Dr Best and his attending looked over the alignment and asked about numbness, pain and swelling. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and they were impressed that I have gained half a pound. It was such a relief to have the bands clipped and removed. My jaw felt more natural this time around. I had taken Ibuprofen anticipating the change and movement and didn't notice any pain following the appointment. I took time to practice opening before brushing. Still couldn't open more than a finger's width, which meant I couldn't brush as normal. I had brought a tiny flexible pointer brush just in case and used that to go around the insides of the teeth scrape my tongue. A quick swish of alcohol free mouth wash and I felt sparkly clean!
From there we discussed continued recovery. The pain and fluttering I have been having in my left jaw joint is normal from the strain of the operation and will decrease over time. Numbness shouldn't get worse, since I have sensation and tingles occasionally likelihood is high it will recover in 3-6 months. Dr Best left me with only two bands, one on each side! Even better they stretch between molars, almost invisible except when I smile big. The bands stay in 24/7, he gave me extras to replace any that break. I can open my mouth slightly, but I wasn't expecting to stay mostly shut at this point. Most people talk about starting to open wider Weeks 2-4. I will start soft foods and opening at Week 4, beginning stretches toward full range of motion at Week 6.
Mentally I am preparing to return to work tomorrow. Getting back into my normal routine is exciting, but at the same time I am not entirely comfortable talking. Second, eating takes a lot of time and I need small meals throughout the day. Although I can open my mouth slightly to ease eating and speak more clearly it causes pain in my left jaw. To me it feels like the bone is tearing, which is probably not the case, but nonetheless unpleasant. Continue eating (drinking) well, gradually ramping up activity and immersing into real life with my new face!
Progress photos with a big smile, trying to look natural! I realized I never smiled with my teeth closed before, both because I my teeth always had space and because opening wider reduced the appearance of my overjet. Now for the first time my teeth nest and everything aligns neatly. Still looking for the swelling to go down on my jaw line, to the untrained eye nothing is off.
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