2 months post-op update

I don't think much has changed in my appearance since last month, do you? I can't see many changes anyway. Maybe a little less swollen. Still that stubborn swelling and stiffness around my nose area. Argghh. Not even going to show you my smile pic because it's still too goofy and I'm self-conscious about it (Kelsie's blog gives me hope and inspiration. She looks so beautiful and her smile is so perfect, I'm waiting on and hoping for that down the road). I love posting my profile pics because I'm in love with my chin. Oh and as you can see I am in dire need of a haircut. Also, I think it's funny that I blend into the black leather chair in the first pic. Hehe. Okay, I'll shut up now.

Today I went to see Dr. J. My 9 year old daughter and I did, actually. She had to go for her 2nd consultation. She went last year for the first time. This time, Dr. J said it would be a good idea to remove two of her baby teeth, the eye teeth on top, to make room for the permanent teeth. He said there's a 50/50 chance she'll need braces in the future, but we have to wait another year until she loses all her baby teeth to tell for sure. The good news is, she does NOT have any problems with her jaws. Her jaw joints are in the right place. This is good. She doesn't have her mom's problems. Whew.

Then it was my turn. Dr. J's assistant started off examining me. She couldn't figure out why that bottom tooth of mine was not straightening. She's spent months trying to straighten that little bugger. She got Dr. J to have a look, and he decided to take over. Now, in the year since I've been going to Dr. J, he's never actually done any work in my mouth personally. It's always been his assistant (also wife), who I will call P. She is a very pretty, soft-spoken, GENTLE woman who smells lovely. Dr. J? Not so much. Breath isn't as good, not so pretty up close, and NOT GENTLE AT ALL. Ouch. He was flipping my head around, pressing hard on my poor little new chin, and just generally being rough with me. I felt like saying "I'm a human, not one of your sets of teeth is your office you use to demonstrate stuff on." He's a nice man, a brilliant man, but his handling of people leaves something to be desired. No wonder his wife does most of the adjusting. When I came out of the office, my husband said I looked like I'd been beaten up. Hair mussed, long-wear lipstick smudges all over my face, a wild look in my eye...

ANYWAY. No more power chains, they did their job well. No more hooks! I now have two single elastics on either side of my mouth to keep those muscles from trying to move my bite back to the way it was. I have to wear them all the time, except while eating and brushing, but it's okay because you can barely see them and they are nice and stretchy.

I asked Dr. J when I can expect to get my braces off and he said "3-5 months, but definitely by Christmas". Sigh. Oh well, so much for corn on the cob this summer. But it's okay, I'm really not that impatient about my braces. They seem like part of me now. Like my nose. Or my pinky toe. Except more annoying.

In other news, the roof of my mouth has 100% feeling back and everytime I drink something hot or cold I can feel it right up my sinuses. So strange. My gushing gums have almost healed, thank goodness. No more bleeding.

That's it! I'm sore now, so off to down some Advil.