7 months post-op!

Wednesday 21st November 2018

Sorry for the lack of update! It's now been 7 months since my surgery - time goes so quickly!!

Not much has changed in terms of how my face looks, except for I think the swelling is mostly gone now. All of the numbness has also gone, which is great. My bottom teeth still feel quite sensitive, but I managed to eat an apple the other day for the first time in about 3 years!! I also occasionally get jaw pain on the right side of my face, especially if I don't wear my retainers (oops) but I think that's normal. I have been wearing my retainers alternate nights though.

I saw my surgeon last week and he said everything looks great but there's still a small gap between my top and bottom teeth on one side - apparently because my upper jaw is too narrow, but I don't think it can be corrected easily - plus I'm so done with dentistry!! I forgot to take photos of the x-ray - damn!

I've been to Amsterdam, the USA and Cornwall since my last post - managed to get some time off work! I have just quit my job and am heading out to the French alps for a ski season next week, exciting!

An attempt at a before/after photo - I failed miserably at taking before photos, sorry.

Amsterdam!

My friend's wedding

The US!

Braces off!!

Tuesday 7th August 

My braces are finally off woooooo - I'm so happy!! It's been 3 months and 20 days since surgery.

I had an hours appointment today - it was pretty intense. They started by cleaning my teeth with sand which went everywhere and felt like I'd licked a beach. Then he glued on a small wire to the inside of my bottom front and top front teeth to stop them moving around. It's really neat and doesn't show much but feels a bit funny. After this he took my braces off and gave my teeth a really good clean and polish. My gums were bleeding by the end (I'm glad they are still a bit numb😂). They then made impressions for my retainers, which should be delivered to my house before the weekend. He showed me how to floss by doing it on himself, which was funny! Finally, some photos were taken for the records.

It feels great to have my teeth back and I haven't stopped smiling! The psychological trauma of having braces from 19 to 22 was much worse than the surgery! My orthodontist also said I'm still quite swollen around my nose and cheeks so hopefully that will go down soon. I'll probably add more pictures to this post in the next few weeks or do another update after a month or so.

I'm very thankful to the NHS and to my orthodontist (Mr Nick Smith) and surgeon (Mr Roger Webb). I was lucky to be treated by such experienced, kind and skilful people who made the journey much easier. Also thank you to my mum for putting up with me and coming to most of my appointments (even though I'm 22😂).

3 months post-op!

Sunday 22nd July 
It's now been 3 months since my op! I've had two appointments with my orthodontist since my last post - one where he gave me a horizontal band to wear at night (from top left to bottom right) and another where he moved a bracket - he's such a perfectionist (drives the dental nurse crazy!!). The right side of my mouth is biting better than the left so he's trying to sort this. He also took some molds for the permanent retainer he is going to fit.

I turned 22 on the 28th June - I was hoping I wouldn't still be in braces at 22 but oh well. I'm happy with my smile at the moment; definitely feel more confident and my speech is more defined.

My next appointment is in 3 weeks time and I am getting my braces off - I'm soooo excited!!! I never thought the day would come!! I will make sure to update on here!

Thank you to everyone who has been viewing my blog - I can see you're from all over the world which is cool!

Taylor swift concert!

22!

Cards for orthodontist and surgeon - teeth butterflies!

7 weeks post-op!

Monday 11th June 2018
Sorry for the delayed update! I am now 7 weeks and 4 days post op. I'm still wearing the two bands to sort out my midline - although I have forgotten to put them in some days. I started eating solid food at around 6 weeks, after eating soup at work for 10 days straight! It was a bit of a revelation and took a little while to get used to! The first thing I had was strawberry laces as I've always wanted to be able to bite one without having to use my hands to tear it - it was great!! The next day I had duck with mushrooms and rice which my friend had made (and assured me it was soft!) which was a bit harder to eat, but very tasty.

All was going well - my midline was becoming well aligned - until I ate a pizza about 2 days ago which was probably a bit too crunchy for my recovering jaw. Now my jaw feels a bit misaligned and keeps cracking when I move it and my front teeth aren't touching anymore. I'm hoping it will soon go back to the way it was, otherwise I will really regret that pizza. I'm returning to the less crunchy foods from now on!

The numbness in my cheeks has completely gone now, as well as in my chin - my bottom lip feels a bit tingly and my top gum is pretty numb still (this doesn't bother me-i'm just unaware when food is stuck there!). I think my lopsidedness has finally sorted itself out which is good! I've started using my electric toothbrush again as I can just about open my mouth wide enough. I'm back to normal with my exercise routine and also think I've put back on most of the weight I lost (darn).

Strawberry lace revelations!

4 weeks post-op!

Sunday 20th May
It's been just over 4 weeks since surgery! On Friday, I went to see my orthodontist again. He said that all was looking good and I got some x-rays taken. It was a very long appointment (even though he had only just managed to squeeze me in) as he took off some of the brackets and put them in new places, changed the wires and gave me new elastics. The elastics are in a new position to align the midpoint of my top and bottom teeth. He also managed to get rid of the gap between my two top teeth straight away! I would say that the change in elastics - having them pulling my bottom jaw backwards one side and pushing it forwards the other side - has been one of the most painful parts of recovery, particularly at night. It doesn't help when I lie on one side when I sleep but I can't help it!

I'm starting to get a bit fed up of blending all my food, but hopefully it will just be two more weeks.
I found out that I can't eat pizza for another two months though! 😭 Also, when I drink anything, it keeps partly coming out my nose- does this happen to anyone else?! By the way, I got the job and start tomorrow! I hope they have a microwave, otherwise it's cold soup every day for me. I think the interviewer felt sorry for me as I couldn't talk very well!

The swelling has definitely gone down a lot as I can smile properly and can nearly completely feel my cheeks. My bottom lip/chin is also coming slowly back to life. Some of my friends have said I don't look much different to before surgery and some people have said I do look different/younger/slimmer! I think I will put all the weight back on when I can eat again!!

3 weeks post-op

Thursday 10th May
It's been exactly 3 weeks since my surgery! Not too much to say but I do have a job interview tomorrow even though I'm still struggling to smile/speak - should go well😂. I'm starting to find it hard to close my mouth comfortably too, but hoping this is just where the feeling is coming back in places its still swollen. I will ask my surgeon about it on Tuesday. I'm also starting to get a small gap between my two front teeth which I think must be from the elastics either side - it's odd anyway - hopefully it won't get too much worse. I have a tennis match on Sunday (doubles) - I'm going to avoid being hit in the face!

Day 18 post-op

Monday 7th May
Not too much has changed with my swelling but i'm starting to get more feeling in my lips and chin :)  Smiling is gradually becoming easier, but still feels weird. I went to the cinema on Friday to see I Feel Pretty which is a comedy so my face hurt a lot afterwards😂. I also had a sleepover - it was meant to be a Eurovision sleepover but we got the date wrong - so we watched Britains Got Talent and I made an Oreo milkshake. I managed to sleep a bit upright on the sofa.

This bank holiday has been sooooo hot so i've tried to make the most of the sun (whilst occasionally icing my face!) We went to a river yesterday and out on our boat today. I resisted jumping in the water! The elastic band on my front teeth accidentally pinged somewhere at the beginning of the trip so I didn't have one on the whole day-oops. I managed to suck on a tuna sandwich today but mostly ate Pombears and cake, so was craving some vegetables for tea. I blended up carrots, broccoli, parsnips and a steak pie and had sweet potato too - it ended up being A LOT of food!!

Definitely filled me up

A chin!