2 Years two months Post OP AND MORE Surgery in my future!

So today is almost 2 years and 2 months post op. I know it sounds crazy, and it is slow but feeling is still returning. The area in my lower lip has become significantly less numb, it is very tingly now and when I bite down into my lip I can now feel it totally on all areas of my lip, whereas before it was numb in spots. Those areas that were numb are now still tingly but I suspect in the next month or so it will all be back to normal and I will have no numbness.


Now for the really big news. Since my surgery I have been having trouble with my upper second molar on the left. I cannot chew on that side because it hurts to bite down on. I had a consult with Dr. Edwards again today as I went for a dental consult a few weeks ago and found out that my tooth is hurting because it basically has hardly any root left. We are not sure why, probably some sort of reabortion from the surgery. Anyway...the goal today was to see if there was enough bone left to pull the tooth and place an implant and if I would require another bone graft before we could place an implant. Or if it just wasn't an option. As is the norm it can never just be simple an easy. I'm starting to seriously think that this oral drama in my mouth is just never gone to end. I mean really how many times can a persons gums be cut into?

So I arrive today hoping for the best! Dr Edwards comes in, says hello to me and "that we really need to stop meeting like this." He asks me if I got full feeing back, and afer taking a quick look see in my mouth says..."you really did heal beautifully" He looks at my xrays and says that what he will need to do to fix things is this. First he will extract my tooth, then go in and removed my rigid fixation in that area, or at least cut some of it in half or out so he can get to the are, then he will do a sinus lift. Which is basically where they lift up the sinus, and pack more bone under the area lifted in the upper jaw area to allow more bone to be grafted for placement of the implant. He said he would still place the implant in the current bone, but this extra bone would make sure the jaw was stablized and strong enough to support a molar implant. The abutement would then be placed about 6-8 months after that. He wants to do all this in his dental office, under I.V sedation and says it will take about 90 minutes.

Now I'm sure the look of horror on my face pretty much said it all. I was worried about damage to my sinuses...the ones that I just got to finally work the way I want them too. I'm also worried about more numbness to my upper jaw or gums (which he swears will not happen), In addition I must say that I'm quite nervous about my rigid fixation being taken out. I know that is kindof silly but I guess everything has just been working so well, I'm worried about messing with something that is just working. He says I don't need them anymore that my bone has now filled in and done its part, but Im stil scared.

Now with all that being said I'm also so not excited about ANYMORE surgery in my mouth! God I don't want anymore cutting in there! This however is really my best option. They can't do a bridge due to the supporting teeth being weak, and with the root absortion it would also be problematic. So really this is my ONLY option! As crappy as it is I really don't have much of a choice. The cost of everything....$5900.00 before insurance. So I'm waiting for pre-auth to see what will be covered and what won't before we decide to proceed.

CAN I SCREAM NOW!!!! UHHHH...MORE SURGERY IN MY MOUTH!

2 Years Post op

Wow....2 years! That sounds like such a long time just typing it! Hard to believe it has been that long already, but it has! Well where to begin...I mean as of today the time really has gone by quite quickly, and I have almost complete feeling back everywhere now. There are a couple small spots that are still a tad bit tingly but I know that within the next couple of months, I will be back to 100% which really is pretty cool, given my age and all.

I was thinking back on the beginning of all this and how apprehensive I was. I'm so glad I did it though, and the benefits from it all have been truly amazing. I'm also excited because I get to see my oral surgeon tomorrow. My son has a wisdom tooth consult with him, so it will be the first time I have seen him in over a year and a half. Overall I have been just thrilled with the work he has done, and "knock on wood" I have not any issues at all since completing the surgery. In fact I haven't had a sinus infection in over a year now, and haven't been sick not even with a cold in over a year as well. Overall I'm sleeping like a baby, and honestly have never felt better.

I will continue to post until full feeling is truly 100% back, which probably won't be much longer. I think it must be very encouraging to others out there to know though, that the healing really does take a long time, but that the prognosis is good, its just a waiting game.

I will post a current pic tomorrow.

23 Months and counting

So I'm a few days late, but still pretty close. It has now been 23 months...almost two years since my jaw surgery. Hard to believe it has been that long, seems like just yesterday when I was having it done, thankfully the mind has a way of dulling those memories.

Thinks are still improving. Still getting feeling back in my lower lip and teeth area. It is slow but definitely getting better each and every month. I'm definitely not done healing yet that is for sure! Never when I started this, would I have thought that I would still be posting about my healing almost 2 years post op, but I'm here to say that I am, and will continue to do so until all feeling returns or I stop having any changes.

I like that when I bite my lower lip now I can feel it everywhere...mind you some areas just feel tingly but at least I can feel it whereas before it was just numb. My chin has feeling back everywhere for the most part, but feeling is still a bit diverted or confused. When I scratch the left part of my chin I can feel it, but also feel it in the lower gums of my bottom teeth. It's kindof weird, but also getting less and less so that is good.

