A picture - 8 weeks since my surgery

My husband and I at a wedding Saturday night. Notice his perfect teeth. Not much swelling in this picture. Right side greater than left.

A week of work

I've been back to work for a week now. I was worried about being fatigued, but actually I am feeling okay. Today I was in a meeting, and I found myself drooling down the the front of my shirt. Thank goodness I had my trusty towel my bad and mopped it up. It is better overall.

Two different people told me I looked swollen today. Another told me I had "chipmunk cheeks". I am still pretty swollen lately. It is worse in the morning after sleeping and lying flat. My eye sockets are still bruised and yellow/brownish. Concealer covers it up.

Otherwise, I am doing well. Still very numb.

Have to post some pictures!!!!!

Almost 7 weeks

After

Before

Skull View



Yesterday and today I've been having "shocks" or "pulses" throughout my upper lip and nose. They take me by storm and cause me to cry out. At night my ears and sinuses have been very sore again. Yesterday when brushing I noticed a hole. An actual hole in the flesh where it had rubbed against my braces. It really didn't hurt, but was quite swollen. Of course, I hadn't felt it because I still am so numb.

Today was my second day of work and it was rough.

I've enclosed my post surgery Xrays. Did you notice the tilt to my upper front teeth and jaw? I can see it now.

6 WEEKS - Long

Well folks, I finally hit the six week mark! The days of sleeping in the recliner, eating via syringe, and being unable to blow my nose are over!!!

Wednesday I had three appointments, the Oral Surgeon, the Orthodontist, and the Prosthodontist. It was an appointment day.

8:45 - Oral Surgeon
"My resident" was out of town so I had a new-to-me resident. He was very nice and asked me about my pain or if I had any concerns. My surgeon came in and clipped all the wires to the splint, which took longer than what I thought and it was a bit uncomfortable because I can't open my mouth wide or pull my lips back well. When the splint started to loosen, the smell became apparent. So did the taste of nasty unspeakable things. Ewwwwww. I started to taste the line of yuck that had adhered to my palate, trapped underneath that thing. When it came out, there was such relief. I went to the sink to brush and rinse and was surpised to see blood. Lots of blood. I rinsed with peridex and brushed. The entire roof of my mouth felt numb. My mouth bled the rest of the morning, but I never did identify from where. Also, the bad taste persisted throughout the day no matter what I ate or drank.

The surgeon was pleased with my progress. We briefly discussed the plan for my missing teeth in the lateral spaces. I was always told the plan was implants, but due to the bone loss in this area, I would need bone grafting. They had planned on taking it from my hip, but since I have fibromyalgia and pain issues, I am very against it. He said we may be able to use another source of bone. I also mentioned the possibility of a fixed bridge in this area. He said that he would discuss that with the rest of the team (yes, I have my own team :). I think I am starting to become vain because I really, really want teeth in those spaces. I want to smile :)

Another cone beam CT was taken (more radiation) and 6 week pictures. At least I had makeup on and my hair fixed (for once). I don't go back for a month.

10:45- Orthodontist
The "big guy" wasn't there, but the other Orthondontist thought I still looked swollen. My surgical wire was removed and the surgical hooks as well. It hurt to have the elastics changed because again, my lips are still numb and I can't open wide. I also received rubber bands on the band teeth in a triangle shape. I'm not terribly good and putting them in. I go back every two weeks for the next six weeks.

12:00 - Prosthodontist
My Prosthodontist I like to refer to as "super smiley man". He has a great big perfect super smile. He hasn't seen me at all since prior to the surgery. He thought I looked great. On the drive over I was examining my teeth in the rearview mirror and noticied my midline is waaayyyy off and my front four teeth are tilted. Neither place said anything about it earlier. I mentioned the implant vs fixed bridge issue to him. He didn't know if I could even have implants in that space because the tooth roots tilt inward into the space(if you look at my x-ray you will see what I mean). These roots tilt because I didn't have any laterals and my first Orthondontist when I was in Junior High moved the 1st cuspids over and they ground them down. Mr. Smiley said that he would discuss the bridge, implants and midline issues with my team.

NOTE: Getting the splint out was 100% better than I had anticipated.
It really does get better. I promise!!! So hang in there if you are immediately
post surgery.

I'm really lucky I have such a great team working on my case. I'm so grateful.

