DEBRACED!!!!

YES the day has finally come, I am a little late, but it is here, I am now free of the hated traintracks, i am no longer a brace face or metal mouth. I now have lovely pearly whites, perfectly straight and as fine as fine can be. 
So im prettty happy with the results, who wouldnt be after 5 years 5 months, to break it down it is 65 months, over 1967 days to be exact!! that is  quarter of my life.

 I was really paranoid that I would have stains or my teeth would look slightly yellow, i went throught all the worst case scenarios, but I everything worked out perfectly. I got them taken off 2 days ago, and it was not nearly as bad as i thought it would be, it was a little uncomfortable at times but obvioursly worth it. I got my retainer today and it is not the nicest thing in the world, I havent quite figured out how to talk or anything with them but i'm sure ill get the hang of it.

I would love to go on and tell you how wonderfully amazing my teeth are, how happy I am but here are some pictures, they arent the best, but its late so ill probably put better ones on soon:

IM SO EXCITED

Guess who is getting their braces off in a mere 12 hours? Yes thats right it is the person whose blog you are currently reading.
It has been a while I know, but literally nothing has happened, I have been going in every second months the ortho looks at them and then sends me on my way. And then last week he said the words that I have been waiting FIVE YEARS, FOUR MONTHS, TWO WEEKS AND FIVE DAYS for him to say, "I think your ready to have your braces off, What do you think about that" I was a little shocked and just said yeah that sounds pretty good, little enthusiasm, but I was waiting for a but because so far everything has had a but. but there was no but. So 10:15 tomorrow I will be getting them off!!! and I am beyond bieng beyond excited, I just cant wait. I would love to say you dont understand how excited I am but anyone reading this probably has braces and will understand. But right now I am basking in the Glory of having no braces in 24 hours.

I will give you all an update soon enough, I am a litttle swamped with uni, exam period is a killer, But I will hopefully make the time to keep you all informed, Because I hope you are all nearly as excited for me as I am, although Im not sure that is at all possible.

So enjoy your day untill my next post where I will be BRACE FREE!! :)

Almost 4 months post op

So it has been a little while, but I just started Uni and it is much more full on then I expected, So I haven't really had any time for anything. But here I am, i'm on Easter break so I have a bit of extra time haha.
Not much is too different right now, the swelling is pretty much all gone, I wake up with a bit in the morning, but that is because I keep sleeping on my face (I sleep on my stomach)  which I shouldn't regardless of everything that has gone on with my face. My teeth are starting to come together nicely, slowly but nicely, and my jaw is starting to relax a bit a move back a little, which is what the surgeon wants to happen, because i'm still jutting my jaw forward a bit.
I saw the surgeon about 2 weeks ago and he was very happy with everything. And I must say he really has an amazing memory, he remembered things about the course I was doing and everything and I haven't seen him in 2 months. But it is something that I really appreciate about him. He said that he didn't really need to see me anymore, and that he would just like to see me once my braces have come off.
Yesterday I saw the ortho, and he said things were moving a bit too slowly, so I now have to wear the elastic full time again. I'm not sure if I said this last time, but I was only wearing them at night, so its kind of a step backwards, I was really hoping for good news, but I guess that at least things are being done. So hopefully if things speed up I should be getting them off in a few months, although my next appointment is in June.
Im starting to feel good about the way things are looking, I have had alot of ups and downs with this, at times I have regretted the surgery because I feel like my chin is huge, and features don't look right, but I guess that comes with things being different, I'm not a big fan of change. But im slowly coming around, it helps when I see the awful side shots when im not looking haha. Im starting to finally feel confident with how things are and how I look, I think I may have sounded already pretty confident with these things in past posts, but it was really me hoping that if I said it then it would be fine.

One thing I had a bit of a laugh about today is the food that I was willing to eat straight after surgery, I ate pureed turkey, baby food, mash potato with tablespoons of salt in it. But I must say the turkey is definitely a highlight hahah. But today I was being lazy looking for a snack and found a jar of baby food that I hadnt eaten, and it was actually quite terrible, the texture, the taste, I do not know how i ate so much of it.
I am now FAR FAR FAR less picky about food now, I was so picky before the surgery, I wouldnt eat half the stuff that I am willing to eat now. Its funny what a month of soup and mash potato can do your appetite.