Overall things continue to go well. Eating, talking, pretty much everything I do with my mouth is getting easier with the increased feeling returning, so I'm very happy about that.

Other than this not much else to report. I haven't been taking my vitamins very well the last few months. I'm going to get back on my regular vitamin routine and see if it doesn't boost the healing/nerve regeneration process. I will keep you posted ! Until next month the official 2 year mark, I wish you well!

22 Months and Counting

Ok..so its now a year and 10 months since my big jaw surgery. Feeling is still returning, and I have actually gotten quite a bit back this month in my lower lip. It is starting to feel almost sorta normal again. I got a lot of feeling back in my lower teeth this month too, but it is not totally back just yet. I went through a couple of weeks where my lip and teeth were like really tingly and it was kindof annoying, but it seems to have subsided now so that is a plus. It seems to follow that course everytime. I get tingly and sometimes feel more numb, then after a week or so it subsides and I have more feeling back in that area. At any rate I"m happy to still be getting feeling back and I"m pretty positive that eventually it will all return.

Other then that things with my mouth are pretty uneventful. I have now officially not had a sinus infection in over a year so that is a huge celebration! For the most part I don't really notice the stuff with my jaw now though, I'm used to it and it all feels pretty normal to me now. I will continue to post though until things stop changing or return to 100%.

Check in next month!

21 Months Post Op

So...actually I have been a little lax with my updates and its actually 21 and a half months. Things are going well still and feeling continues to return bit by bit. My lower lip is still mildy numb but is getting better and better with each passing month, as is my lower left quadrant. I can now chew gum on my left side and actually feel what I'm chewing which is a plus. I'm convinced its all going to come back within the 2 year mark.

Since having the surgery things are great. I'm sleeping, and honestly feel terrific. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat, and I don't regret any part of this whole decision.

Well, I will keep posting until its really over! So until next month peace out! :)

20 Months and Still Healing

Well this is a little late, but not much has really changed so you haven't missed much. Overall things are still going well. I'm getting more and more feeling back everyday and my lower lip has been pretty tingly, which is good cause that is what it does right before I get a nice amount of my feeling returned. Recovery is very slow these days though, and I fully expect that its going to take no less then 24 months for things to return to normal. I have gotten a lot of feeling back in my lower left quadrant, and teeth too which is nice.
So...things continue to progress....just slowly, but hey its a marathon and I knew that going in. One big celebration though is that as of March 5th I have not had a sinus infection in a year. Wooo Hooo! That rocks!

Ok...here is an udated photo at Mary's request. Taken today January 7th, 2009 

19 months Post op

Ok...so I actually missed 19 months by 10 days but figured I would update anyway. I'm still having things improve. Bottom lip is getting better in terms of feeling. It is still slow but improving more every month. My lower teeth in the left quadrant have just about all the feeling back now, and overall things are doing well.

Mostly I don't really notice my numbness too much now, but do find in the evenings when I get tired that sometimes my lip becomes more numb and harder to control. I will continue to update until I'm not longer having any changes.

18 Months Post op! Woo hoo!

So I"m three days late...but officially a year and a half post op. Can't believe it has been that long already! Thankfully it has gone by pretty quickly!

So..things still continue to improve. I still have some slight numbness in the lower left area of my bottom lip, but it has improved since last month and I can feel it when I lick it and also with lip to lip contact now, so that is a plus.
It is still tingly and gradually improving. I'm sure it will return to normal in the next few months I can tell its not done repairing just yet.

Overall I'm still thrilled with everything. I haven't had a sinus infection in almost 9 months now, and I'm sleeping great, have a ton of energy, and I'm in better shape then I have been in years now, so its really all good. Nothing to complain about for sure.

If you have an specific questions please feel free to email me. Otherwise I will post next month with the most current changes. Thanks for checking out my blog!

17 Months Post Surgery

So I came to my blog today to see if it was time for me to post an update again, and low and behold today was exactly 17 months! Well I have to say that things just get better with each passing month. Feeling is slowly improving and I think I could honestly have it totally back by next month. Things have gotten considerably better this past 30 days. My bottom lip is still mildly numb but is sooo much better and only very tiny patchy areas remain impaired. I also got a lot of feeling back in the lower left quadrant of my teeth. They were tingly when I would chew, now they feel much more normal, and less uncomfortable.

I was initially told 18 months to 2 years for full healing. I seem to be coming right up on that date, and may actually be done by then, I suppose only time will tell.

Overall I'm still thrilled I did all of this and very happy with my progress. I'm also now 9 month without a sinus infection, or really any kind of illness. I have been working out very hard, and honestly feel better then I have in years! This surgery was truly a miracle for me.

I will post again next month with my progress. Sorry for the boring update, but it just is what it is.....things are slow, but steady. It's a marathon but one I'm rather enjoying.

