Three years of dental purgatory later…
Since I’ve been repeatedly asked to post a picture of myself sans hardware (read: braces and appliances), I’m updating this fancy little blog one last time.
I had a date with my orthodontist earlier this week where she kindly removed my braces for me. The entire process took no more than 5 minutes and was relatively painless. I was shocked that something that was such an inconvenience could be eradicated in mere moments. My teeth felt extremely slimy at first, but I later realized that I’d simply forgotten what smooth teeth actually felt like.
Following that, she made a couple of molds of my new mouth so their lab could fashion me a sporty new retainer! (Note: I’m not actually excited about having a retainer. I’m just making my best effort at staying positive.) I received the retainer a few hours later and learned how to snap it in and take it out. Then, upon shaking the hands of all of the lovely ladies who have taken care of me in that office for the past 3 years, I walked out the door for the last time.
I’ve created a little storyboard intermission for those of you who would rather forego reading altogether and just look at pictures.
Guess what, folks! I have big news!
I got rid of my braces!
Now I’m subjected to wearing this retainer…
…but it’s going to keep my teeth super straight! (Now that’s an unflattering shot!)
Wearing a retainer is frustrating at first because your speech is slightly lispy and you need to take it out every single time you wish to eat. It only took a day or two before I learned how to speak while wearing it and realized that removing it to eat is hardly an inconvenience, considering I can now smile at the table while I eat. It’s quite a brilliant thought! I’m supposed to wear this retainer every day for a year, then every night for two months, and then 1–2 nights per week for the rest of my life.
I wonder what’s waiting out there for me and my new smile…
Following my orthodontist appointment, I went to donate blood with a friend for the first time in my life. Now, despite having 5 years’ worth of tattoos, I’m actually horribly afraid of needles. I finally manned up and committed to donating only to learn that you can’t be a donor if you’ve had dental work performed in the past 24 hours. I still had the privilege of eating free cookies though, so it was a worthwhile trip.
“Would you like another plate of ribs?”
Later that night, a few friends and I went out for unlimited ribs (despite the fact that my orthodontist explicitly told me not to eat ribs for three days until the glue on the permanent wire on the backs of my bottom teeth was fully set). Folks, eating things like ribs and apples again is quite amazing. I felt like a bit of a glutton afterwards, considering I ate 5 plates’ worth. It was a celebration though, so I’m exempting myself for that one night only.
I’ll be driving to New York in a couple of weeks to experience New Year’s Eve in Times Square. I plan on doing something crazy, so look for me on TV! I’ll be the crazy Canadian running around finding cameras in a mad attempt to flash the entire world… with my new smile!
June 9, 2012 at 11:07 am
hey Graham,
Quick question. When you were having your double jaw surgery, when did they extract your wisdom teeth? at the time of the surgery or couple months before it.
I’ll be heading for surgery in a couple of months and i dont want it to end up getting delayed at the last moment if it requires wisdom teeth to be extracted before.
Thanks mate.
Fahd
June 5, 2012 at 8:30 am
Joe, moving your jaw is not a bad thing. That is the desired outcome after all, right?
Just trust your surgeon’s advice and guidance and you’ll be okay. Let pain be your guide (and hopefully there isn’t any).
June 5, 2012 at 8:26 am
That’s great to hear, Jess! I knew you’d be happy with your choice! =)
June 5, 2012 at 1:28 am
I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I’m starting to be able to move my jaw a lot more than I think I should be able to…
It’s only been 3 days and I’m already eating blended chili. Mind you, I don’t have elastics on…is that normal?
June 1, 2012 at 11:23 am
your end result looks amazing 🙂 well done you!! :). im happy to say that i am on the road to recovery and i am healing well from my double jaw operation, it has been a long process and i cant wait to get my braces off, not sure when yet, but from my before and after pictures, everyone says that they can notice a big difference :D. i feel so happy and i have so much confidence now 😀 x
June 1, 2012 at 6:15 am
Wow, they really DO have internet in the rainforest. At least I know I could safely and easily live there now. LOL Wasn’t sure if you would be able to answer so figured I’d pick up the slack. Good to know you’re “available”.
Hope all goes well today, Joe! We’ll be thinking about you!