But an important thing to remember for everyone is that these things take time, I am 2 days off of 4 months and only now and I starting to feel actually good about it. So if you are unsure or unhappy, Give it some time because the results do not fully show for a while, even at 4 months I still have a little bit to go

63 DAYS POST OP

Yesterday marked 2 months since my surgery and I seriously cannot believe how unbelievably fast time is going, soon enough I will be without braces! My ortho said that people usually wear elastics for 6 months so I guess that will be around when I get them off.  So today I went and visited the orthodontist, if you can call it that, we literally saw him for 2 minutes and then were done. He had a look at my bite and said that my bite was looking fantastic and that I now only had to wear my elastics at night, so I was pretty excited, I see this as a big step forward. My jaw is still a little stiff but other then that everything is going swimmingly hahah. I don't really see any reason to do my usual points as everything is pretty much the same but here are some pictures of the last week :)

Since there wont be much happening over the next few weeks, since i'm at 9 weeks now! so there is probably not much good in doing these weekly updates so when something happens i'll keep you updated :D

57 DAYS POST OP

So it has been just over 8 weeks, and I saw my surgeon today. He said everything was going great and he was happy with the movement that I have achieved in the way of movement. He was so lovely, he seemed genuinely happy with the way things are going, he even said that he was really proud of me with my progress, which made me feel really good, he really is great.I am now moving my mouth more and more and my confidence with eating is improving.
Just for anyone interested otherwise skip ahead. I actually payed attention when he was explaining the healing process, I tend to get lost a bit when he explains it at times. But he explained the residual swelling that occurs after the surgery and lasts up to 6 months. basically you get blood clots after surgery and because they arent very strong they build up in large amounts, and over the months they stretch out to match the bone, and  until then the sort of gap you feel is an area of bone thinness where they slid the bone either back or forward.

But anyway, so that I don't start rambling as much as I usually would:
Swelling: I think it may have come down a tiny bit since my last appointment 2 weeks ago.
Pain: just muscle stiffness. I have had a head ache the last 2 weeks and I think that is because I have been clenching my teeth again.
Numbness: I have been getting a prickling feeling in my chin, and that I think is increased feeling. I have almost full feeling in my lip and for my chin I can feel temperature changes, but touch is still very tingly. My surgeon said for me to try move my lips more, like puckering and such, he said something about sending signals to my brain to increase the feeling to help my brain better register touch, and my nerves wont change that much. The cold feeling I talked about last week isn't occurring as often but does happen from time to time. 
Opening my mouth: opening my mouth is alot easier it is beginning to feel very natural.
Weight: same
Chewing: I am chewing almost everything, my surgeon encouraged me to try some really chewy foods, to have steak and as a bit of encouragement he told me to have some chocolate that had been in the fridge for a while, so i'll see how that goes. 
Drooling: it isnt as bad now, I think it was just the increased movement left my mouth a little confused. 
So that is all for this week, Almost 2 months!! :)