16 months Post Op

So here we are again, only today it is 1 month later and I'm 16 months post op. Things continue to heal and improve, and with each passing month become closer and closer to how they were before surgery. Just this past week I went through another healing spurt. As has been the norm with the others my lower lip got very hot, tingly, and hyper sensitive for a few days. It felt more numb then it normally does, and then without warning the tingling subsided and my lower lip now has more feeling in it then it did before. There are still patchy areas (very small ones in my lower lip and slightly below it) that continue to heal and improve as time continues to pass.

I can now easily put lipstick on, meaning I can really feel it without looking now, and I have much more control over drinking and eating, as well as kissing. Things no longer feel totally void of feeling. The bonded retainer has done wonders over the past month and my teeth now feel pretty stable on top with no more pain. I'm thinking that some of the pain and instability I was experiencing was due to the nerves regenerating in my upper incisors. I can bite into sandwiches now and just about anything else with little or no issue.

Sleeping continues to be amazing, and I'm so much happier and healthier then I have been in a long long time. I'm also at 6 months now without having any sinus infections either. This is the longest stretch without one in over 4 years. It is so nice to feel strong and in control of my immune system again! Mostly my life has returned to normal, and I honestly just go about my days without really thinking about the changes anymore. My healing continues though, and has followed a very definite progression moving from the chin up. I'm guessing it could be a few more months until everything is 100%, but currently it is at about 95%, and I can live with that as it gradually returns on its own.

Until next month, I wish you all well, uneventful surgeries, and happy healing.

15 Months Post Op

Ok, technically its 4 days away from 15 months but its close enough I think! Things continue to go well and I continue to heal! I sortof look forward to the day I post and everything is back to normal and I have nothing to post about though.

Feeling continues to return more and more as each month passes. It is just a slow process now, and takes 3-4 weeks to really notice a difference rather then just a couple of weeks. My bottom lip is still slightly numb but has actually improved a lot this past month. It is becoming less tingly and more normal feeling. The area below it, and down into my chin is also getting much better. It is still tingly when I scratch it, but it has a lot of feeling now and almost feels back to normal. Not totally but definitely improved. I think if I spilled something on it, I would be able to feel it now as opposed to before where I would just walk around with it stuck to my face. I have gotten a lot of feeling back this past month in the lower left quadrant of my teeth and can feel all of my gums now. The bonded retainer has helped a lot with the upper tooth pain I was experiencing, and I'm thinking that some of the pain might have just been the nerves regenerating in that area. Either way, I can now bite into things pretty well without any real issues to speak of. I figure since I have a bit of root reabsorbtion that it is probably better to not overstress my upper incisors so if its really hard, chewy, or tough, I just use my fingers to break it up into smaller pieces and eat it rather then biting into it. I have found it still to be uncomfortable with very hard things, but I can bite into a soft sandwich, and if necessary turn my bite a bit to allow my canines to do some of the tearing work now.

Overall things seem to be coming along very well. My range of motion has returned, and while the jaw joints are stiff sometimes, it is pretty much back to normal without much effort. I can't say enough about how thrilled I am with the results of this whole surgery experience I mean my quality of life has been dramatically improved, and while it has been a long recovery, it has been sooo worth it.

So....here is some other good news. I have not had a sinus infection in 6 months now! A record for me, so that is pretty thrilling. Overall I feel incredible! I'm back at the gym working out, and doing very well.

I will post again in another month and let you know how the healing is coming along then. Thanks for reading my blog and I hope it is/has been helpful to you.

Last "official" Ortho appointment

Well today was officially my last ortho appointment. He checked my bonded retainers, said they look good, and that I don't need to come back anymore. I mean he wasn't rude. He just said that he wouldn't make me schedule an appointment and that he no longer needed to see me unless I needed to see him. I gave him the double thumbs up sign with a big smile, and said awesome! He laughed and handed me my chart.

For some reason I feel a little sad about not having to go there anymore. I mean, I'm glad everything is all done, but I guess this has all been such a big part of my life for so long, that it seems strange to not have to go to anymore appointments.

All is going well though and feeling continues to improve. It is hard to believe that it has been 14 months now and I'm still healing, but at the same time I'm ever so glad that I am!

Here are a couple of new pics of my ever changing face! LOL..
(They look blurry til you click on them)

14 Months Post op

Wow....I have been lax with my blog posts lately. I have an excuse though, as I have been on vacation for the past month and my internet access has been pretty limited. Things are still going well. Feeling is still coming back, it is taking longer these days but it is definitely still not finished up yet.

The bonded retainer is doing well, and has helped stabilized my teeth a lot. I'm still not able to bite into things with my front teeth though without it being uncomfortable. Not unbearably so, but not like the good old days when I could bite into anything with not issues.

Eating still has its challenges at times due to the slight numbness in my lower lip. I have the most difficulty with liquid stuff like soup, or drinking things sometimes. Overall though its not too bad and I don't notice it all that much now. My range of motion is still a bit limited too.....I sometimes have to stretch my jaw out a bit before I can take big bites, but it does open once it is worked out a bit.

