1 Year Post-Op

December 18, 2012 
DR. PIPER APPOINTMENT- 8:30am

My appointment went as usual... CT scans, explaining how I was feeling, measurements, etc. After looking at everything Dr. Piper concluded that, although my condyle bones are stronger, and my left side is much more defined and my right side is becoming more calcified, the bones are still very small and fragile and not finished calcifying. In addition, my ball and socket still don't line up perfectly on the right side yet, but the left side looks good. Sadly, my open bite was also 1mm larger than at my nine month appointment, because of the seeding of the bone into the fat graft. So unless some miraculous bone growth occurs, I will have to have the bite corrective osteotomy (lower jaw surgery) for sure now. Bummer! At this point Dr. Piper just doesn't feel that the braces will be able to move my bite as far as it needs to go.

Next, I was disappointed to find out that I couldn't get the Incognito braces. Dr. Piper said that I should get regular braces because of the need to use rubber bands on the fronts of my teeth to keep the pressure off of my joints. Without the rubber bands, he felt that my fat grafts would get unduly compressed. By keeping the pressure off of my joints my bones will have a greater chance of continuing to calcify. Regular braces would also be needed for banding into the splint again when I have the bite surgery. Although I was wishing for anything other than regular braces, I knew that it was the best thing to do, and above all, I will always follow Dr. Piper's advice. The best news was that getting the new braces meant an end to my year long partnership with my splint. YAHOO!!!!

So for now, Dr. Piper wants me to stay on my vitamins and nighttime prescription (to prevent clenching while I sleep), and also remain on a moderate, soft diet. The good news was that I now get to chew the soft food at every single meal. I still just cannot bite with my front teeth and I have to always be sure to switch from side to side while chewing. With more time on a soft diet, we are hoping for continued progress and healing in the joints.

DR. JACKSON APPOINTMENT- 2:30pm
For my orthodontic appointment I got X-rays taken and then had the braces put on. I was sure to take a muscle relaxer and an anti-inflammatory before the appointment, just as Dr. Piper directed. They worked quickly and were good about letting me rest my jaw as needed. They placed six brackets on the top and eight brackets on the bottom...

Dr. Jackson did say that he would like to see me every two months, rather than every three months as was first discussed. My jaw was sore and I had a "normal person" headache after the appointment, but it wasn't anything a nap on the flight home couldn't fix.

BYE, BYE SPLINT
I no longer have to wear the splint (HALLELUJAH) and I only have to place one rubber band on each side while I sleep. Of course, a random thing did happen to me, though. By the time I got home that night, my two front teeth had separated and I had a huge gap...

I called Dr. Jackson and sent him photos. He said that it is something that can happen, but it usually doesn't happen so quickly and make such a large space. Normally, he would have just had me come back into the office that next day, but since I had already flown home, he told me to wait a week and then go to a local orthodontist to have it fixed by adding an elastic chain to close the space. I followed his advice and it worked like a charm. My teeth were sore for about a week and I took Aleve to help with the pain.

FUTURE SURGERY
As far as a timeline for bite surgery goes, Dr. Piper said that it isn't even an option until my teeth fit together properly again. Thus, he doesn't want to see me again until June, when I have had the new braces for six months. At that point he will assess my joint and orthodontic progress and he will have a better idea of when the surgery might happen. However, he did say that even after six more months, my bones still might not be strong enough to withstand bite surgery. We shall see...

February 18, 2013

DR. JACKSON APPOINTMENT- 2:00pm

During this trip to Florida, I only went to see Dr. Jackson. He was very pleased with my progress and said everything was looking great. They changed out my wires, replaced one of my front brackets, and added more wire support between my two front teeth so that the gap would thankfully never return. 

He wants to see me again in two months.

March 15, 2013

PROGRESS UPDATE

At first it was so strange not having to always worry about my splint schedule. I constantly felt like I was forgetting something, because it had become such a huge part of my daily routine. But now I feel such freedom. The new braces have been such a breeze compared to the surgical braces. They don't shred the insides of my cheeks like the other ones did, which is so nice. I have also gotten my pills down to only taking them with meals and at bedtime, so this simplifies things, too.

Overall, today I feel really FABULOUS. My muscles stay loose as long as I do Pilates and exercise five days per week. I no longer have any pain or soreness when I talk or smile a lot, I don't clench, and soft chewing at every meal doesn't make my joint or muscles fatigued, either. I would say I now feel like I never even had surgery, but I cannot really say that because I feel so good now and I felt so bad before. So I guess now, I just feel fixed and totally back to normal. Whether I have to have another surgery to correct my bite or not, I am open to and ready for whatever the future holds for the rest of my recovery.