49 DAYS POST OP

Its 7 weeks, and I'm feeling a little worn out, I think i'm coming down with the flu so its not jaw related. I have been working on moving my mouth more and I have improved greatly so i'm a bit proud of myself. I went to a party on Wednesday night and it felt really good, everyone was nice, they said I looked great so I was feeling pretty great especially on top of the appointment I had earlier that day. This also helped me get my mouth moving more normally, it was loud at times so I had to yell a bit and it is surprisingly hard to yell with little movement of my jaw, so I was sort of forced to talk normally. In the end just for people at this stage I am really glad that I did go, I was a little apprehensive at the beginning, considering not going, but I had a great night and being out made me feel normal again, and I pretty much forgot about my jaw and just had fun.
As for food, it has again become the love of my life haha, I've been eating pretty much normally, I havent gone and had a steak or an apple or anything like that but things I have missed like bread, chicken and all things good I am now enjoying again. I had a cheese burger the first night, not the healthiest thing but i thought I deserved it, I decided to satisfy the craving that I had in the first week post op, and it felt soooooo good into it normally, it was not only easier but i didnt have anything falling out of the burger and, i'm not sure why this is but, I didn't get anywhere near as much stuck in my braces. It was a good feeling and sort of gave me the realization of what this surgery has done for me, and the things that I can further look forward to.
Swelling: Same
Pain: I have had alot of muscle stiffness and the warm cloth helps and I have been getting alot of pain in my chin, but I think that is mostly nerve related. Just for anyone, the warm wet cloth feels so good in my jaw, I actually sort of look forward to using it because it just relieves any discomfort and makes my jaw feel a little more relaxed. 
Numbness: still a bit in the chin but its continuing to get better. numbness in my mouth is starting to bother me little, last week I said that it didn't but it is now, my chin is changing so rapidly now and i'm just expecting something from the rest. So i'm going to ask my surgeon next week at my appointment. I have been getting a weird sensation around the numbness on my chin where it feels like something is dribbling down my chin. 
Opening my mouth: there is no noticeable difference although with talking and chewing I am finding that opening my mouth is getting a little easier, and possibly slight wider.
Weight: remaining stable
Chewing: it is progressively getting easier, I have surprised myself with some of the things I have eaten, things I expected to be far more difficult than it was. It is still a bit of an effort to chew, so it can take a while, but I am getting back to normal so its getting better with time.
Drooling: It has strangely started to be noticable at 6 weeks, 6 WEEKS! it ridiculous, my mouth is still a bit numb and now that my muscles have relaxed a bit since moving it more over the last week, i have been drooling a bit, not alot like some people I have read, which I consider myself lucky for, but when talking or eating for a while I start to drool. 

42 DAYS POST OP

And I am celebrating 2 anniversaries today , the obvious one being the big 6 weeks and I am very excited as I had an appointment with the surgeon today and got goooood news. But as for the other anniversary being the fact that I have now officially spent 5 years in braces as off today! and it is going to be the last year! :D
So today was an EXCELLENT day I saw my surgeon today and he said everything looked perfect and that he was very 'proud' and happy with how everything has gone which had made me quite happy. He did say that I had to make more of an effort to move my mouth when I spoke and to stretch my mouth more, He said that My bone will  now be almost fully healed and that the bone would not move with anything I do from now on, and guess what this means?? I am now free to eat whatever I want, he said that he actually wanted me to eat more solids in order to push the muscles to get back to normal activity.
My infection scare was for nothing as it was just some extra tissue that had formed, I was told that this was normal around the surgery site.
I told him about how my jaw went off to the side and he said that this wasnt really a worry as it only really matters when the jaws are together, as this is the only time they are functional. He also said that I unconsciously pushed my jaw forward when I closed my mouth and that the elastics were there to try and guide my jaw not to do that.
One thing that made me ecstatic is  that I actually have very little orthodontic work to be done and that I should get my braces off in the usual 3-6 months :D The only thing that needs is a correction in the shape of my jaw/ teeth. My lower teeth shape does not match my upper teeth, so on the left side the lower come outside the top, but he said that would be easy enough.
Now for the usual:
Swelling: the surgeon said that I still had a quite a bit of swelling for this stage, but it'll go over the next few months.
Pain: I sometimes get pain when I talk alot but its bearable. The surgeon said that I may experience a bit of pain when chewing and that If that happens I should put a warm wet cloth on my face and massage the muscles.
Numbness: Last week I said that It may be getting worse but I can now say that is definitely not the case. this week I experienced major changes in my numbness and I am amazed that it occurred so suddenly, now when I touch my chin it tingles like crazy and i can not tell where its being touched by the tingling. The numbness in my mouth hasn't changes but doesn't bother me as I didn't even notice It till 2 weeks ago and I still don't really notice it. 
Opening my mouth: no change
Weight: I lost weight again and i'm not down 8kg again, and I actually have no idea how because I have been eating heaps.
Chewing: I  finaly started feeling normal chewing, I can chew pasta and that sort of stuff almost normally, so I cant wait to try something more solid!!
So this week has been good, particularly today, and Things have been going well so anyone a few weeks behind me keep up good spirits as things get better :)

