Pain: 2-4/10

Numbness: Gums totally numb. Chin area very stiff/tingly.

Discomfort: I'm definitely feeling better, since I was able to drive myself around today. In general, a dull headache-y pain throughout the day.

Weight: -4 lbs

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

Jaw surgery day 7, done. 

~m