Wednesday, January 19, 2011

De-Bracing Date - MARCH 2!!!!!

Happy belated New Year!


This is the most recent photo I have of myself, for your jaw/face progress inquiries, It was taken on New Years Eve:


Between my last post in October and the beginning of January there have not been many changes/updates....UNTIL NOW!

You heard it here first folks (before TMZ could break the news) - my braces are OFFICIALLY coming off on March 2! Holy cow. I can't believe my 2 year adventure is coming to a close.

MARCH 2 =40 days from today!!!!!!!

...and so the countdown has begun. I feel like this whole process has been about countdowns. Countdown to my ortho appointments, to my surgery, to my braces coming off. I may miss it. I'll have to think of something else to count down to. Any ideas will help my withdrawal of countdowns. Thanks in advance.

I have an appointment in 4 weeks from now (on Valentines Day of course) to get my last adjustment and for them to take molds to make my retainer(s).

Before my braces are taken off, I need to get my front tooth checked out. As I mentioned in previous posts, my front top left tooth seems to be darker in colour than the rest of my teeth. My dentist took xrays and did an exam, but he couldn't find the reason for it. He is sending me to a root canal specialist this coming Monday morning (at 7:50 am...FML) to check if I have a dead/infected nerve that is causing the darkness. I REALLY hope I don't need a root canal and the darkness can be fixed by professional whitening. If I do need a root canal, my orthodontist has made it clear that I'll need to have it done BEFORE the braces come off. Oy. It would make sense though... it would complete my round of dental hell in these past 2 years... 1st braces, then wisdom teeth removal, then jaw surgery... and now a root canal.

I also spoke with my dentist about the professional whitening services they provide because you KNOW I'm getting these suckers whitened as soon as the braces come off. They offer two choices. The first is an in-office one-time 45 appointment which costs $800+. The second option (which he recommended) is a take home 2 week process where you have to wear these invisalign type retainers twice a day for 30 min. He said you can see results after the first day. This option costs approx. 1/2 the in-office procedure. I think I'm gonna save my money and go with the 2nd procedure. I'll put the savings towards a basket of apples I'll be able to bite into once the braces come off. Oh and GUM!!!! So much gum...mmm.

A quick update on jaw surgery progress. My upper left lip is still partially numb, as is my chin and middle of my bottom lip. The numbness is less and less each day, which also makes the area more sensitive to cold/hot because the nerve endings are extra sensitive. My upper jaw is still numb as well. They originally said most feeling should come back in 6 months after the surgery, but can sometimes take up to a year. I'm just glad I have muscle movement in those areas... the numbness can go away as slowly as it wants.

Until my next post... keep fit and have fun!

Alexis

11 comments:

  1. Hey!! Glad to see an update from you! Congrats on getting those braces off! You will look FABULOUS!

    I would be so mad about the dark front tooth though. If you need a root canal, will they need to cap it too?

    As far as the whitening goes, have you ever done any whitening before? I do okay with Crest white strips but I did have BriteSmile once and my teeth were so sensitive afterwards that I wanted to kill myself. So if you think you might have sensitive teeth, definitely go with the cheaper at-home option! I know others who have done the one day option and were completely fine. Guess I am just one of the unlucky ones with crazy sensitive teeth!

    Thanks again for posting on your progress! Please post pics of those pearly whites in March!!

    FYI, I am still on target for surgery May 2011! :-)

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  2. CONGRATS! I was totally obsessed with countdowns too when I was still going through the whole process!!! It kind of sucks now that all the excitement is done but now I keep track of how long it's been since the surgery and it helps me think of how far I've come! It helps a little :P

    Good luck with everything!

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  3. @BraceFaced Thanks :) I'm not sure what the procedure would be with the root canal if I need it... I dont know how they would cap a front tooth. Fingers crossed I dont need it! Ha! I've done White Strips before I had my braces. They worked, but I feel like I want to invest in the best product that is out there... So i'm going to do the whitening through my dentist - I feel like there's no sense going through 2 years of perfecting my teeth to just leave the finishing "act" (aka whitening) to a store product. I hope my teeth dont get that sensitive! But I am kind of used to it already with the contstant teeth readjustments. Also, my upper teeth are still numb from my upper jaw being numb... so this could be a good thing in regards to the sensitivity. I'm so excited to hear your sugery is on target! I can't wait to hear all about it :)

    @Julai - Thank you too :) I will start a "count-up" maybe for my post-de-bracing countdown withdrawal.