Mad at Blogger

I wrote a huge long post and it was posted; then disappeared. I'm ticked! Blogger has had issues the last few days.

The splint is out!

The splint is out!!! Yahoooooooo!!!! I'll post about my appointments (yes, I had three today) later :)

Almost 6 weeks post

I'm having a hard time today. My mouth is really sore. I'm a bit tired and thus I present you "the numbered post".

1. I have three big cankar sores just inside my mouth where my lips meet on the left side. It would be quite sore if I wasn't so numb. Apparently, that swollen flesh has been chewed on quite often. It's nasty. Tomorrow, I may call the resident and talk to him about what I can do.

2. My bite. I feel like my lower jaw is sliding all over the splint. When I was driving today I just kept grinding and grinding my lower restoration (where the four implants are). Then it becomes sore.

3. My lips. They feel like two numb pieces of flesh. They have still felt really numb lately and actually feel swollen. Maybe that is good, right? Does it mean feeling is coming back? Someone asked me if I had Botox in my lips? They are quite full.

4. Drool. Oh yes, I am still drooling. Mainly out of the corners of my mouth, even when it is closed. Especially when I am bending or laying down. I just put on a new shirt 45 minutes ago and there is a large circle of drool on it. This should be fun when I go back to work this week.

5. Nose. It just plain hurts today. The piece of flesh between my nose and upper lip hurts a lot today. Especially when I touch it. (I know, don't touch it).

6. Saturday night I went to a wedding. It was lovely to get out and I was very happy for the couple. I put on makeup for the first time in six weeks. Wow. It was uncomfortable to put concealer under my eyes. And lipstick. I couldn't really get the lipstick on because of the numbness and the swelling. IT was SO WEIRD. But it felt great to be normal again. The bad part is that between my gluten free diet and my chewing issues - there was nothing I could eat. NOTHING. I went hungry at a place where people were eating plates of food. The chicken, roast beef, rolls, potatoes and caesar salad all had gluten in them (I doubt I could have chewed them anyway). The veggies were very firm and I couldn't chew them at all. The wedding cake had gluten. When I got home I had a little cheese and a piece of soft bread.

7. The more I talk the more I my mouth hurts and my throat actually. This should be fun when I go back to work this week.

8. Three more days until I get my SPLINT REMOVED!!!! WEDNESDAY MAY 11th is PARTY DAY!!!

9. My smile. When I try to smile it looks like I had a stroke or something. Only half of my mouth moves. It is lopsided and looks so weird!!!

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

5 weeks!

I am starting to feel like me again! Yay and thank goodness for that.

Last Wednesday I went to the Oral Surgeon for my one month checkup. It wasn't the best appointment. Things were very rushed. The resident came in, asked me if I was back to work (Uh no, you wrote me off), took a quick look and said the right side of my lower jaw was not in the splint, and was a Then he came in and was very nice. He thought my nose looked really good and my upper lip did too. I was still drooling and had a towel around my neck which he noticed. He hoped that would stop very soon. Have to keep splint in for another two weeks :( The hope was to get it out earlier, but no go. He looked at my bite and didn't say much. They said after the splint comes out, I am to go immediately to the Orthodontist.


I'm eating like crazy now. I don't puree anything except smoothies. Usually have some chopped up egg beaters for breakfast and finely diced bananas with peanut butter. Lunch is usually refried beans, rice, salsa, and guacamole. Dinner is usually tilapa and mashed potatoes and some (gulp) light ice cream. I need to eat more veg though. I get in eating ruts.

Been feeling stronger, trying to walk a little bit and more around more. Still get tired easily. I do something like load the dishwasher and maybe sweep the floor and then have to rest. Still taking iron which I think is a big help.

My nose is less numb now - probably 40%, mostly around the nostrils. My lips have been burning and tingling like crazy. They are probably 60% numb. Whenever I drink anything cold, they buzz and burn and hurt. It's not painful, just....weird. My chin is still 80% numb. It hurts quite a bit at the end of the day. :( I'm still drooling, mostly when I bend over or have just drank something. Last night I was up in the middle of the night with severe ear pain. I tried to chew some chicken at dinner and I think it was just too much for my jaws. Because I had to drive V to school in the morning, I just took Ibuprofen and thankfully conked back out.