Final Pictures!

Stolen from my orthodontist: The first picture is just to show off the screws in my face - no braces now though! Then right side is before, left side is after, and I'm afraid you'll just have to guess for the teeth.

17 Month Update/ Day 530: UNFETTERED!

12/18/10 - I'm the one with the teeth

Even though this picture is from 2010, it's one of the better ones that showcases what my bite was like before surgery. That's me actually biting down or trying to at least. Also, it's sepia because it's so olde.

I kind of miss my open bite in a weird way because it was like my fun fact. It wasn't inconvenient, it wasn't painful - doctors just told me that if I didn't fix it, it would be the biggest regret of my life, etc. etc.

I don't know if they would have been right, but I mean, why risk a life of pain and discomfort? And even if they were wrong, it sure is a lot easier to eat a slice or three of pizza now. And it's just very satisfying to be able to completely bite through something as opposed to biting and tearing - fruit being the main example, but sandwiches and cheesesticks come to mind as well.

11/14/2016 - Brace free!

So now my braces are off. After 3+ years, I'm so happy. I literally went home and ate an apple without slicing it and I almost cried it was just so beautiful.

Despite my joy, I'm also having a bit of an identity crisis, like, whose teeth are these? Because I've never seen them naked with my bite fixed, it's just startling whenever I look in the mirror.

I do have a retainer for the top and bottom of my teeth. It's basically Invisalign. I have it on in the picture and I don't think you can really tell. They told me to wear it full time for four months and then just at night for the rest of my life or else my teeth will revert. Eh. We'll see.

So, I guess that's it. I'm done!😂😋🙌

Oh, before I go: I never regained full feeling on the right side of my chin, the right side of my lower lip is still partially numb, and the roof of my mouth right behind my front teeth is still completely numb. But honestly, it's not a big deal. I've adjusted and they'll probably be my new fun facts. Cheerio!

06/05/2015

06/05/2015

1.3 Year Update - in which I complain about braces

Because The Walking Dead is coming back on soon, I'm just really relating to this right now. It's a fear, maybe not an entirely realistic one, but definitely not impossible. Going on 3+ years of braces now,  I just feel like with every passing day I'm one step closer to an apocalypse in which I'll be stuck with braces.

BUT there is some good news! Because I'm moving, and therefore won't be around my orthodontist ever again, I'm pretty sure they will be off by the end of November - they have to be :)

My next ortho appointment is in two weeks, and so by then hopefully my teeth will have officially "stabilized." They'll probably need to keep stabilizing until the end of November though, considering all the time they've taken to stabilize thus far. And to be honest, my bite is still not perfect. It's never going to be. But my teeth touch and I was happy with that a long time ago. So what I'm trying to say is it just seems kind of superfluous to aim for this unattainable degree of perfection.

I'm cynical and I'm bitter. And I'm also 70% confident that my braces will be off by the end of November!

One Year Update

02/05/16

 06/08/16

I still have braces.

I honestly thought they'd be off at this point, just based off of everything that I read. It just goes to show that everyone is different and that some midlines are more easily aligned than others.

But I soldier on. It wouldn't be so frustrating if my orthodontists wouldn't keep telling me "Oh, definitely next time," and then next time rolls around and it turns into "You're not quite there yet. See you back in 4 more weeks." Not to be melodramatic, but I think I may have braces forever.

06/07/15

I was looking back at photos from this time last year, and this would've been day 4 post-op and boy was that a rough time.

06/08/15

Currently, half of my bottom lip and half of my chin remains numb, as does the part of my palate right behind my upper front teeth. But I don't notice the numbness much and nobody can tell because it's not like I drool or can't drink from a glass. It's just annoying when you're putting on chapstick and the like. I do still get sharp shooting pains on the left side of my jaw, but that's only when I wear rubber bands for a prolonged period of time. Another frustration with braces.

Well, the next time I update will be to either confirm my fear of lifelong braces OR to celebrate my newly naked teeth, hopefully around June 27th. Fingers crossed for the latter!!