Retainers

Just when I thought I'm done, I have to wear retainers! I picked up my retainers at the Ortho's today. The plastic parts are fuschia color...no sparkles. When I open my mouth wide, you can see the fuschia color. It's a good thing that I didn't get blue ones!! The retainers basically are these plastic molds with wires across. They are custom-fitted and molded to the curvature of the mouth. I have to wear these little suckers for 20 hours a day, for 6 months! Yep, it's ALL THE TIME except for eating and brushing. I am not used to them because my speech is now "slurred" and I can't pronounce certain words. I think it's worse than braces since I can't speak right with them on. 6 months of this, and then my Ortho will "see from there." I may or may not be downgraded to part time wear after 6 months. There is basically no difference between wearing retainers than braces - it looks a little bit better and there is always an option of taking them off. But other than that, they are pretty much the same... annoying.

Next appt: Feb 12, 2008

Naked Teeth

My moment arrived! I have officially De-banded. No more braces! My teeth feel so "naked" now without those metal brackets and wires. I find myself constantly using my tongue and feeling my smooth teeth. My teeth feel fake. It's a weird feeling. Here is how it went this morning:

The nurse tech took the braces off really fast. I was worried how the bands out of my back molars will come off, but she just clipped, clipped, and clipped and then the entire wire came out with the brackets, the power chains, everything. I never really realized that the brackets could come out so easily. When she yanked the wire/brackets out, certain parts hurt more than others, but it was quick so the pain didn't last long. She told me that with the Ceramic brackets, they could shatter easily so I should keep my eyes closed. So that's what I did so I wasn't able to see anything.

After the wires and brackets came out, the ortho used this machine thingy to "sand" my teeth - primarily to remove the glue residue still stuck on my teeth. There were times when I felt a little pain because my teeth were so sensitive. I don't know for sure, but that machine sounded like those dentists use for fillings. After that, I rinsed. The station I was at didn't have a mirror so at that point, I didn't know how my teeth looked!!

The nurse tech then polished my teeth with toothpaste (same procedure as what dentists do). I then had 4 impressions done (2 upper, 2 lower). I also picked out my retainer color. This is the plastic part of the retainer. The nurse tech said that people only see the wire and not the retainer color so it doesn't matter what color I choose. But there will be a time when I will have to take out my retainers in public. So most people don't pick the light pink or clear color because they look very "dental," and almost resemble dentures! So I picked the Fuschia (hot pink) color just to make it more fun. I now regret now not adding Sparkles to it 'cuz I could have. Oh well... I'm not a teenager anymore!

After that, I was done. Free to go. I finally took out my pocket mirror and looked at my teeth for the first time. My teeth looked great! They are so straight! I am SOOOO happy with it! It's so different looking at my teeth with braces and now without. What a fantastic feeling!!

I couldn't believe that my journey to a perfect smile has somewhat come to an end. I know there are still endless days of retainers, but I am done. I am done with braces. I am still a bit worried about my bite and potential relapse...but I need to just live for this moment now. The future is the future. I'm set to take a set of final Xrays so I'll post those when I get them done...I'll post the Before ones too, just to compare.

Here are some pictures I took today:

12/3/07 Before de-banding

12/3/07 After de-banding

Surgery day remembered

Exactly ONE YEAR ago to this day, I was in the Oakland Kaiser Hospital recovering from my double jaw surgery. Truthfully, I don't remember much about that eventful day... so I am so happy that I've made a good decision to document my entire journey here on Blogger. Now I have the luxury of reading my archives! Read Archive.

I couldn't believe that it has already been 1 full year! So how do I feel? I feel grrreat! My teeth feels "right" - the upper and lower teeth touch each other and they "fit." I am able to bite and break apart food with my front teeth, which I have never been able to do before. I still chew a lot with my back teeth but I think that's normal. I am very happy with my bite.

The titantium plate next to my nose on the left side is still there, although I never ever realize it's there. I can still feel it when I purposely look for it and press on that spot. Otherwise, it has not bothered me at all.

There is still a bit of sensation on my upper left lip. I feel a bit of tingliness and numbness in that area whenever I move my lips to talk, eat, etc. Half the time though, I forget about it and then I don't realize it's there. I've always had this sensation since the surgery and now that it's been a year, I begin to accept that this will be permanent. The OS and research that I've done on my own suggest that there is a risk with permanent numbness associated with a double jaw surgery. I just never thought I would be a statistic?! Maybe one day, it will be gone...but today, I accept that the numbness is here to stay. On a day to day basis, the numbness doesn't bother me all that much. Or maybe I just have so much other bigger things to think about...

I think the thing that bothers me most of all is my wrinkly chin. It's possibly because it's the one thing that other people can see (the plate & the numbness - no one can see it!) Yes, call me VAIN. I can't close my mouth and have my lips touch without using additional muscles. And the additional muscles cause my chin to get wrinkly. Maybe I'm just being overly critical or paranoid that people will notice my wrinkly chin. Chances are that they actually don't notice, or don't even care.

BUT (and it's A BIG BUT) despite of all the things that didn't necessarily go right, I AM SO HAPPY THAT I WENT THROUGH WITH BRACES & THE SURGERY. IT IS THE BEST DECISION I'VE MADE. I really can't stress this message enough so I had to put the words in Caps and Bold. The surgery has really changed my life for the better because now I can finally feel normal and confident. Self-esteem is so important to a person...as it has for me. I don't remember how many days and weeks and months I felt so horrible because of my teeth.

So if you're contemplating about having this surgery and/or afraid of the risks, please feel free to email me. I'm so happy to share my journey with you!

Anyhoo, here is a picture of my teeth and bite 1 year after surgery.... 2 days before my braces come out...