Overall there is not much else going on with my jaw. I will keep posting until it all improves.

New Crown and Essix a Thing of the Past

So I saw my dentist on Monday and he put my new crown on! I'm very happy with it, it matches my teeth now and I don't feel so self conscious. I did get a bit of disconcerting news though. It seems that I have had some root re-absortion on my upper front teeth. One tooth is at less then 50%. Now why this happens is not really known. So people have more of a genetic predisposition for it, other times it could be caused by trauma such as my surgery, or from orthodontic treatment, however, the xrays of my teeth at my removal date showed all of my roots looking fine, so its something that has happened in the last 6 months.

New crown and finished smile
I have been having a lot of discomfort in my front right incisor. It has been wiggly and really uncomfortable when I brush, or try to bite into anything. It just so happened that I had an appointment with the ortho for my retainer check the day after I got my new crown. I talked to him about my loose tooth, and the dentist sent over some xrays showing my roots. He said that yes my roots had shrunk a bit, but that as long as we have at least 50% on them, and there is no bone degeneration it should not pose a really issue for me in terms of losing teeth. In order to help stablize them, get rid of my wiggly tooth, and just give them a bit more strength he decided to put a bonded retainer on the top teeth from bicupid to bicuspid. I'm so loving it! My essix is a thing of the past and it is really nice to not have to bother with it anymore.


New bonded retainer on top

Since having my surgery and expansion, things in the cheek area have been pretty fitted. With the essix I would wake up with grooves in my cheeks from biting down on them. Today was the first day I awoke with no cheek grooves. I slept like a baby, AND best of all, I can now bite into sandwiches, and brush my teeth with no pain. I love this new retainer so much better. Now yes it has a downfall. I can no longer floss freely, I have to use a threader floss and do the uppers an lowers with a mirror. It is a small price to pay for the benefits though, and my bite feels spot on now.

Other then that there is not much more to report. I'm still healing, numbness is still abating, and I'm still glad everyday that I went through all of this.

Before and After Brandy

Busy Week at the Dentist

So I decided to get my front crown fixed right away, so I had my implant seated Monday and was back at the dentist today to have my old crown removed, and replaced with a temp. I learned a lot today about how old crowns are replaced. What they do is saw down the center of them, then pry under the edges and pop them off. My dentist then removed the glue leaving me with basically a little tooth stump that the old crown was previously attached to. He had to call the guy from the place that makes the crowns, the one that will be baking the porcelin on it, because it seems that my teeth are pretty white! He could not find a perfect color match, the brightest sample was just a hair to white, and the one below it was too yellow. He had the guy come over and personally check it out. He said something about using the brightest one but adding a bit of blue to it to tone it down. I'm assuming since he is the expert that he knows what he is doing, and he was taking very detailed notes about it so I'm sure it will all turn out well when its done. I'm excited that I'm finally going to have matching front teeth!

The crown is supposed to be ready to go by the 14th so I can get it on before heading out on vacation. So far my essix retainer still fits with the temporary crown, but it is possible I might need a new one once the crown is done so I need to have time to get in and get it, if that is the case.

Here is my sore looking gums with the temp crown on it. It actually looks much better then I thought it would for a temp.

I also got some more good news....I have some dark spots(what I thought were stains) between my front tooth and my second incisor. I was asking the dentist today about it and what we could do to get rid of it. He said that it is not staining but composite that a previous dentist used to fill in some very small irregularities. He said he had no idea why the dentist used such a dark color as it doesn't match my teeth at all. He also said that he left a big glob of it on the back of my front tooth. So...he shaved that down and told me that at a later appointment he can remove the old composite and put some new stuff that will match my teeth and eliminate the dark spots. I was so excited! Soon my teeth will all look good.

I know your probably wondering what I'm talking about, but trust me this stuff is not in my head, it really is visible, and since I can get it fixed, AND it's all covered by insurance why not do it?

Molar Implant Finally Complete!

So today was the big day! and while I was very excited to get my implant finally done, I must admit it was a little bit anti-climatic!

So here is how it went. Once I arrived and was seated, the doctor proceeded to take the abutement off of my implant. He then took the newly made crown and put it into the implant screw. He was checking for fit, to make sure the contacts on each side weren't too tight for me to floss. They were (too tight) so he proceeded to put the implant in and take it out about three more times, each time grinding it down just a bit more. When we finally got a perfect fit, he pressed the implant into place by holding my jaw bone and using his thumb to press it in tight. Full View of my Lowers now

He then had me bite down on some green contact paper, and rub my teeth back and forth to make sure they all fit. At this point things looked good so he used a special screwdriver thing, that goes through the screw in the center of the fake tooth, to screw it down and into the implant fitting very tightly. Once that was done he had the nurse take an X-ray to make sure it was seated properly. It was but just for good measure he tightened it one more time. Then he filled the hole on top with some composite, lazor lighted it til dry, ground off any additional cement with the drill, and used the pick to get a couple last bits. Then I was done!