35 DAYS POST OP

It is crazy how fast time has gone, it has already been 5 weeks! This week has been alright, i've had a few down moments but still feeling pretty good. This week I pushed myself to do more normal things and get back to normal, so I've been a little tired and on top of that my aunt came to stay a few days from interstate with my 2 year old cousin, who wakes up ridiculously early.

I have a few concerns with my jaw now,
1. being the fact that when I open my mouth my jaw tends to move off to one side.

2. I feel like my jaw is moving back a little, which I don't mind too much (it's only like half a mm), I felt a little weird with my jaw being so forward, I have an appointment with the surgeon in a week so i'll make sure there aren't any problems.  
3. I'm a bit worried about infection, I have gotten quite inflamed and sore on my left side, and I have gotten a red sore right at the back. i went to the doctors because I couldn't get into see the surgeon, and he said it didnt look too bad, just to get it checked out by the surgeon, and the orthodontist said the same thing, and to make sure that I was rinsing my mouth out with salt water.

I did go to the orthodontist this morning and he said that everything was going well, so the movement of my jaw obviously isn't bothering him. He changed the elastic arrangement and I now have alot more movement so I can now move my mouth more when I take which is always nice, I now only have 1 elastic on each side.

I have been looking at my bite lately and I can definately see that there is still some orthodontic work to do, my surgeon said that people usually get their braces off 3 -6 months after surgery and i definitely that ill need the 6 months.

Swelling/bruising- same
pain - I have experiences a bit more pain in my jaws this week and this has sort of sparked my fears of infection, this may also be due to me talking and chewing more.
numbness - i feel like my numbness hay be getting worse, but this is probably just me being paranoid. Although around my chin has been really sore, Its a sort of burning sensation, I feel like I have been laying out in the sun with only my chin exposed for 10 hours. I have been getting some shooting pains in my right side, it isnt too bad but I think this could be due to the numbness maybe wearing off.
Opening my mouth - It has gotten a little better I can almost fin 2 fingers, but my left side has been a little tight.
Weight - I have finally started to put some weight on I am now only down 6kg's
I'm starting to get a bit more used to my new smile, and to my chin, it feels a bit more normal now and not so huge

I tried to find some good pictures of before surgery, but Icouldnt really find any that didn't have my jaw pushed forward or from an odd angle, so this is the best that I could find, you can see that when I try to smile it looked really forces and I got dimples on my chin :) :

28 DAYS POST OP

It has now been 4 weeks, almost a month, and it has been a really good week. During the first few weeks I felt like I was taking 3 steps forward and 2 steps back, but this week I really just went forward. I attribute this mostly to my change in diet over this past week, I have been very uncreative with my food  but this week I have been trying some new things (I would like to say thanks to bracedblogger for giving me a few ideas, check out her blog if you get the chance :)) This week I ate real food, I had Sheppard pie, pasta Alfredo, lasagne, meatballs and spagetti. I have been trying to chew these foods but for anyone not allowed to chew yet I have been mostly breaking it up with my tounge. I can now see the back of my mouth and I noticed that at the back of my mouth its a splotchy red, so i'm a little concerned about that, but it isn't bothering me so i'm just going to wait and see how it goes and maybe mention it when I see my surgeon. One other concern of mine is my chin I feel like I have a really large chin, but i'm hoping that its just me having to adjust to the change, but i'll give it a few more weeks before I decide I hate it.
Swelling - Hasn't really changed I still feel a bit puffy on my right side.
Bruising - all gone
Pain - still have a little pain in my teeth but that is mostly gone, I changed my elastics on Saturday to looser elastics, so its not so tight. The pain in my jaw is mostly gone I haven't even required paracetamol in a few days.
Numbness - The numbness hasn't really changed, but my chin has been itching like crazy, and there has been a bit of tingling it freaks me out because I feel like a big is crawling on my lip. This is sort of a change but not really because I just didn't realise it before, but the other day i noticed that the gum above the incision area is all completely numb, the swelling kind of masked this. 
Opening my mouth - pretty much the same, may be able to open a little more.
Weight loss - I haven't lost too much more, my clothes are still being a bit of an annoyance.

