My Double Jaw Surgery

About time to fix my jaws.

[fixmyjaws]

2 months on

I’m still in my retainers full time, for one more month.

I noticed that there are a lot of changes and new things that I had to learn that I never knew I never knew.

For example, for most of my life (i.e. pre-surgery) my lower jaw had two positions: The first was when the molars touch each other, which is what I did when I chew, rest my mouth when I didn’t have anyone to impress. However in this position I couldn’t close my mouth properly because I had lip trap.  The second position was when my incisors touch each other, meaning I bring my jaw forward, which is what I used when I bite food or try to mask my occlusion. In that position I had lip incompetence, i.e. a “strawberry chin” because my mouth muscles were straining to keep my mouth closed.

Now that’s all gone, thankfully, and there is only one jaw position for both biting and chewing and at rest.

What I never knew, though, is that it feels weird to chew like that.  I wished for this for most of my life and then it felt weird..? My mouth is not used to it and it makes me not want to eat things, but I have to to get the practice.

Also, when I try to bite and chew hard foods, like those really hard gummy candies you get here in Sweden, my jaw hurts.  I feel like even though my jaw bones have healed, it does not have the same strength that it did pre-surgery.

[fixmyjaws]

BRACES OFF!!!

I got my braces off on Saturday 21st April! I WAS THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD!!!!

Could you see how ecstatic I was? It felt so unreal!

Also, what I didn’t expect and nobody told me was that the teeth are still kind of sore and sensitive because they’re used to being in braces, so my biting into hard (because it’s refrigerated) chocolate right away in an attempt to stuff my face to celebrate was kind of a bad idea. Ease into it folks! Don’t start eating previously forbidden foods right away! It’s so awesome how easy it is to clean my teeth now and don’t have to worry about everything get stuck in my braces despite multiple brushings and metal bits assaulting my inner lip and cheeks!

YAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHSSSSSS OMG YASSSS!!!!!!!! The first pic is literally the first selfie I took as I got out of the dental clinic. And the next two were selfies as the day go on. Well you can see I couldn't stop showing my teeth! The last pic is a Before picture, for comparison.

And that concludes my orthognathic surgery journey! Except for retainers of course :p

[fixmyjaws]

10th Month Update OMG GREAT NEWS GUYS!!!!!

MY BRACES ARE COMING OFF NEXT VISIT! SCHEDULED 21ST APRIL!!!!

This has got to be the happiest news I’ve ever heard in a very long time! My visit was last week by the way, sorry I was busy. Better yet, it’s coming off a month early! Apparently the doc is very happy with my progress. I’m just soo happy!!!

[fixmyjaws]

8th Month Update

I almost regret the white power chains. What spurred me to choose white as the colour of my power chains for this month I don’t know, and now it stands in a stark contrast to my teeth and my teeth looks so...dark in comparison. Ugh.  My teeth have always been this colour by the way.

My teeth (specifically curve of spee) don’t curve as much anymore and I’m very happy with that. It’s even almost straight now.

That gap on the top right side of my teeth is still there and I’m not convinced that it’s closed up any since last month. In fact the orthodontist even exclaimed that there’s still a gap and I could sense the disappointment in his voice. He even doubled down on the power chains, but I think this time he hooked the double chain on either side even further back. I’m in a lot of pain right now.

That’s all I have to report.

[fixmyjaws]

7th month update

Sorry for the horrifying manic looking grin and joker-like lipstick :P

Changed to light blue power chains now! It’s kinda cute! I mean for all the frustration and angst that braces give me, changing the colour of my power chain is the one thing that I kind of look forward to on my appointments.  I want to try every colour my orthodontist has to offer! I seem to have some extra rubber bands to speed up the gap closure on my lateral incisors/canines as well.

It’s even not that bad now anyway.  I asked my orthodontist when I can expect to take my braces off because I’m planning to move country next year.  He said that it’s either April or May next year, and I’m really delighted to hear that because that’s exactly when I plan to move!  He said that it’s mostly done, and that we are just doing some finishing touches now, like closing the gaps on my top teeth and working on the over eruption on my anterior bottom teeth.  The over eruption is still there but I think it’s improved significantly in the past few months.

I’m also not hurting anywhere nearly as bad now as I used to even just a few months ago after each adjustment. Maybe it’s really true! YAY!

By the way, this will be my last update before I reach my big 3-0! AHH!

[fixmyjaws]

6th month update

My 6th month anniversary was last week (9th Nov) and had my braces adjusted a few days ago.

It still hurts but doesn’t hurt as much as the last time. I guess my teeth are used to power chains now.

I’m getting increasingly anxious about having braces. I mean, I’m turning 30 next month! Who wants to be a thirtysomething brace face?! Sure, braces are cool nowadays but it feels like shit!

So I asked my orthodontist how much longer can I expect to still have braces and he said 1.5 years and that it will be there until my bones heal completely. That’s quite a difference from the one year as per his original quote! Then I asked him specifically how many more months he said he doesn’t know and will check for me for the next appointment.