Top, distance view of implant

I must say it is weird to not have that space in my mouth anymore, but so nice to be able to chew on the other side now. It really is amazing how real they feel. It totally feels like one of my regular teeth. Much better then my bridge on the other side does. Too bad they are so expensive otherwise I would replace all my crowns with them.

Close up view of implant

Basically that was it, but we are going to replace the crown in front that I hate so much in the next couple of weeks (I want it on before the 20th when I leave) and then we are going to begin replacing the top two upper crowns on the left. They are old and misshapen (the previous dentist who did these was very bad.) My dentists says the new crowns will make my bite better and will eliminate the big spaces between my teeth that are there now due to these old crowns not fitting properly. So....again we take one giant step forward and three tiny steps back. Oh well, such is life I guess....I really will have a $100,000 smile when I'm all done with this.

Side view of implant

Sent a Thank You Note to my Surgeon

Today I spent an hour driving around just to find my oral surgeon. Seems he has relocated and joined forces with a different group of doctors now so I went to three different places just to deliver a manilla envelope.

I wrote a two page letter to him, thanking him, telling him how my progess has been, and just letting him know how grateful I am to him for the fabulous job he did on my jaw. I also included a copy of all my pics in sheet protectors for him to put in his office brag book. I know when I was looking at his office book, I was a little disappointed that all he had in it was young kids. I really wanted to see someone my age. I figured since things turned out so well and I took a copius amount of pics that even if he decided not to use them it would be cool for him to be able to see the progress that has taken place over this last year.

I know doctors are in the profession of taking care of people, and that often times surgery is probably just another day at the office. However, I don't think they realize sometimes just how much they can change someones life, so I wanted to let him know how much his expertise has made a difference and just let him know that his kindness, dedication, and overall skill at his craft did not go unnoticed. He really is/was the nicest doctor I have been to in a very long time. He has a very warm bedside manner, and genuinely seems to care about his patients. I remember him telling me that he treats all of his patients as if they were his own, and that is exactly how I felt when he was working on me. I trusted him implicitly and that is pretty rare to find in a doctor these days.

So...Dr. Edwards! Thanks! YOU Rock!

1 YEAR POST OP

I posted a slide show above. The first is my senior pic taken when I was 18, the second one I was 34 before anything was done. The last one was after all my surgeries and braces at age 44. Big change huh?, and then a compare/contrast of then and now.

Wow! Hard to believe that as of today it has been one year since I had my skull cut in half! That sounds so much more dramatic then just saying I had jaw surgery doesn't it

Well lets see where to begin here. So much has happened, and changed, and transformed, its hard know how to put it all into words. I mean seriously, this time last year was not exactly what I would call enjoyable. My face was swollen up like a giant Ooooompa Looooompa, and I just had to believe that it was all going to be worth it, when in fact I really wasn't entirely sure of that.

Suffice it to say, looking back in retrospect that it has far and away exceeded my expectations, and was most definitely, the best course of action. Oh don't get me wrong, the whole process was a very long journey. One that played out gradually over about a 18 month span. However, for everything that was accomplished, gained, and improved, I have to say that it was worth every little thing. Even the bleeding tongue, and overall misery that I had while wearing my palate expander torture device

As I sit here typing I'm flooded with memories, of the good and the not so great. I could wax poetic here and probably drone on for hours about it all. But I will spare you all that, I mean really if you want to know how it was you can simply read the rest of my blog, for at the time I did my best to try and cover all the highs and lows I was going through.

It's so amazing sometimes how you really don't realize how much your life has changed or improved, until you've had the time to step back from it and really look at the big picture. The one that doesn't surface sometimes for many many months. I can totally say though (having been through it and all) that "Attitude is Everything" How one does with this whole journey is largely dependent on how you view it, how you talk to yourself through out it, and your overall attitude on life as your going through it. What you focus on you get more of. So I'm hear to tell you, as a surgery survivor, that you have the ability to make this surgery good or bad based on your focus throughout.

So, at one year how am I doing. Well in a word GREAT! but (there is always a but isn't there?) I'm still not 100% yet. Healing is coming along quite well I have most of the feeling back in my chin, and the whole upper palate, as well as my upper teeth. My bottom lip is mostly healed, but still has a few spots that are very very tingly and feel like they are coming off of novocaine. I know from this whole journey that that means the nerves are regenerating and that feeling will be returning eventually. The inside of my left cheek is still a bit tingly on the inside near the bottom of my lower gums. As is a tiny part of my tongue. My upper teeth in the front are still pretty sensitive, and biting things off like sandwiches etc. is still quite challenging to do without discomfort. Sometimes chewing a big mouthful of food can get a bit difficult. With my lower lip still a bit compromised sometimes I have a hard time keeping them together and closed. Talking can also become a bit of a struggle if I do it for long periods of time, and if you mix talking with alcohol it becomes much worse and I talk like I have some sort of speech impediment. Suffice it to say its a good thing that I don't really drink! LOL

Ok, lets see what else. I'm sleeping like a baby now. I have great, colorful, vivid dreams at night, and wake rested and refreshed after about 8 hours of sleep. Gone are the days when I could sleep in for hours and hours. Now, no matter what time I go to bed I wake up within 8 hours. While I miss those days of just lounging in bed, I don't miss the morning headaches, the waking up gasping for air at night, feeling constantly exhausted, looking like hell, the memory loss, being sick constantly, or feeling like I'm losing my mind. So overall...it has truly been a Godsend!