You can see the swelling is slightly more on the left:

My right side is still numb so my smile is still a little lop sided:

 My profile again not much has changed:

DAY 21 POST OP

3 Weeks! and it feels good! This week has been pretty good, Thursday and Friday there wasn't much change, I felt the same as when i last posted, but I did begin to try chewing foods,mostly scrambled eggs and mash potato which turned out to be a bit of a challenge which did upset me a little, because i expected it to be something that would be really natural, which it didn't at all. Then Saturday I celebrated new years eve, I just stayed home because i was still not feeling up to doing all that much.But it was new years eve when I finally felt good, like really good, my swelling had come down enough where i actually started to look like my self and I was beginning to see the result a little better without looking like I had been in a fight. And the good thing is, I am really liking where i am heading, I now actually feel excited to see what the final results are. Then on Sunday, things continued to improve and if you didn't see my last post, I was finally able to brush behind my teeth, and it felt ohhhh sooooo good, it felt disgusting not being able to brush behind these teeth, mouthwash was not doing the trick so I was pretty excited. Monday was lovely, I was still feeling good and a went and saw my grandma, who hasn't seen me in over a week, and she was so happy to see me and kept telling me how good I was looking, So it felt nice to know that there was an obvious difference in my swelling even though i cant really see that much of a difference in the swelling. Then to Tuesday and

Today, I'm a bit puffy today, and i'm feeling really exhausted. there are a few reasons for this and that is:
1. we are experiencing a bit of a heat wave and 31 degrees(87 Fahrenheit) at midnight does not give the best conditions to sleep, so I have had 2 or 3 nights where i haven't had the best sleep.
2. Diet, now that i am actually opening my mouth to eat, I get very tired when i eat, I was telling my mum that i felt like I needed a nap after every meal, getting this tired I tend to give up mid meal and either not eating anything else or having something simple like yogurt.
 3. now that i can open my mouth a bit sometimes when i try to eat or brush my teeth I open my mouth a little too much which causes a pain through my jaw, but that is only temporary, but it does aggravate the swelling a little, not much but it does make me look a little puffier.
But im going to get an early sleep tonight and I should wake up feeling fresh and good in the morning :) Other than that everything is looking up.
Swelling - I've got about 10 - 15% left but it isn't very noticeable, It looks pretty natural. bruising - the bruising on my chin is all gone, one cheek is still slightly yellow, but you'd have to be looking to notice, and my wrist has still got a bit of bruising.
Pain - I mostly only get pain in my teeth in the mornings, I think I am still clenching my teeth in my sleep, but the elastics still hold my teeth tight together. I still get slight pain in my jaw at night, and i think that is mostly from overworking it during the day, this is bearable, one or two paracetamols makes in easier to sleep though.
Numbness - there is still the same amount of numbness in this one area of my chin. Today I started getting some tingling and a warm sensation on my chin, it is some what painful and uncomfortable, similar to what i had during week 1, but I don't mind too much as i was worried that this numbness would be permanent when nothing was happening for a week.
Opening my mouth - I can now open my mouth about 1 and a half fingers, before surgery it was 3 fingers so i'm halfway there :)
weight loss - With the change in diet i am now down almost 7 kg or 15lb, but i'm forcing myself to eat more now to try and increase my energy levels, and to try and stop myself loosing too much weight, I didn't plan on loosing much weight and my clothes are becoming a tad loose.
My smile is still a little off, but its looking pretty good:

swelling left is pretty minimal:

today:

Before and after - Im pretty happy, My cheek bones are more visible now, but im not sure if this will change with the swelling. It might sound wierd, but I feel like my nose looks better now, more in proportion: