Day 333: Seriously, Part II

To be honest, you just have to kind of laugh, especially after what I had written a few days ago!

I visited my Orthodontist today because I have been experiencing a super sensitive tooth (top, front middle) and whenever I have anything cold to eat or drink not only does it hurt but throbs for a long time afterwards.

This is particularly disturbing as my favorite food group would be iced-drinks and ice-cream. Major inconvenience. I started using Sensodyne toothpaste a month or so ago and it has helped but not to the point where it is not irksome!

In my head, I had associated this discomfort with the fact that I only started to feel this pain after my braces were removed and the permanent retainers were bonded to my teeth. Guess what, I was wrong apparently in this belief.

The good news? There isn't any.

The bad news? My Orthofdontist thinks that my tooth is dying and that I need a root canal performed on that tooth!!! ARGH! Seriously, are you kidding me, a root canal!?

I left his office not an overly happy chap let me tell you as now I am looking at a root canal on top of all the other issues I discussed just two days ago.

I called my dentist (I realise that I have waaay too many dental professionals in my life what with my Oral Surgeon, my Orthodontist, and my Dentist) to make an appointment and they asked me a series of questions to see if I needed to be seen that very day as apparently you do not want to let potentially dead teeth go untreated for any length of time.

I answered the questions and apparently I am ok to wait a few days as I have no swelling, infection, acute pain, etc.,etc. I wanted to tell her, the way things are going, just wait, I am sure I will in a day or two but I refrained! :) The reality is although the tooth is rather sensitive it has been so for many a month and as long as I do not eat or drink anything super cold I really am fine.

I most definitely do not want a root canal, not least because I am tired of paying copay's in my life! The last year has proven to be rather expensive where all of this is concerned and if I can avoid any more expenses, I would be most grateful!

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Day 331: Seriously . . .

Every now and again I will be honest and say that all the lingering issues somewhat frustrate me and let me just say now that today was one of those days :)

I really have little to complain about in terms of the surgery unless you count the nerve damage, super sensitive tooth, jaw and headaches, and the fact that I chew the inside of my cheek incessantly! I am being a tad saracastic obviously as really, I just get on with life and non of the above issues really affect me negatively. Much to be said I think for a positive outlook in life.

However, today I went to see my Oral Surgeon as I had a few questions, specifically:

• Will I ever regain feeling in my lower lip, chin, and right cheek.

• Why is my jaw popping out, or so it feels, when I yawn (see previous post)

• What are we going to do about my cottage-cheese inside-of-my-mouth

• Why is my front tooth so super-sensitive ever since my braces were removed

The answers were straightforward enough though certainly not what I wanted to hear!

Nerve Damage:
Given the fact that I feel a slight sensation when I very lightly brush my finger across my lips, chin, and cheek, he is very confident that I will regain feeling. One day. "Give it another year". Argh. 

Jaw Popping Out:
Apparently, my jaw joints are not strong enough anymore given their new position. Although obviously no work was done on the jaw joints themselves, what with the fact that I now have a new jawline position, the muscles, ligaments, whatever, are now used to how my jaw now operates and consequently they need to be strengthened. 

I didn't even know that you could strengthen your jaw muscles?! So, I need to go to physical therapy to learn some exercises and such in order to build up strength so that when I yawn, my jaw joints no longer pop out of position. Again, let me just say argh!

Cottage Cheese:
Simply answer to this issue is that he wants to extract the non-functioning tooth. It really serves no purpose anymore and all it is doing is chewing the inside cheek. So, I have to schedule another appointment to ave him remove the tooth. I apologise for being repetitious but argh!

Sensitive Tooth
See my Orthodontist :) I actually have an appointment with him scheduled for Thursday of this week so we will see what he has to say. Better be good news!


Even though I knew most of the answers and what he would say, it was kinda' depressing to be honest. It has been almost a year since my surgery and I am still looking at physio, a tooth extraction, and hopefully one day feeling will return in my lips and chin. Ah well, such is life eh!?!

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Day 37: Setback, Drifting, and Frittata . . .

I met with the oral surgeon today for my weekly visit; the fifth weekly visit is a bit of a milestone as it means that I now only have to wear my bands for two hours in the middle of the day and then in the evening from seven o'clock onwards! However, things didn't quite work out that way . . .