I also asked him what work still needs to be done on my teeth, and he replied, “align my teeth and close the gaps” Im like DUH that’s the whole point of me having braces in the first place innit!?  But my bf told me the reason doctors talk to us like as if we’re idiots is because they don’t want to come across as arrogant or something. Anyway I didn’t think my teeth moved that much but compared to last month’s photo, that huge gap between my upper teeth is less huge now and the over-eruption of  lower incisors doesn’t look as bad.

On a good note, the colour of my power chain now matches the colour of my hair! haha!

[fixmyjaws]

5 months update and power chains.

So FIVE months have gone by. Quick, huh?

The pics were from Saturday when I had my latest orthodontic appointment. The doc gave me the strongest arch wires and power chains. Does that mean that my orthodontic treatment is near the end? I sure hope so! But I don’t dare to be so optimistic. I mean, I’m soo ready to have my braces off!!! There’s not a day that doesn’t go by that I don’t wish I don’t have braces. I spent the next few days in so much pain and had to take painkillers and can barely eat anything. I have enough of that!  Also looking at the pics, I still have a bit of over-eruption in my lower anterior teeth so that still needs fixing.

Orthodontic appointments are down to only every month now, too, so I’m really happy about that.

I really hope now that i have power chains that stupid hideous gap between my lateral incisor and canine (on the second pic) will close soon! 

I think I look completely normal now. Swelling has gone down completely.  Feeling has mostly returned; there’s still a spot slightly to the left side of my chin and lower lip that is a tiny bit numb. I read that there is a fraction of jaw surgery patients who never fully recover their sensation. I don’t honestly know how long it’d take but  I’ll be on my sixth month soon and if nothing improves by then I don’t hope that it will get any better.

[fixmyjaws]

109 days since the surgery

I changed my hair! now i’m a redhead! but let me told you my hair is really hating it and it’s in a terrible shape right now.

and I have a new obsession now! Blue lipstick! This is Kat von D liquid lipstick in Echo.

I went to the orthodontist yesterday and ...well I think he’s..I don’t know. A sadist or something.

I thought I was finally going to get my power chains on my top teeth and then he changed his mind, and then held a pair of pliers between my top front tooth bracket, said that this “is going to hurt a bit” and promptly proceeded to RIP the bracket out of tooth! WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!????

then he put something on my teeth and it has that awful high pitched drilling noise and with a  BURNING SMELL. That was really disturbing

then he bonded my bracket back on my tooth again.

But seriously this guy is just a psycho or something...

Anyway I just have normal archwires for now.

Friends who haven’t seen me in a while kept telling me how different I look and how my chin is far more forward now! Ooh!

[fixmyjaws]

87th day since my surgery

Okay lets’ pretend this is Saturday because that’s when the pic was taken :D

As I’m approaching 3 months I’m finally able to eat more types of food.  On Friday and Saturday I went to eat dinner with my colleagues and family (respectively). They ended up choosing to eat similar things though, so what I’ve been eating over the weekend includes:

mapo/mala tofu

brinjal with some yummy meat sauce

steamed tofu with century eggs

sweet & sour pork

egg fried rice

kung pao chicken

red bean bun

in those two dinners, and on top of those I remember eating:

yoshinoya beef curry rice

ice cream on cone (FINALLY)

sausage rolls

so yes  a lot of indulging over the weekend and it’s actually showing ...my tummy looks doughier than usual XD

Well I should be eating more anyway, my bowel movements have been kind of ...just sluggish and meh since i had my surgery mainly because I haven’t been able to eat anything.

Anyway it seems like everyone - as in my colleagues and family - are so keen to feed me for some reason! Or to see me eat “normal” food again :p

And yes also it’s the day I saw my surgeon and he looked around my mouth for 2 minutes, declared he’s happy with his work and wants to see me again in 6 months time, which is just before CNY.

[fixmyjaws]

84th day since the surgery

Had my archwires replaced on Saturday.  The orthodontist’s assistant gave me a bunch of colorful stuff and asked me to pick a color. I didn’t know what it was but assumed that it’s going to be on my braces, and after a bit of thought I went for the clear one.  I wanted something like pink or blue, but thought it might clash with my hair or lipstick color and plus there was a part of me that thought that i’m a bit too old to have colorful stuff in my mouth. I later found out they’re power chains.

I tried to look for it in my braces and I couldn’t find it anywhere! And not just because I chose transparent power chains! I think my orthodontist just changed his mind or something. He did that some appointments ago as well. He wanted to make me wear elastics and until now I never had to wear them.

I think my current arch wires are super thick and strong, too. I can barely eat anything (again). I would try to chew and then the movement of chewing just makes me teeth painful and so uncomfortable, so it takes me so much longer to finish even a meal and I haven’t been finishing many of my meals.  So these days I just try not to eat/chew if possible so I’m back on Ensure for 2 of my daily meals again, or only eat when I’m hungry to the point of being dizzy/lightheaded.

I got so frustrated with it that I even cried yesterday.  It’s the first time I ever cried about my teeth since my journey began.  Sometimes I wish I could just rip my braces off.

Though the good news is that the appointment is now spaced to every three weeks.

