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!
February 10, 2011 at 5:53 am
I can drink from a cup! I have to have a bowl under my chin so I don’t make a mess but I managed this the day after surgery! Was very chuffed with myself as it meant I no longer needed the drip to keep myself hydrated! I just really wish my lips would heal up as at the moment they are in a right state. Actually I have the bowl with me all the time to catch my dribbling! Cannot wait until this swelling goes down.
February 9, 2011 at 11:50 am
Glad to hear you’re home, Jenny! Brace yourself for these first 2 weeks. Your next milestone will be the day you can drink straight from a cup again. 🙂
February 9, 2011 at 10:44 am
Everything did go well it seems, came home today. Apparently I did a lot better than most people do at this stage, althought I’m not feeling fantastic. Am very swollen and still can’t manage more than liquids, but I’m not feeling too hungry at the moment which I suppose is just as well. Reckon I’ll feel a lot better when the swelling around my face and lips goes down, right now it ain’t a pretty sight!
February 8, 2011 at 10:15 pm
That sounds good my friend!
February 7, 2011 at 10:45 pm
Murat, I know exactly what you speak of! It’s brilliant, is it not?! Being able to bite into something and actually have your teeth glide right through the burger or sandwich or pizza like they’re supposed to.
I had no idea you were from Calgary. I’m living in Philadelphia right now, but when I get back home, we’ll have to meet up for some real food sometime!
Enjoy everything you’re about to start eating!
February 7, 2011 at 10:39 pm
Graham, just realized you’re from Edmonton, I’m from Calgary… small world I guess!
I’m 63 days = 9 weeks post-op, and had my first cheeseburger. Not sure if you or anyone here has ever had this problem before, but for the first time in my entire life, I bit into a burger and not had the entire piece of tomato, onion, and pickles slide out of the bun and hanging out of my mouth! 😀
I’m so excited to try eating a slice of pizza now!
Hope all is still well with you.
And Jenny, I hope everything went great with your surgery. The first few days are the worst. It only gets better from here!
February 6, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Hey Jenny, I wish you the best of luck tomorrow! I remember how frightened I was walking into the surgery, but it all turned out great in the end. It’ll be worth it. =)
Let me know how you’re feeling when you get back home!
February 6, 2011 at 2:19 pm
I’m having a bimaxillary osteotomy and genioplasty tomorrow (eek!), and I’ve been reading your blog and found it brilliant! It’s been so helpful and even very funny, you have to find the funny side of things like this otherwise you’ll go crazy! Thanks so much for doing this, it’s made me feel better about it all 🙂
February 5, 2011 at 6:03 pm
Hey Dev,
As I recall, the only thing I was concerned with at that point was eating as normally as possible. I was still having difficulty chewing (and was the slowest guy at the table every single time), so I was focusing on building my jaw back up by giving myself a full hour to eat every night.
Definitely don’t try eating things like peanuts anytime soon, but try to ease yourself into chewing something like chicken as fast as you can. I also started to chew gum to give the muscles in my jaw a constant workout. =)
Best of luck!
February 5, 2011 at 5:18 pm
Hey Graham,
I had upper&lower jaw surgery last year in December, and I’m now on day 65. I’ve gotten back to eating soft solid foods again (Oral surgeon recommended scrambled eggs, noodles, pasta, pudding), but still drinking alot of fluids for the most part (boost especially). You have any suggestions based around your 60-70 day mark?
February 2, 2011 at 11:27 pm
Love your transformation!
look awesome!
cant wait for mine haha
same thing
January 23, 2011 at 10:00 am
snice,
I hope you regain full feeling in your chin and lips. I’ve accepted the fact that I’ll most likely be slightly numb in parts of my bottom lip for the rest of my life, but I hardly notice it anymore.
January 23, 2011 at 8:18 am
Oh yeah… and Murat keep those fingers out of ur mouth, even tho its soooo tempting! LOL 😉
January 23, 2011 at 8:15 am
Hey Graham… sure u hav I’m 38! LOL I knew I needed the surgery yrs ago, but couldn’t afford it being a single mom with 3 kids. I finally decided to do something for me and I’m soooo glad I did!! 🙂
I checked with my surgeon about the tongue numbness an apparently it happens to some people. He says it should eventually go away, but there’s been no change(almost bit the tip off 🙁 damn spasms!)
At almost the 3 month mark my bottom lip & chin are still numb and the tingly feeling is only on 1 side now, but I MUST remain positive an keep staring @ my lovely smile!! 😀
January 16, 2011 at 11:17 am
Hey Lee, no problem! I hope he’s not becoming too frustrated with the situation.
Take care!
January 16, 2011 at 11:11 am
Your website has been such a great help. My son just had his double surgery four weeks ago. It’s been a tough few weeks, every day gets better though!
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
January 12, 2011 at 1:21 pm
Wow, that’s impressive, Matt. That’s good advice too. I haven’t really spoken to anyone beyond the age of 30 who decided to forego the surgery, but it’s good to know that it’s a wise decision to make while you’re young.
Good luck with your healing. You’ll be back in action within the next few months, I’m sure!
January 12, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Graham,
Outstanding site. Unlike most of your followers I’m older my Doctor told me he had working on only one person older than me. I’m 51 yrs old with a 200% over bite. I’ve been in braces 6 years on 15 December and I have at least 6 more months. I had surgery on 31 August 2010. I ended up spending the night in ICU and 4 days in the hospital with a double jaw repair. I was luck that I’ve spent 30 years in medicine myself so I wasn’t too alarmed about the events. My biggest advice to other is not to wait. I was told in 1988 that I needed the surgery but held off until I was loosing my lower front teeth at 45 yrs old which lead to the braces. I wish now I’d done it at 28 vs. 51. On the up side its gone very well healing is almost complete still a little numbness in my lower lip and occasional swelling. I’m still working on my range of motion on my lower jaw which oppens about 25 mm. Still find it hard to eat a quarter pounder. I hope you keep this site up. Again your have done an outstanding job documenting your surgery.
January 9, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Wow aimee….amazing thanks for sharing…I have some pics…but don’t know how to share them…. I look way different…
January 9, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Well, you can visit my website… http://www.adarlingstory.blogspot.com – I’ve got before and afters. 🙂