My scar tissue is still in a place where I am constantly biting it as well as my cheek (gross) and honestly, try biting your cheek every time you talk or eat. Not fun. At all. Dr. Egbert looked at it and essentially the issue is the back (no functioning) molar that simply doesn't have space given the fact that my lower jaw was moved so far forward.

It is interesting because when I am banded shut, my jaws are actually in perfect alignment and obviously I do not bite down on my cheeks and scar tissue. When the bands are off, however, my lower jaw is essentially floating although strong enough is not stabilised enough and so the jaws are not sitting in alignment and hence I am biting my cheek. Does this make sense?

How about this: Basically, when the bands are on and the jaws are aligned, I do not bite my cheek as they close and open where they are supposed to. When the bands are off, my jaw drifts and consequently I end up biting my cheeks because they do not close where they are supposed to. That better? The truth of the matter is that I actually prefer wearing my bands presently rather than having them off due to the biting and aching that I have have been experiencing . . .

The solution? There are two options. The first option, and the one we are trying presently, is to band my teeth so that my jaws stay in alignment and will not drift. The Orthodontist will be able to move my teeth but obviously my jaws need to stay in position. So instead of wearing my bands for just two hours, I now have to band them shut for four hours in the middle of the day instead of two as well as early evening onwards.

If banding them does not stabilise the jaws, the next option will be to extract the non-functioning molar. In reality, the tooth is no doing anything as it does not bite down on any other teeth due to my jaw being moved forward so it really will not matter. Still, what a hassle. We will give it a month and see if things improve before making a decision on the tooth. Stay tuned.

Final item: As you know, my diet is less than ideal but today I ate great, tasty food! My wife made me a frittata and it was soooo tasty; slurpilicious, healthy, balanced, contains fruit and vegetables and it felt like I actually ate food. As in real food. As in food I ate before my surgery (without the chewing of course).  

Ahhhh, the good ol' days before surgery . . .

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Day 32: Need to be patient . . .

I am kind of fascinated with seeing the evolution of my face since my surgery, primarily because I hope to see daily changes as the swelling decreases and all of the changes in my jaw, cheeks, lips, chin, etc., start to settle and I can finally see the final product :)

Although I have taken photographs of my face everyday since my surgery, I very rarely have taken pictures of my profile as I figured, what's the point, given the swelling I am experiencing and how it affects the look, shape, contours, etc., of my face. I mean, let's be honest here, I presently have a chipmunk face. It is OK, you don't have to disagree - enough people tell me daily that I understand this is how I look presently . . .

Plus, if I am completely honest, I didn't want to be disappointed in my profile and not like it. I know, I know, patience, patience, patience, but it is easier said than done occasionally! So what do I do, given that I hit the 30 day post-surgery anniversary I decide to take profile picture and surprise, surprise, I don't like my profile! I think I look like one of those old fashioned boxers you used to see on TV with a flat face. I think my previous profile was better!

I am laughing really because I understand that in 8-12 months it will look great! Patience has never been a strong point what can I tell you! Once the swelling subsides and the Orthodontist does his magic, I will look like a million dollars (or at least $100?)

Moving on, I was good today about not wearing my bands according to the surgeon's schedule which allows me to take the bands off four times a day for two hours each time. I also exercised my jaw as he instructed me but let me tell you, I presently have the biggest headache and it feels as if I have weights attached to my jaws, pulling them down! Seriously aching and throbbing. I ended up taking a few Ibuprofen because it was bugging me so much.

The positive side to this however is the movement of my jaws and the fact that I can open my mouth more and more; I actually managed to fit a normal spoon in to my mouth today! You might think I celebrated this by eating a gourmet meal but alas not. I keep telling you that I am addicted to instant pudding and mashed potatoes :)  

But, in my defense, the potatoes were an upgrade from the normal variety we buy! Soooo tasty. That said, I really need to branch out and experience the post-surgery culinary delights that I keep reading about! For example, garlic mashed potatoes! :)

I have given up trying to shave with a normal razor, it just takes sooooo long and given the fact that really cannot fell anything in my chin and around my mouth, it makes it rather a difficult proposition to ensure that I do not hack away the skin on my face. So I reverted to an electric razor and voila, it was much easier! Nobody every mentioned the difficulties of shaving where the recovery period was concerned . . .