[fixmyjaws]

79th day since the surgery

Today marks the first day since the surgery that I went out to eat with my colleagues. It’s a HUGE milestone for me HOORAY!

That’s what I ate. Tbh it’s a very unremarkable ramen. I don’t know why I keep going back to that restaurant haha :p maybe I keep on hoping it will be better.

I’m not sure if I’ll go out and eat regularly with my colleagues like before though, so much food got stuck in my braces after I eat and I can’t just poke around my mouth to pick out the food bits while I sit with them so I just had to cover my mouth a lot while I talked or laughed etc.  Felt really self-conscious.

[fixmyjaws]

75th day since surgery

Recovery is progressing steadily! Most of the time I don’t even look swollen, not even a least bit. Not even to myself! So that’s good!

I’ve regained a lot of feeling in my chin, lower lip and jaws. Now I’m only about 20-30% numb and I am happy to report that I can smile fully now.

My braces are still a pain, quite literally. But at least this twice a month orthodontist visit is getting things moved really quickly. My teeth looks so straight now and my molars are touching, though not perfectly yet. The unevenness on my bottom teeth is gone now.  So I still use lidocaine gel sometimes when things get tough.

I’m also happy to report that I can eat a lot more things now because chewing doesn’t hurt nearly as much. Things that I have eaten recently that I wasn’t able to eat before are:

Texas Chicken wrap

Mcdonald’s double cheeseburger

unagi rice (but I didn’t eat those spring onion stalks)..and yes I no longer have to mash rice together!

sushi

However I still have Ensure for breakfast and lunch and instant noodles on weekdays, which means my diet is still kind of terrible.  Been taking multivitamins and fish oil tablets, but I notice that lately my hair falls out a lot each time I shower. At first I thought it’s because my hair is really processed but I’ve been dying my hair for a few years and this is only a recent thing, then I read that stress of the surgery and limited diet tends to do that to hair.  I guess the problem is temporary and should resolve itself soon...hopefully.

I never thought I’d be able to look and feel normal again but now I have hope. For those who are in the same process - be patient, there is light at the end of the tunnel!

[fixmyjaws]

I had my braces tighhtened on Saturday.

My bottom teeth are much straighter now and my molars are already beginning to touch but I still feel so massively uncomfortable as I always do when I get my braces tightened. TBH I have no idea how teenagers and young people can have braces for 3-5 years or however many years on end! I have had this for only a few months and I’m just about to go nuts!  I really hope I don’t have to have this for much longer.

Also my dark circles are really improving. I don’t know if it’s because my mandible is larger and therefore my tongue has more space to rest so I can breathe a lot easier at night, or because the eye cream I’m using at night. In this pic I only used 1 layer of concealer when before I had to use corrector + 2 layers tof concealer to achieve the same effect. ha ha :p

[fixmyjaws]

65th day after surgery

Nothing much is up these days. I have an orthodontic appointment tomorrow.

I didn’t realise how crooked my teeth were until I really looked at my x-rays!  I know they’re not perfect but I didn’t think it was this bad! It’s also really apparent now in contrast to how my teeth currently look like, especially my bottom teeth. 

I still can’t chew but I’m eating a lot of soft foods now, like instant noodles because they’re soft and easily mashed up in my mouth. Cereals soaked in milk until soggy.

In other words, diet is still really limited. 

my bottom teeth hurt when I brush my teeth. I guess my lower jaw was really undersized and my bottom teeth were really crowded and so the braces are really moving them now, that’s why they hurt so disproportionately much compared to my top teeth.

[fixmyjaws]

A bunch of x-rays!

Got a bunch of x-rays from my surgeon’s practice! GAH, it’s so painful to see how fat I am!

1. The “before” x-ray.  Note how my dental brackets form only one line, especially on the front of my teeth. It means I had a complete overbite/deep bite.

2. The “after” x-ray. Taken 5 days after my surgery.  Skull was clearly in 3 pieces but at least you can see 2 rows of dental brackets now!

3. The “before” panorama x-ray.  Here you can clearly see that the front part of my bottom teeth formed a bell shape.  My jaw was tilted as well

4. The “after” panoramic x-ray.”

5. The “before” profile x-ray.

6. The “after” profile x-ray.

[fixmyjaws]

60th day since surgery

WOW, exactly TWO months since surgery! Time flies! I can’t believe it’s this fast!

I also  thought it was time I eat some fresh fruits! I was so excited and looking forward to it but it turns out that I still couldn’t eat much of it - it still requires a bit too much chewing. I hardly ate the pineapple. Also the powder thing is the plum powder thing that we sometimes eat with fruit.

I’m happy to report that the one lower tooth that’s way too high up is now pretty much level with my other teeth now, therefore the gap between my upper and lower jaws are closing.

Met some friends I haven’t seen in a while on Saturday and he commented that I lost weight and TBH I know I have but considering how massive I was when I started ...I think I’ll have a long way to go before i can be considered “thin” but OH WELL. I don’t know, it’s just frustrating..and I just feel gross.

[fixmyjaws]

dates mixed up

Seems like i got a few dates mixed up. They’re fixed.