Nine Week Post Surgery Update

So last week's appointment went like this: 50 minute drive to the Surgeon's office, wait 45 minutes past my scheduled appointment time, 3 minute check-up with a surrogate surgeon because my two primary surgeons are in surgery, 2 1/2 hour drive home through Washington, DC traffic.

A huge waste of time in my opinion.

I did manage to schedule my next post surgery appointment in conjunction with my Orthodontist appointment ... I'll still have the traffic to deal with but at least I won't have to do it twice.

I'll post more next week after my two appointments.

Photo Slide Show

Quick Hello

Hey guys. Not a lot going on Ortho-wise so I thought I’d respond to a few of your comments.

Mary – you know, it is the small things, the getting back to “normal” things, that make me realize how far along in this whole process I’ve come. It seems like only a little while ago that the braces were first put on when, in reality, it’s been two and a half years already.

Kristen – yup, I still have a bit of numbness but it’s pretty much relegated to the left side of my lower lip and chin area. It’s weird too … I’ll be sitting there and then my lip and chin will feel like they’re jumping and jerking due to the nerves coming back. I keep looking in the mirror to make sure I’m not making any weird faces :) . The diet is getting better – lately I’ve been branching out a bit to various restaurants (Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que and a couple of Italian ones in the area). And it’s funny – I have absolutely no desire to hit the fast food drive-thru. Hopefully I can stick with that!

Aixa – Hey! I’m not sure on the time-line for the elastic bands … it could be that the Orthodontist will have me stop wearing them after my next appointment or I could wear them until I have the braces removed. The good thing is that I can take the elastic bands off when eating and then put them back on after brushing/flossing.

Mrs Shanton - :) It’s funny (now) but I could only find one or two pictures of me smiling pre-surgery. It’s not something I consciously thought about – I just developed a habit of not smiling when cameras were pointed in my direction. It feels good knowing there’s now a natural symmetry to the lower third of my face.

One last thing … If you haven’t done so already, please check out Brandy’s Blog . She underwent both upper and lower jaw surgery just over a week ago and is making a fantastic recovery.

Two Month Post Surgery Update

Well, here it is ... two months already. Time is definitely flying by.

I managed to sneak in to the Orthodontist's office last week after my appointment with my Optometrist (one of the benefits of military medicine is all of the doctors offices are co-located within the hospital). My eyes were dilated and I didn't feel like driving by braille 40 miles back to work in the middle of the day (and it was a sunny day to boot) so I checked with the Orthodontist's secretary to see if there had been any cancellations / no-shows. Luckily for me there was and I got in to see him right away.

During the visit he removed the archwires (and surgical hooks) and I was able to floss and brush without interference (Yay!) for the first time in months ... it was awesome. He then replaced the archwires and had me start using rubber bands again - he wants try and align the midlines a bit more. My next appointment with the surgeons is on 5 June and my Orthodontist follow-up appointment is three weeks after that.

Things are progressing nicely ... in fact, the changes are so minimal now that there's really not alot to post about. I'll do the best I can with the updates so I hope ya'll check back again.

No Update This Week

I received a call from the Orthodontist's office informing me that I needed to reschedule today's appointment. Turns out my Orthodontist scheduled a little vacation time this week but, apparently, didn't tell his office staff.

Needless to say I'm a bit frustrated. This is week 7 post-surgery and was supposed to be my first post-surgery ortho appointment. I've rescheduled for Thursday next week so I'll hopefully have more updates then.

Calling All Orthognathic Surgery Survivors!

Did any of you fellow Orthognathic surgery survivors notice a shifting in your upper and/or lower midlines between the time you had your surgery and going back into regular orthodontic treatment?

I've noticed that my lower midline has moved about 2 mm off center (back to the left side) over the past six weeks and that my bite is a wee bit off as well. I know that additional movement is often needed after the surgery to finalize tooth placement so I'm hoping that's what is needed now.

I'll ask the Ortho directly when I see him next week but would like to hear personal experiences from fellow jaw surgery people too.

Thanks!

Week Six Post Surgery Update

Not a lot going on this week. The swelling is still around but it's slowly going down. I'll be seeing the Orthodontist this coming Wednesday (23 May) ... the appointment is scheduled to last an hour. Maybe it's wishful thinking but I hope he decides to replace the archwires and take off the surgical hooks.

Will update again after next week's Ortho visit.