Another wonderful benefit has been getting my health back. Knock on wood, I have not had a sinus infection or had to take antibiotics for 3 full months now. I know that doesn't sound like much, but for someone who has had chronic sinusitus for over 5 years now, being able to get a cold, and just get over it, is a total miracle.

I have my brain connections back. By that I mean I can think clearly and have good judgement again. I have energy like I never had before and honestly feel better then I've felt in years. Since I was about 30 years old I would say. It is crazy, but in a great sortof way. Last but not least my skin looks healthier, and with the slight advancement I have gotten some slight "reverse face lift" benefits. So I look a bit younger, which as you know is always good, especially as you get older.

Ok...so have I noticed any cons to this surgery? Well a couple mostly related to feeling returning in certain areas still, but since those are most likely going to disappear eventually I will not get into them. I have noticed though that I don't think my range of motion is totally back to where it was before. I have noticed that if I engage in prolonged sucking or licking activites. Things that utilize my tongue muscles a lot or for extended periods of time like trying to lick an ice cream cone. It causes me to have extreme pain in my right TMJ joint. It is probably something that I think will get better over time or with practice, however, since I don't do these sorts of exercises on a regular basis it has only made gradual improvement. I don't think it is so much my jaw muscles though as it is the muscles connected to my tongue. Since the sliding genioplasty changes the pull on the tongue muscles I suspect it is the culprit, and think the muscles are just very tight and don't get enough exercise to really loosen up.

Well I could go on and on. Suffice it to say that my whole life, or rather life as I knew it has been totally changed. There are not words for how grateful I am to my oral surgeon. Because of his great skill, expertise, and precision, I'm now a new and improved me. I have nothing bad to say about my experience or surgery, only good has come out of it. I will keep posting until I feel I have returned to 100% or until I feel my healing has ceased and I am not making anymore improvements.

I get my implant placed next Tuesday so I'm looking forward to that, and to getting my front crown replaced. I will continue to post any oral changes that take place within the next few months. Until them...good luck to all of you out there soon to be going under the knife. May your surgery be as much of a success as mine has been.

How things Heal is sooo Weird!

I know it's not quite one year, but I have been having a super healing spurt the last two weeks and felt like I should probably take a few minutes to report on it. Now mind you I have been a bit surprised by all of this as it has sortof come out of nowhere. My lower lip, lower teeth, upper teeth, underneath my chin right at the jaw bone, and some slight areas on my chin have been tingling like crazy. They have felt hot, swollen, numb, then hyper sensitive, freezing cold, tender, and sore. Even running my tongue across my lower lip was really uncomfortable. As of today, things are feeling much better, and I have a ton more feeling back. Don't get me wrong, it is not fully back yet, but still in the works. It is not like it has stopped or anything but it has just sortof settled for today.

It is crazy to me how it can be almost 12 months since my surgery, yet things are still very much healing. I mean looking at the outside you would never know, everything appears normal. There is no visible swelling, or noticible puffiness. Clearly things are much different on the inside though, my body is still working away to recover from this whole jaw surgery ordeal. It is shocking to me how long it has been and how things really are still on going.

I will post more in a few days on my big 1 year anniversary, but thought this stuff was important so that others thinking about having this surgery really understand how long of a journey it is, but also to remain optimistic as this whole healing thing really is on a schedule all its own.

11 months 2 weeks

Ok, so I realize I have been a bit lax in updating this blog lately, but truly it is not so much that I haven't wanted to, it's just that progress is slow so there is not much to report. Well that and I have been absolutely, insanely, busy!

Here is my most recent pic and the short and condensed update version. I went to the dentist to see my lumineer pics. They were not very impressive. Actually it was just more support for me not getting them. I think the dentist was a bit surprised when I said I rather liked my smile the way it is now and that I don't want fake teeth over my real ones.

I go in on June 2nd to have my implant placed and can't wait. It is here right now but I have been so busy, and with school getting out next week, I just don't have time to go until I"m officially signed out for the summer. Things are continuing to improve. My lower lip and teeth have been super tingly lately, and are getting more feeling back. It is annoying, but good as I know it will pass and when it does my lip will just feel that much more normal.

