2012!

Happy New Year to you all!



Wow, it has been a REALLY long time since I posted anything - I was preoccupied with showing off my new pearly whites!

Life has been fantastic since I last posted back in March when I officially got my braces off. I have a new dream job and I am happy and healthy - can't ask for anything else.

Update on my teeth/surgery - I have to wear my night "retainer" every night for the rest of my life (as per my Orthodontist's orders). It looks very similar to Invisalign. Sometimes if I don't wear it for a few nights, I can definitely feel that my teeth have shifted a little bit (even though I have upper and lower wires). I have to ensure I keep on track per doctor's orders! As for my numbness that I was always speaking about - I STILL have some. I'd say it's still about 5% numb in my upper left lip and the middle of my lower lip, as well as a bit of a topical numbness in my chin area. I'm OK with this though. If this is the only side effect, then that's pretty great.

How are all of you out there? I hope everyone is enjoying their braces/jaw surgery journey as much as I did. Stay strong and know that it's WORTH IT!!

Best,

Alexis

NO MORE BRACES!!!

Well hello there.

Welcome to my blog... my name is Alexis AND I HAVE NO MORE BRACES!!!!!

I will post a HUGE detailed message tomorrow with everything that happened... but for now I wanted to show you my new sparkly teeth (vs. before my braces).

Neon Pink & Root Canals

Happy Valentines Day!

Good news and bad news since I last blogged.

Good news:


1) I now have NEON PINK ligatures on my braces... and will have them on for the next two weeks! I feel like a huge geek and I kinda love it.


2) I'm still on track to get my braces off on MARCH 2!!! That's 16 days away. I still can't believe how fast the time has actually gone by.

Bad news:

I had TWO fricken root canals last week. Yeah I know. As soon as I thought my dental hell was coming to an end... they had to spring that surprise on me. It hurt like hell when the root canal specialist stuck the general anesthetic needles in my gums. They had to put temporary fillings in the teeth for now until I get my braces off and get the insides bleached. After that I get the permanent fillings. So until then, the specialist said I have to be very careful with what I eat and ensure I don't put any extra pressure on those teeth or bite into anything hard. Ugh. I booked the permanent fillings and bleaching for later in the day after I get the braces off... so only 2 more weeks of being careful.

Just a short update for now!

Alexis

P.s. adding an after-thought! I forgot to mention that they took my last molds today! They took top and bottom molds and a "bite" wax mold thingy. This is to make my permanent retainers (in the back of my teeth) and my clear retainer (looks like invisalign). It's so close I can't handle it anymore!!!

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

Day 65: 4 more months of braces!

"Double double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble..."

Happy almost Halloween! Love this upcoming holiday :) Not sure what I'm going to be yet... but I will make sure to post a photo of my costume!

It's been a few weeks since I last posted... so here are some new photos that were taken last week and a friend's engagement party:

Eating has been amazing! I can basically eat everything now (except I still stay away from anything really hard just in case (and also to be mindful of breaking a bracket). You don't realise how essential eating nutritional food is to your mental and physical health until your not able to do it! Geez... I've learned from this whole adventure that I can never have an eating disorder, I would go CrAzY :). Plus I love eating wayyyy to much.

Little progress to report. There is more sensation in my numb parts (upper left lip, middle bottom lip and chin). I have been able to feel hot/cold in those areas and sometimes I feel little prickly feelings.

I've been able to gain some weight back - which as I just mentioned makes me feel so much more healthy and sane. I've also been going back to the gym! I went twice this week! I'm hoping to go 2-3 times this upcoming week and weight train for the first time since pre-op.

As you've seen in the title of this post - I have approx. 4 months left of these metal things on my teeth! I CANNOT WAIT!!!!! I guess that means I need to start saving up for teeth whitening :).

I promised a video a while back, but I haven't gotten around to making one. I will try my best this week or next!

I hope everyone has an awesome Halloween!!!

Alexis

Day 45: Chewing is the best thing EVER!

Week 7 is here! Holy Camoly!!!

