Hey guys! :) I wanted to answer your questions before school tomorrow, otherwise I was afraid it would be pushed off till next weekend... so here you go...
Did you ever eat with a mirror?
YES YES YES. ha. My mirror was my best friend for the first 2 weeks. I found it helpful to eat with it, one- because I couldn't open very wide at first, and it helped me find my mouth haha. AND it helped me keep it less of a mess. Eventually I just got tired of it and I wanted to be able to eat in public, and without it- so it kinda gradually disappeared.
How do you open so wide?
Exercise! Seriously... make sure you are opening as wide as you can and stretching everyday. This is very important if you want to make it back to your original range of motion. You need to open wide, and push your bottom jaw forward and side to side. It will be very uncomfortable for a while, but it subsides. Trust me, it helps you in the long run. My doctor said "Do not worry, you are not going to break your jaw(s) they are bolted and held together, you are fine. Just make sure you are stretching." Do it.
Did you really get your maxilla widened or just moved forward 2mm?
It was widened! They cut the roof of my mouth in half through the inside and put bone graph in between- it was widened 2mm. My top jaw was moved forward 6mm. My bottom moved back 3mm. And my chin moved forward 4mm. The perfect profile, and bite! :)
Your nose looks wider. Do you think this is the result of the surgery or something else?
Nope, it is a result of the surgery... here I am going to try and explain it- so think about it... I had a bone deficency in my top jaw- They pushed my top jaw forward 6mm! That is alot. So my cheeks used to be shallow, and when they pushed it my top jaw forward it brought cheekbones out, which pushed my nose forward. However this is a benefit to me! My nose used to be very pointy, and very defined. I love my nose, and the results that the surgery gave me. Here is a picture for comparison purposes, it NEVER gets old...
Is there still swelling?
Yes, not enough to affect my daily activities, no one notices, but me. Most of the swelling occurs in the morning, and then it goes down throughout the day.
Shout-out to Rosa!!!
I have no regrets. This has made my confidence hit the roof, and it has made me so very happy! I can bite into anything, and honestly all the pain and burdens were 900% worth it!!! DO IT. Trust me you will not regret it, I know it is a HUGE life altering decision, but I say go for it. This was the best decision I EVER made.
(Would you mind letting me see your bite? Is it how mine used to be).
How long do you do the salt water rinses?
I never did them. :O haha. Other than rinsing my infection drain (but that is whole other story! ha).
Did you feel like your elastics were super tight?
Yep, it is normal, they put a lot of pressure on my teeth, and it even gave me headaches. Do not worry, it will be over soon. Just push through it.
ANY more questions? Go ahead! shoot. :)
I will answer.
Also I promised you all a food post- it is coming soon. I promise, oh, and so are some update pictures.
Love, Makay
Thanks for answering my questions. Hope you have an awesome week at school. Looking forward to the food blog. Guest what? I ate pancakes! I can eat any soft food now as long as I can swallow it. LOL. My mouth felt so swollen inside today not sure why but I am getting better and talking better. This is day 17. I think I will continue my salt rinses as I think it kind of firms things up inside-there is so much metal and other stuff in there.
ReplyDeleteHey, Makay - just so you know, I wasn't allowed to do physical therapy for a long time because of the state of my jaw joints (they were so unhealthy following surgery). So make sure people know that they should ALWAYS ask their surgeon prior to doing any physical therapy - and many people will never get their full range of motion back.
ReplyDeleteOnce I was allowed to do physical therapy, I did it as much as possible and am just now getting to two fingers opening. My surgeon says it will likely stay around there forever. It just depends on the state of your joints and how good/bad they were prior to surgery, and what had to change during surgery.
On another note, you look fantastic! Congrats - I'm so happy for you :)
To piggy back on what Stephanie said...yeah I haven't been told to do any kind of exercises other than opening my mouth as wide as I can. But that was before I was put back in rubber bands 24/7 that keep me pretty shut. I had arthritis in my jaw joints so yeah, like steph, mine were pretty banged up too. It will probably be a while before I start doing any kind of physical therapy on them. They must heallll :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for answering my questions though! Glad I'm not the only one eating with a mirror! I am slowly getting rid of it though.
You look fantastic and it's only going to get better! How are your classes? Or should I check out ur other blog for school stuff?
Still so amazed by the changes. Thanks for keeping us all so informed . . . super helpful!!!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAHHHHHRGGG hahaaa thankyou for my shout out!! loved itt:D I am seriously considering this surgery now, and I've got an appointment with the orthodontist soon so I can ask her a load of questions about it then!:)
ReplyDeleteWhen you say see my bite how do you mean? like send a photo? How do you send photos? It is pretty much exaactly the same as yours used to be, apart from I don't have a 'cross bite' hahaa. I will send a photo when I work out how:)
lots of love xoxo
do ppl in ur school recognize u? like teachers and students
ReplyDelete-jane
You look b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l!!! I remember feeling so sad about my surgery but they told me it would take at least a YEAR for the swelling to be completely gone. That's so crazy but the body needs time! Yours doesn't seem to need it though- you are so cute! I'm glad everything is going so well!
ReplyDelete@ Jane- No... ha People do not recognize me... only close friends. It def took a lot of getting used to. ha.
ReplyDelete-makay