When I have my next appointment for the implant we are going to start on the front crown replacement, I want to have that done before my son and I head out on vacation the end of June.

So....here is some good news. My doctor has had me on a antifungal nasal spray and massive amounts of pro-biotics. I caught a cold about three weeks ago. It has kindof been hanging in there, but some of it may be allergy related too. Anyway....knock on wood, it has not turned into a sinus infection and seems to be almost gone. This is the first time in over 3 years that I have gotten a cold an it has gone away on its own. Wooo hooo! I'm so excited. It's so nice to feel like I'm getting my health back, and healing on my own now without having to take drugs constantly! Just another plus from this surgery I guess!

I will post again at the 1 year mark (which is coming up soon), or after my implant placement. Whichever comes first!

Implant Soon!

Here is a pic of what was screwed into my teeth today (minus the tooth part on top)

Today was my appointment with the dentist to get my implant fitted. So here is what happened. I got there and the dentist took what was basically a very teenie tiny screwdriver. He fit it into the implant cover and screwed it off. I then felt the area with my tongue and could feel the hole that the actual implant goes into. He then proceeded to screw in the implant screw that had the piece on it that the actual tooth is going to be built around. Once that was done he took an an xray, to make sure that the screw was completely screwed in and where it needed to be. Next came impressions...I started to have flashbacks of the orthodontists office but manage to get them under control. He filled in the area around the implant post with some special goo that was in a syringe, then filled the implant tray and pressed it on to my lower teeth. It was a bit uncomfortable when he pulled it out. Not on my implant but on my other lowers. The goo just didn't want to let go of my bonded retainer so it took some prying to get it off! He then cleaned up the mess and proceeded to take impressions of the top teeth. Once he was finished with that, he unscrewed the implant post, screwed the cover screw back on again, and freed me to go. He said my final implant should be in in about 2 weeks. At which point I will come back, they will remove the cover, screw the implant in, polish it up a bit, and it will be completely finished! I'm excited! I can't wait to be able to chew on the left hand side instead of just the right all the time. I was also very happy that I had no pain, or sensitivity in the implant, even when he screwed the cover back on pretty tightly. A couple of months ago I could feel that it was really sensitive around my implant site, I hated even touching it with my tongue or brushing it, now things feel great though so that is a plus!

I also got some great news about my front crown. The Dr. agreed with me about it being a bit mis-shaped, and a different color then the rest of my teeth. He said that all my crowns could be replaced with porcelin ones now and that he would change the color to a whole shade and a half lighter. Also he said that since it has been over 5 years since my crowns were done, they can all be replaced and will be covered by insurance. So I was very psyched about that! The plan now is, to schedule an appointment as soon as my implant is placed to have my front crown re-done first. We are then just going to plug away at them until they are all fixed! Woot Woot! I'm not excited because I hate dental work, however, I do know they will look great when they are done, and it will eliminate some of the spaces between my teeth that have come about from my braces alignment so I'm looking forward to it.

Oh, and I got a call today from the Lumineer dentist. Seems my model pics have come in and they would like me to come in to see them. I have an appointment next Wednesday to do so, but will not be getting Lumineers. Especially now that I know I can get new crowns, and have them covered by insurance.

So....thats where I'm at with the oral drama these days. Things are still progressing and healing well. I can't believe that I'm almost at 11 months post op. With a year coming up soon! UNBELIEVABLE! It has gone by so fast!

10 Months Post OP! Woot Woot!

So today is my big 10 month post op anniversary! Woot woot! Still have to pinch myself everyday that I lived through all of this, and that the results have been so fantastic. When the doctor told me it would take a long time to heal I knew he meant it. Of course I really had no conceptualization of just how long 10 months is. I mean until you have gone through it all, and your living the recovery everyday you really have no idea just how long 10 months is. Know what I mean?

So anyway...things are going well. Healing continues believe it or not! Parts of my lower lip is still numb. If you look closely at the pic you can see exactly where the lip is a bit droopy and thatis the numb area. I should add that part of the right side of my tongue is still a bit numb. Feeling is gradually coming back though all over, and is very tingly so I'm pretty sure that it will eventually come back 100%.

Most of the time I hardly notice the numbness at all. I mean it's there but I can feel my lip when I lick it, and have no trouble applying lipstick now so that is a plus. It is deeper, below the surface that I can't really feel yet. My teeth are sortof sensitive in the front right now. I'm guessing because the gums have been getting feeling back. I'm still not able to bite it to things like sandwiches. Not directly anyway. it hurts my teeth. I have to bite stuff off with the side, like with my canines, or break pieces off with my fingers and eat it. Pretty much everything that is really hard or crunchy hurts. Even rice cakes! LOL... NOT super bad, but enough to make me not want to bite into things.

