Day 34

07/08/2015 - Splintless!

My splint was removed today!! I can talk normally again!! Woooo!!!

 It was a painless process, just a bit uncomfortable because it felt like my mouth was being stretched too far. But now the splint is out and surprisingly, my teeth are pretty clean. I do have rubber-bands again though.

I'd like to thank my waterpik (which I started to use again about two weeks ago) for the condition of my teeth -- It's really difficult for me to tell when I have food stuck anywhere because I still don't have feeling around certain places on the inside of my mouth, but the waterpik just blasts it all out. I definitely recommend one.

So for the first time I can actually see my teeth touching! It's wild to see and so weird to feel the sensation. I haven't gotten used to it yet. The only reservation I have is that it seems like I'm more likely to bite my tongue now. I never had to really worry about that happening before because of my open-bite. It just seems like a dangerous way to live, having your mouth be able to close completely...

07/08/2015

I asked my doctor about numbness because my chin and lower lip are still pretty numb and he said that it can take up to 6 months for full sensation to return. So there's that, but one good thing is that since my bottom lip is still pretty numb, I don't feel the braces and hooks cutting into my lip anymore. Up top it's a different story which requires a lot of wax.

Face-wise I definitely have more jaw definition now that the swelling has mostly gone down, but I have a kind of jowl thing happening due to that liquid diet I was on. My jaw muscles atrophied a bit and now I'm in the process of rebuilding them so in the future my cheeks won't be as droopy.

I also went to see my orthodontist today and that was one of the more painful experiences I've had mostly because that was the widest my jaw has been opened post-surgery. They took all the surgical hooks off and put in new wires and spacers. They also took an impression so I'll go back next week to get the wire thing for the roof of my mouth put in.

Yay progress!