Here are pictures from Day 43 (Saturday):


I'm thinking my swelling is down to about 2% now... I don't even know how to tell anymore! I don't look swollen at all, but I can still feel some pressure above my lips and beside my nose area... so I assume that means it's still swollen.

As you can tell by the title of this post, CHEWING IS AMAZING!!!! So... last week I was allowed to start chewing as of Tuesday when I had my post-op appointment with my oral surgeon. I did NOT take advantage of that. This turned out to be a very bad idea because the next morning I went to the orthodontist and my teeth ended up being so sensitive for the next week! Arrrgghh! This was my first appointment post-op and my orthodontist was very excited to see and impressed with my new bite. He took out those horrendous surgical wires and put in a brand new wire! Here is the good news... ARE YOU READY!?!?!

HE PREDICTS THAT I WILL ONLY HAVE 5 MONTHS LEFT OF MY BRACES!!!!

So that is pretty fantastic. I am so fricken psyched you can't even imagine!!!!! That means...by my intricate calculations... that I will have them off in FEBRUARY! WHAT WHAT!!!

On the weekend my teeth started to become less sensitive, so I was able to eat items that required chewing. Here is my list of food items that I have chewed thus far:

- Sushi
- Pizza
- Gourmet sandwich from Sandwich Box (my favorite sandwich place EVER)
- Shrimp Stirfry (I made it!)
- Blueberry pancakes with bacon sprinkles :)
- Salad
- Mini breton crackers with humus
- Chickpea salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and tahini sauce

In order to move my progress along, my Ortho has me wearing elastics on my back teeth 24/7 and elastics on my canines and 2 of the lower teeth directly below during the night. He has me doing this because since the surgery my back teeth don't touch and he's trying to pull them together. I've been pretty good with wearing the elastics all the time... except for the odd time when I eat and then forget to put them back in for a few hours. Hopefully I can keep it up! Getting elastics on the back teeth has been pretty tricky and sometimes takes a few minutes. I'm sure I'll be an expert in a weeks time though.

Numbness is SLOWLY disappearing in my upper left lip and chin... I will randomly have itching/pin prick feelings/itching in those areas... which can only mean that I CAN FEEL SOMETHING!!! Still feels like I have plumping lip gloss on though... an interesting feeling.

I know I said I was going to try to make a video last week, but I did not get around to it. I will try to make one this week!

How is everyone else doing with their recoveries!?

Alexis

Day 39: Last Post-Op Visit (until the braces come off!)

I thought I'd spice things up a bit in the photo area and show you a REAL photo of me post-op! This photo was taken 2 weekends ago at a wedding! I'm with my bf and his wonderful aunt who made me so many delicious foods during my recovery :)

So I had my last post-op appointment today with my oral surgeon!!! He said that I don't have to see him again until AFTER my braces are off! He said I look amazing for 6 weeks post op and couldn't be happier with the results! AND that he can't forsee my braces being on for that much longer (FINGERS CROSSED!!!).

I asked him some questions, which I'll list for you with the answers:

1) When can I chew again?
Answer - NOW!!!!! He said I can start chewing as of today, but that I should take caution and chew soft foods for now - nothing too crunchy! This was seriously the BEST news I could have gotten! I have been so tired of eating mush and this will be an excellent way to get my appetite back up!

2) My lips are still a bit seperated when I'm at rest - will this get better as I recover and once I get my braces off?
Answer - This will get a bit better once the swelling is totally gone and the braces come off. He said that my lips may still be seperated a bit at rest but if I continue to build up my lip muscles it may help it out (how does one build up lip muscles?!).

3) I heard Vitamin B12 is good for nerve regeneration - is this true? Is there something else I can use?
Answer - He said that he hasnt really heard about B12 being that good. He said these things do take time and that all of the numbness should go away by the 6 month mark. (not 2 years like I thought!)

4) I have a weird numb spot on my chin that puffs out when I close my mouth - will this go away with time?
Answer - It should go away but I should make not of the progress of it and come see him if it's still there when I get my braces off.

So tommorow morning is my first orthodontist appointment since my operation! Hopefully he gives me good news :)

Sleep well everyone!