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  4. Your most recent pic looks great! As for the whitening procedures, I have discussed this with my OD and dentist's offices and both say that the at home kits actually whiten better and are also less damaging. I've personally done the at home whitening once in college and it worked so well! I was very pleased with the outcome.

    If you do get sensitive from the treatments, you can ask your dentist/OD for flouride which will come in a tube just like the whitener and you squeeze it into the molds just like you would the whitener. You would wear it for 30 minutes immediately prior to your whitening session. And it will definitely make your teeth much less sensitive. You can also double up your at home sessions to two 30 minute sessions per day if you can handle the sensitivity that is. I was able to do this if I first used the flouride treatment and if I spaced the two sessions (one in the morning and one at night). So you could be done in a week vs. two weeks.

    How exciting for you getting your braces off so soon! How long will this be since your surgery? You mentioned the whole process is 2 yrs. That is what they are projecting for me, too, but I am hoping surgery happens in December which will be 1 year after braces. It seems like a lot of folks get their braces off much sooner than 1 yr after surgery. That would be icing on the cake!!

    You look great and I'm glad to hear the numbness doesn't bother you much even though you still have quite a bit. I think it's probably one of the biggest worries of many of us out there who are preparing for surgery.

    Thanks for the update!
    Tara

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  5. Hello! I found your blog and just wanted to comment. I'm a month away from the beginning of my braces/surgery journey. My braces go on March 8th, so I'm looking up everything I can! Your pictures look awesome and it's exciting you're almost finished with the braces. Thanks for sharing your progress!!

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  6. Hey I was wondering if you got the surgery done in Ontario as I see you are Canadian. I live in Ontario and I have the same problem with an open bite and I've heard some people in Canada haven't gotten it covered but they are from different provinces.
    Thanks
    BTW your teeth look great!

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  7. @Tara - thanks for the whitening tips! The projected timing for my braces/jaw surgery was a total of 24 - 30 months... and it will all be over at 22 months! So it's really nice to know it happened way faster then they originally thought. As for my surgery, I am almost 6 months post-op (will be 6 months on the 20th of Feb). I wish you luck on your surgery later this year! Just do everything your doctor recommends and it'll be a breeze :)

    @Candace - I hope your not nervous and know that you'll be super happy with the results. Let me know if you have any questions!

    @Vero - Yes I'm from Toronto, Ontario! The government paid for the actual surgery, but I had to pay for all of the pre-surgical stuff (i.e. molds, xrays, etc.) which ended up costing about $3,000. Where are you from?

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  8. Hey love the blog, esp as you keep consistent updates on your improvements esp re the numbness. This has been worrying me as my lower lip is still completely numb 4 weeks post surgery where I had lower jaw advanced, I dont mind the chin numbness so much! Could I ask if you experienced lip weakness at all? The right side of my bottom lip is much weaker than the left where I have a lot more pain and a little swelling still. I cant find anyone else who shares my experience and my surgeon isnt taking me seriously either. Hopefully nothing to worry about but helps to share!

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  9. Oh yay someone from Toronto! I'm from Toronto too! I actually have my first orthodontist appointment on Monday with davis orthodontics. I'm very excited/nervous. I just started a blog, its http://openbiteblog.blogspot.com

    Your blog is great, its been pretty hard to find information on open bites.I put my jaw issue off for a while and now its gotten worse so I'm finally ready to get it fixed. I had braces about 9 years ago but I opted out of jaw surgery. Its amazing how much the surgery changed your profile and your smile.

    Do you find it easier to eat, talk, etc, now that you have a proper bite? Also, sorry to hear about your root canals, sounds like a horrible way to have to end this whole experience.

    It's been so hard to find people in Toronto, or even in Ontario who are going through this. Your blog is very informative though and its been a huge help as I have a million thoughts running through my head regarding this process. I think it will be much easier once I know whats to come. When you had your open bite, did you still have an overbite? My teeth are pretty much aligned, neither over or underbite so its a weird case. I've had a lot of cosmetic orthodontic work so its hard to tell that I have this jaw issue at all and most people are surprised when they hear about it. Also, did you find that your open bite got worse as you got older? I have always had an open bite but I could touch my top and bottom teeth after I had my first set of braces off, now most of my teeth don't touch at all, this is over the past few years.
    Congrats on your upcoming de-bracing :)

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  10. Hey! I saw your most recent post, and your teeth look great! The pics are b&w though, so I wondered how the whitening went. Is it still ongoing?

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