I continue to push my scar tissue in the hopes that I will not keep biting on it and although it was easy enough doing it yesterday, the scar tissue today seemed a lot more sensitive and it was somewhat irritable every time I touched it with the gauze pad. Plus the fact that the gauze pad kept getting caught on the surgical wire as well as the brace wings and I had to either pull and rip the gauze pad out of my mouth or else get a pair of scissors and cut the threads! There is always something to laugh about where this recovery is concerned. . .

My weight continues to go down but I am fine with that as I am sure it will rebound once I am eating and chewing normally. Except, when will that be? . . .

So, my goal for tomorrow: eat a different food that does not involve potatoes. I am not making any promises where instant pudding is concerned . . .

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Day 30: Scar Tissue, Sensitive Teeth, and Jaw Exercises

I cannot believe it has been one month since my surgery! Where has the time gone? I started reading from the beginning of my blog and it is kind of surreal reading about the dreaded week one of recovery as it was only three weeks ago and yet at the same time it seems an eon ago!

In light of my one month mark, I decided to present my biggest smile yet! :) As you can see, it is not really a smile, more of a menacing grimace, especially with the short hair cut I received today which now makes my head look huge! I fear my smile will be the same for a while due to the swelling. Still, happy anniversary to me! :)

I had another appointment with Dr. Egbert (Oral Surgeon) today to make sure everything is going OK; the good news is that I was a good boy last week and did not used my jaws to talk and instead I did what I was told and talked through my teeth. Granted, this may have had something to do with the fact that he banded me completely shut but regardless, I have decided to take the credit!

I had a few questions for him (I make a list as the week progresses) as it relates to the timetable moving forward as I will only see him for another fortnight before returning to my Orthodontia work so I need to get all my questions answered now!

The supporting wire that my Orthodontist put in last week seems to be loose as it constantly moving up and down. Dr. Egbert said that it needs to be more secure as he doesn't want anything to be moving so I have another appointment tomorrow at the Orthodontist . . .

Yesterday, I wrote about biting my cheek and apparently it is not my cheek per se that I am biting but rather I am biting on scar tissue as a result of the surgery. Apparently it takes three or so weeks for scar tissue to harden and so what he is having me do is to use a wet gauze pad, fold it, and then press the gauze pad down against the scar tissue which happens to be between my teeth and my cheek. By doing this, the scar tissue learns to stay in the place that it is pushed into. So basically, when I have my bands off, I now have a gauze pad stuck between my teeth and cheeks. I could pass as Marlon Brando in the Godfather. . .

The Doc. now wants me to start jaw exercises so that my jaw can open to its normal position. So twice a day, when my bands are out, he wants to me to try and first of all get both of my index fingers in to my mouth (either side of my mouth) without touching any teeth. If I can do that, I then try to get my thumbs in my mouth without touching any teeth. Sounds easy really. My index fingers were no problem, my thumbs less so. The result? Aching jaw joints! :)

In terms of chewing, not allowed for another fortnight or so and therefore I am still on my soft food diet. This is fine by me as honestly, I am not at all looking forward to learn to chew again. The bands get to stay on in their present position but I now can take them off four times a day for two hours each time. How great is that?!

My teeth, especially the last few weeks, have been really sensitive to anything cold and prior to surgery I did not suffer from sensitive teeth whatsoever. In fact, I would have ice in all of my drinks so you can imagine the issue.

My surgeon said that sensitive teeth post-surgery are directly related to the numbness around your chin and mouth area. Once the nerves start repairing themselves and they start tingling (my lips are presently in that state and they are driving my crazy!) then the nerves affect your teeth roots and teeth and hence the sensitivity. Perfectly normal I was told and not to worry as the teeth will lose their sensitivity over time. Sidenote: I hear that expression, over time, a lot with this surgery :)

He said the only thing to do to help alleviate the sensation was to use a toothpaste like Sensodyne - he gave me a sample so we will see how well it works!

That is about it really for the day! I need to post all of the things I am learning in the FAQ section above and I will do so in the next few days.

Update: The Orthodontist called and said that I do not need to have the wire tightened after all. Dr. Egbert and my Ortho spoke and they agreed that it will be OK until I see My Ortho in a fortnight. . . . Good, one less appointment! :)

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