Days 15 - 29

Four weeks down, three to go! Until I can eat, anyway. Probably another four to five months till the braces come off, which is somewhat depressing. I haven't posted for the past two weeks because not a whole lot has changed. I still can't chew on anything and my face is still puffy. I do look more normal now, which has allowed me to go out in public without being self-conscious. I also got my surgical hooks removed at my orthodontic appointment yesterday and it was truly exciting. My mouth is no longer being ripped to pieces by those sharp metal posts. So far, I've had my doctors tell me a couple of things that are not consistent with most of what I've read of others' experiences with jaw surgery. The first thing is that I will be able to eat after seven weeks, not six like I've heard almost everyone (including the nurse at his office) say. I know one week isn't a huge deal, but I am dying for some real food. The other thing is that my orthodontist told me that even though my teeth are almost perfectly straight right now, he has to leave the braces on for six months. On various dental, orthodontic, and oral surgery websites, it says braces can be removed anywhere between 3-6 months. My surgeon has also said this multiple times. To just be wearing braces for so long without them actually doing anything is incredibly irritating to me. Is there a reason for this? After a total of over 8 years of these evil things in my mouth, I am more than ready to get them off.

Anyway, overall this experience has gone smoother than I expected. At times, it does get extremely frustrating, and I feel like I'm super paranoid about something going wrong. But I like my bite and my profile much better now, and I think once this is all over I will be so happy I did this. I think my swelling has gone down enough to do a before and after. I'm still swollen, especially under my jaw line, but it's cool to see the slight difference that makes me feel 100 times better about my profile.


Front before and after...not very different

Left and right profiles before and after...the difference isn't huge but it's noticeable to me and I like it lots.

More later!