I'm still doing the retainer thing nightly, and have my 3 month retainer check this Thursday. i'm sure it will take all of 5 minutes for him to say "hmmm...things look good, come see me in 6 months"

So here is some new news. I think I have finally discovered what the cause of my chronic sinus infections is. It is not bacterial but fungal......actually yeast! I have a freakin yeast infection in my sinuses if you can believe that! It seems that the Mayo Clinic has recently posted some more info regarding this. Saying that now that they are able to take better cultures that they are finding that many like 90 or more % are caused by fungal infections. Here's how it works. You get a sinus infection. Your doctor gives you antibiotics, which destroy your good intestinal flora. This some how causes like pitting in the intestinal wall which allows for yeast deposits to grow. It can actually sortof infiltrate your system and you can get what is called "systemic yeast issues" meaning that it has spread throughout your body. It can cause brain fog, hormone issues, sleep issues, ear infections, and chronic sinus infections. Also, your body craves carbs, sugar, and chocolate, as the yeast wants to be fed! Milk can also add to this because it has lactose sugar in it.

So....I finished another round of antibiotics while in Hawaii. Two days after I was done things seemed like they were getting worse. I was really stuffed up, and my sinuses were draining like crazy. I was getting a ton of crap I was sniffing out of my sinuses.........but the kicker is, that it was really really sweet tasting, like sugar almost.

My naturalpath doctor prior to surgery had suggested possible fungal issues with my sinuses but it was too close to surgery so I just blew her off. They other day she gave me a perscription for some Nystatin nasal spray (it is compounded at a compounding pharmacy) I decided that I would try it out as, the only reason I could think that my sinuses would be sweet would be from yeast (since it feeds on sugar)

WELL, I'm feeling so much better. I don't have junk running down my throat anymore, I can breathe, I'm not stuffed up, AND my head feels clear. You are supposed to use this stuff for 3 months, as yeast is incredibly hard to totally eliminate from your system, but even after only 2 days it feels like a freakin miracle spray. The doctor also has me on some pretty strong probiotics now to help with things too. I"M soooo happy right now, as I was so bummed about the ENT continually perscribing me antibiotics, and doing surgery with things never getting better. Now I feel like I'm on the road to recovery!

I have been insanely busy so I haven't had time to make an appointment yet for my implant stuff. I want to, but there is just not enough hours in a day for me lately. As soon as things die down I will get in to see the dentist and post the gory details. So that is my latest LONG update. I hope all my other surgery buddies are doing as well as I am!

Lumineers, Not in My Near Future!

So I had my appointment with the local, well regarded, cosmetic dentist today. I had heard that they could put lumineers over old crowns and thought that this might be the solution to my discolored second incisor, which I absolutely hate looking at, and is the only thing I really see when I look in the mirror.

Well, I had my hopes shot down today so that was a bit dissapointing. Why is it no matter how good you think things look, it is just never good enough? I mean, I went into the dentist thinking that I was pretty ok with my smile now (I mean it is 100% better then what it used to be) I have never wanted to have the whole super, white, every tooth the same, fakey looking smile. I sorta think that peoples teeth shapes, their sizes, placement etc are what make us unique and different. So that everyone just doesn't look like some sortof clone of each other. Don't get me wrong, I like teeth that are straight, but just teeth that are natural, not totally perfect, or veneer like. Anyway.....the dentist proceeded to point out my additional flaws and told me that they do not do just one lumineer. It seems that lumineers are somewhat translucent, and that it is very hard to match the color to the other teeth if they just did one. It is recommended that they do the front 4 or 6 minimum. He proceeded to show me a book where you pick out the shape of the teeth you would like. Did you know that men tend to have squarer looking teeth and that women are drawn towards individuals with square teeth (because we are looking for men.) Women's teeth tend to be more rounded and uniform in shape. He had me pick out the shape that was most appealing to me. Then he had me choose from 3 different colors of how white I would like them to be. They then took my picture to send off to the company. The Lumineer makers apparently have some sort of promo going on where they send in your pics along with your tooth shape choices, and color choice, they then super impose them over your teeth to show you how you will look with lumineers. It normally costs $200.00 to have this done but is free until the end of this month. They then call me back in about 2 weeks to show me how they look and I guess help me decide what I want to do. Or to really make me see what I'm missing.

So....I was thinking about it all, and that I would be willing to do this. The Doctor was right, there were a few things that could be improved. Then came the price tag. When I looked online it showed lumineers costing about $750.00 each. Three thousand dollars...it is a lot, but I could do this. It would be expensive but hey I've come this far, it wouldn't be that much more for me to feel totally happy with my smile. Well, then the dentist tells me that they are $1500.00 a piece. So it would cost me not three thousand, but six thousand dollars, for four teeth! The benefit of living in Alaska I suppose.

Alas...while I would love to get them, I just can't justify another $6,000 dollars for my old teeth. That is a lot of money...too much! I really hate this ugly crown, and want my teeth to match, but it appears I will have to learn to live with it, at least for a few years longer. :(

On a happier note though, my dentist called and my implant pieces are in. I only need schedule an appointment to get my implant placed. Details coming soon!