May 31, 2012 at 6:25 pm
Joe, I’d like to send you best wishes all the way from Ecuador, way below the equator! Keep me posted with regards to all of the joys I’m sure you’ll experience over the next few weeks (sarcasm intendent). =)
Aimee, thanks for following along with the other troopers taking on this journey. You are truly a gem!
May 31, 2012 at 4:52 pm
Since Graham is out of the country for a while, I’ll go ahead and wish you luck (and I know he would do the same if he were here). His blog was a huge help for me as I went through my surgery and recovery period.
Take care of yourself!
May 31, 2012 at 4:46 pm
Going in for my surgery tomorrow at 6:30am!
Wish me luck!
May 8, 2012 at 9:44 pm
Katie, I encourage you to appreciate every bite you take over the next few weeks. I’m looking forward to hearing about your results!
May 8, 2012 at 7:08 pm
I found your website by googling “jaw surgery recovery tips”. I will definitely be bookmarking your site, and appreciate all the time and work you put into updating it. I’ll be having double jaw surgery and genioplasty on May 29. Excited and scared!
April 2, 2012 at 8:32 pm
Hi Jess,
I can’t believe you’ve had braces on for a full 7 years! I guess I had no right to ever complain about being married to those things for a mere 3 years.
It sounds like you’re going in for the full show, so I wish you all the best and look forward to hearing about your recovery. =)
April 2, 2012 at 8:30 pm
Hi Alex! Thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated!
April 2, 2012 at 11:09 am
im having double jaw surgery in 11 days time and your blog has really helped me :). ive had my braces for 7 years. Anyway when i have my surgery, I have to have all my wisdom teeth out and i have to have both sides of my jaw operated on and thats top and bottom as my top jaw is being moved up and back and my bottom jaw is being moved back . It takes 3 – 4 hours to complete but it will be worth it in the end . I know it sounds painful but I honestly cant’t wait as ive been waiting for this moment 🙂 🙂
April 1, 2012 at 10:28 pm
My friend, who is recovering from jaw surgery, linked to your blog. Having read through all of the posts, I feel that this is both inspirational and an incredible resource tracking a real-life recovery from jaw surgery. I applaud everything about it.
March 12, 2012 at 6:39 pm
Hey Graham – I did regain feeling in the roof of my mouth but never did get it back in my upper gums until you get all the way to the molars.
March 12, 2012 at 6:37 pm
Hi Shilpan,
The roof of my mouth, along with nearly all of my teeth, remained numb for about 5 – 6 weeks following surgery. Feeling will find its way back at a fairly consistent rate, but you won’t have full feeling back for a while. Just be patient, though; there’s virtually no risk of losing feeling in your top jaw.
Also, thank you for the kind words. I appreciate it, my friend!
March 12, 2012 at 11:29 am
Hey there Graham,
Congrats on your great results.
I am currently 8 weeks post-op. I just wanted to say that from EVERY single source for recovery information on the web that I can across – yours is by FAR the best and most thorough. You did a fantastic job on all your posts and I love how your tell about not only your recovery but events with your friends and things that happen throughout the day, because at the end of the day that’s mostly what people are concerned about – living a normal life again. Reading your day to day has solved so many of my questions. One question remains –
The roof of my mouth and my top row of teeth are numb. Did that happen to you and how long did it take for the feeling to come back to your teeth and the roof of your mouth?
BTW Sorry… I know that it must be hard to reply to comments a year and a half after writing your final post.
Thanks for all your great posts. You truly are a life saver. Cheers bro.
February 1, 2012 at 8:26 pm
Lol, true, however it seems like everything in my body is one way or another connected to my jaw. My surgeon did recommend I go to a physical therapist so they can work with me on opening my mouth wider and also with my neck/shoulder issue. Problem is I’m avoiding that because our insurance has run out, it actually was cut right after my surgery and man medical bills add up quick!
February 1, 2012 at 1:26 pm
Good to hear from you again, Emily!
I didn’t experience any pain at all following my recovery. I’m not sure why your back and neck would be causing you issues. Those areas don’t even seem connected to traumas caused to your jaw. I can’t recall a line stating, “The jaw bone’s connected to the… back bone!” line in the children’s song. =)
You should give your surgeon a call and ask about the pain you’re experiencing. There’s no reason you should have to deal with chronic pain.