Sorry for not posting in quite awhile. I just bought my first home and have been very busy with everything that goes along with that. I just moved in this past Saturday and lucky for me I got my braces off the very next Tuesday! I will just say briefly that when they removed them, it was not pleasant at all. It was pretty uncomfortable and it did hurt a little. If you get the ceramic or clear braces like I did, they apparently are made of glass and tend to break into pieces when they remove them with this tool. Mine did break up into a few pieces and one little piece got stuck and it took some strength for him to get it off. That part wasn't nearly as bothersome as when they shave off the rest of the glue. It was just really uncomfortable and I didn't like the feeling it sent shocking up into the roots. But I got through it and they feel fine now. I was given a retainer after molding right there at the appointment. It fits super nice and snug. She said I'm supposed to wear this thing for 9 months, only removing it to eat. I'm also getting another retainer I guess just for at night in about 4 weeks. She said after the 9 months I can switch to just wearing the retainer at night and then eventually just a couple nights a week. She said it's different for each person. My teeth really weren't that bad to begin with though, it was mainly just my bite so I'm not sure I'll really have to wear these things to the extent they are saying. It is probably better if I do though.
I have to be honest, I am still partially numb from the surgery. I really think it's still coming back slowly but I don't know maybe I'm just being hopeful. I think I've already accepted the fact that it isn't coming back and it really isnt that bad. Part of my chin is semi-numb but I can still feel the nerves like a spiderweb in my chin. If i touch one part i can feel the web of nerves all throughout right to the root of my teeth. It has no affect on my facial features at all though. Well I think that is all I have. I'll still receiving notifications if people find this blog and ask questions and I'll always respond. I mostly did this for myself to put some thoughts down and read about other people's experiences as well, but if there were people reading along thank you for checking in. Good luck to you all!
Ahhh that is soo cool!! Congratulations!! Hope everything goes well for you from now on and thanks for your blog and being another male blogger!! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks good luck to you as well!
DeleteSuper news that your braces are off. Congratulations :)
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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ReplyDelete21.5 months.
DeleteHello Tom,
ReplyDeleteI'm french...so, sorry in advance for my faults :)
I've read your blog, seen your pics...i've got exactly the same problem you had. Open bite, only my wisdom teeth are in contact. Now, i've got muscle pain around my jaw and it's very difficult for one year. I saw an orthodontist and...:i have to wear a dental appliance + jaw surgery to close my open bite. (procédure : around 20 months). I'm 33 years old...argghhhhh.
I have some questions for you if you don't mind :
- Before brackets and surgery, did you have muscle pain around your jaw? and what about now?
- I've conflicting opinions about my case : physiotherapists say "no surgery, it will be worse" and ortho and surgeons say "you have to follow the procedure,if not it will be even worse" : i'm sure you heard that too in 2011..so, for you,what was your trigger?
- this is a common question i know: if you had to do it again, would you do?
Thank you very much for your answers, your blog is very important for people like me !
Cheers
Hi,
DeleteTo answer a few of your questions. I never had any serious pain. However, going back to the days before I had my wisdom teeth out and they were also the only teeth touching, I used to grind my teeth really bad. Any night I didn't wear my night guard and even some that I did wear it, I would feel some soreness at the joint area of the jaw. I was told that is mostly due to the clenching that occurred while I was sleeping. I never saw a physiotherapists. I was just blatantly told by my dentist to bite down and stick my tongue out which I could do at the time to make me realize how bad it was. They said there would be long term effects of not having it cured now so I should go see an orthodontist. I went to him and then he told me about braces and surgery. Then I went to a surgeon and he said to definitely get the braces to start and then he would decided later on if the surgery should take place. After a few months with braces i went back and he said they would proceed with the surgery. So I guess in the end it was my decision but I simply went by their advice. So the big common question, would I do it all again? The short answer is I wouldn't like to because it sucked haha but am I glad I did it? Yes I am happy with the results. The only thing that makes me regret it all even slightly is the fact that I only have about 50 to maybe 65% of the feeling left in my chin. It doesn't really bother me. The lip numbness bothered me the most but that has since come back about 95%. The major thing was fixing the bite and the smile though and I'm really satisfied with those results. It is no doubt a long process but you just have to try not to think about it while you're going through it and focus on living your life. I always used to tell myself, what would I be doing differently right now if my braces were off? And usually the answer was nothing haha. Anyway I hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions.
Good Luck to you.
Hey, I have been reading your blog, I had double jaw surgery 2 weeks before for my open bite, I had 6 plates screwed inside my face.. Am worrying about these plates, will it cause any problem in future?? Shall I leave it inside face rt, or do we need to remove??? Have you heard about anyone who removed it because of complications?? Pls comment...
ReplyDeleteThe plates are permanent so they stay in there, I still have them in my jaw. I haven't really had any complications with the plates or overall. Sometimes my jaw cramps up when looking down like where my glands are in my throat but I'm not even sure that has anything to do with my surgery or not. Especially since it's so long after and I'm just now noticing. I forgot all about this blog though, I hope it's helpful still and let me know if you have any other questions.
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