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!
December 16, 2011 at 4:02 pm
My feeling was back by the 3-month mark (except for the left side of my bottom lip, which is likely going to be numb forever).
I remember experiencing sensitivity in certain parts of my teeth as well. It usually involved unexplainable shooting pains. You can rest assured that will all go away soon, though. It’s simply your nerves reacting to being moved around. Once they’re healed, you’ll be good to go!
December 16, 2011 at 2:35 pm
Yes I am very lucky to be eating pretty regularly again. I still have no feeling in my lower lip or chin, which I’m hoping will return soon. How long did it take before you regained most of your feeling? I am experiencing some sensitivity in my back teeth now, did you ever experience that?
December 16, 2011 at 1:46 pm
Nice to meet you, Jessi! I never recovered all of my feeling, but it’s not a hindrance at all. I don’t even notice until somebody asks about it.
Are you going to be able to enjoy a tasty Christmas meal? At 2 months I can only assume you will!
December 16, 2011 at 11:37 am
Graham! so glad to hear you are doing well. I had double jaw surgery 2 months ago and have come back to your blog MANY times to see whether my recovery is progressing normally. Your blog has been very helpful. Did you ever get all feeling back ?
Have a wonderful Christmas!
-Jessi
December 14, 2011 at 4:49 pm
It’s now a year and half since I had the surgery and everything is still going great! My teeth are almost touching on both sides now, which is an added bonus.
Good to hear you’re back to eating real food, dude!
December 14, 2011 at 5:01 am
You look really sexy! (Hopefully this isn’t too weird coming from a male :P) I’m about 1 month post-op right now, starting to eat some real food, feeling good thus far. Hope I can meet you one day hehe How has your life been a year after everything was done?
December 10, 2011 at 4:01 pm
That’s what I like to hear! My goal was to make an honest resource available for people like you. =)
December 9, 2011 at 10:46 pm
You should be very proud of yourself mister. Your site comes up first when searching for Double Jaw Surgery. Very cool.
December 6, 2011 at 10:24 am
Hi Candy,
One big thing I noticed about this recovery is that it’s really easy to pick your results apart without giving your face time to settle. It’s pretty cool that our body can take a traumatic operation like this and simply heal from it.
Feeling returned to my nose after around 1 month. It is definitely frustrating not being able to feel your nose (and lips), but that feeling will return. The period between 4 weeks and 6 weeks is exciting because your feeling begins to return. =)
December 6, 2011 at 1:37 am
I had upper and lower jaw surgery Nov. 21,2011. I found your blog the day I had surgery and it has been very helpful. At times I would freak out over things assuming it wasn’t normal, so I would look at your blog and quickly feel better. It was helpful to know what you went through because I now know what I should expect. One thing I was wondering is when did you get feeing back in your nose(its really bugging me having a numb nose)?
December 4, 2011 at 9:33 pm
Sam, you’re going to love it once your braces are removed. Your teeth are going to feel so smooth!
December 4, 2011 at 5:44 pm
You look great….I can’t wait for the day. I am 32 days post op from double jaw surgery. I must say the 1st week was the worst and then the surgeon loosened up the bands. I have been on liquid for 4 weeks now. I have 2 more weeks until they take the splint out. I cannot wait. Overall life is good. I am still a little swollen but I cannot get over the new found confidence that I have and I am not close to be done with this journey yet. I am loving it so far. I can’t wait to see my teeth in a couple of weeks and then hopefully in March my braces come off. Good luck to everyone having surgery. It is worth it.
November 30, 2011 at 11:39 am
Anything that is coconut-flavored sounds pretty good to me. Thanks for the suggestions, Mike!
November 30, 2011 at 10:01 am
I had a bimax at Stanford two days ago and your blog was very helpful with my preparations. Thank you so much! I came home the next day and strangely I woke up to even less swelling on day three. I have only two suggestions for others. I have found the Res-Q-Vac portable/manual suction device to be quite useful, and I also think coconut water to be the near perfect beginning clear liquid. Mike
November 23, 2011 at 11:36 pm
I’m glad you have Canadian influence in your life, Elizabeth. Hehe!
You should make a New Year’s resolution to have your jaw fixed. It’s a resolution you’re guaranteed to fulfill!
November 23, 2011 at 8:52 pm
I’m so happy I came across your blog! I’m having double jaw surgery on January 3, 2012. What a way to start the new year, by having my jaws broken. They are moving my bottom jaw forward and raising/pushing my top jaw back. Fun times. Thank you for sharing your experience and it was also good to read other peoples comments. Your smile looks great!
I told my mom I found a Canadian who has a blog about their experience. She was excited as she is Canadian herself and we still go visit relatives in Ottawa. Hope all is still well for you.
November 23, 2011 at 7:43 am
Frank, that’s great to hear that you’re all healed up (for the most part)! It’s pretty incredible how things come together in the end, isn’t it?
You’ll be in an even better place once your orthodontic work is complete as well.
Lovin’ your cyborg picture too!
November 23, 2011 at 12:14 am
Hey Graham,
This is Frank again, approaching the 6 month mark ! (Dec. 6th). Everything worked out fine, I’m close to normal as soon as these braces come off. Bone has healed to perfection. Its a cool feeling i guess to see the xray and know you have titatnium plates and screws on your face ! No numb patches on my face. Upper gums are still numb though, but surgeon says its still too soon to be 100% healed. Bite is still being worked on by orthodontis. On my right side all molars touch nicely, but not on the right side. Have been wearing elastics to correct that. Its been a while but I’ve gained all the weight (and some more back), energy is back. Thanks again buddie…
November 21, 2011 at 8:07 pm
Yeah one of my best friends goes to the u of a!
She sent me a nice snowy picture. I sent her one
Of lethbridge. It was +5! Haha but we finally got snow
And it’s getting cold! But it’s much worse up your way.
And thanks for the congrats. I hope to read ur blog during my recovery to add some humor to my life. 🙂
November 21, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Too cold? It was near -30˚ this weekend! My car barely started!
In other news, congratulations on getting this operation booked. Just think about how happy you’ll be next Christmas!