Third post operation check-up

I am so sorry that I haven’t updated! I wrote this the day after the check-up and completely forgot to post it but as they say: better late than never!

So here we go again! This Tuesday was the date of my third check-up after the surgery. First I met my jaw surgeon and he took a quick look at the situation. After this he decided that I no longer needed to continue using the rubber bands! Yay! My happiness over this was short lived however (more on that later!). He also told me that I could start chewing once more but to start with soft food and work my way up. Basically this means that I will be eating the same things I have been doing for five weeks now with the addition that I now am able to chew it. My appointment was over in 10 minutes and I hurried to my next appointment with my orthodontist.

Firstly she removed about a meter of steel wire from my braces (and I am not even exaggerating!) and removed several of the small hooks. The hook in the middle of my lower jaw was left however since I may need to use it further on. I was a bit nervous, read a lot nervous, when she started working on my lower jaw but everything went smoothly. One thing I should note is that when she was finished and only had left to place one of the small rubber bands on each part of my braces it was necessary for her to hold my lower jaw in place since it was not as steady as usual. This should come as no surprise; my skeleton is after all not fully healed – not by a long shot.

Then I received the bad news. I was going to get rubber bands from her to hold my jaw together. Sigh! The ones I got from her were a lot more elastic and I did not need as many as before so I was still pleased. I have a so called “box” on MY right side during the day, to be removed before I eat, and I add a box in the front before I go to sleep every night. These will be changed for new ones after every breakfast and dinner (the other ones were to be changed only once every 24 hours).

This new rubber band is worse however. The ones I had before restricted my movement to such a degree that I could not open my mouth with them on and therefore did not put any strain on my teeth or my jaw. This new rubber band is different since it does allow me to talk and open my mouth almost as much as I am able to. This effectively strains my teeth by pulling them down or up (the teeth in my lower jaw are pulled up and vice versa) as you understand this is not completely painless. Hopefully this will stop somehow when my teeth become used to it but for now it is important that I remove the rubber band a while before eating anything since they feel sore otherwise.

Chewing has been weird. I have been so focused on not chewing for five weeks now that it goes against every fiber of by being to do so (or perhaps something a bit less dramatic). It feels very strange for me to chew and I have caught myself “chewing” by mashing the food with my tongue without even thinking about it. It is just easier for me now. I do know that it is important for me to “relearn” to chew so I make sure to do so as much as I can even though it is extremely strange and uncomfortable.

I will keep fighting and post another weekly update on Monday. Until then bye!