To Diane

[Guest guest]

Diane,

I think you'll find that post-surgery the braces will suddenly become

a lot less bothersome. I know they have for me and for several other

members on the site. Somehow having your bite fixed makes smiling

with traintracks that much less painful:-) As for wearing them pre-

surgery, well maybe you'll always be aware of them but I think as the

months pass by you will get more and more accustomed to them and the

wretched adjustments. I used to get really paranoid about having food

stuck in my braces so asked that all my friends warn me when I did.

Then after a while when they would tell me I would just shrug and

say " oh yeah? blasted braces. what can I do? " . I guess the point I'm

making is that it will become less and less of a big deal for you

psychologically. AT least it was for me and I realize that each one

of us lives their own experience but I'm crossing my fingers for you

that life with braces will become more bearable. You know what I used

to do when I would get down about the whole braces situation? I would

mentally draw up a picture of myself with a perfect new smile and

remind myself of what the goal was. Well I'm sure that you're doing

fine even without this. You sound like a real trouper and are dealing

with the whole orthognathic surgery process with a lot of guts!

As for my nose...it's strange, I actually had a nose job when I was

17 so one would think that I would be very bothered by the fact that

my nose has turned up as a result of the surgery. But I'm not. I

guess because it's really very minor but also because in the grand

scheme of things I think I look so much better than I did before and

I certainly feel a lot better. It's good to have an OMS who is also a

cosmetic surgeon though because he'll be sure to make sure that you

come out looking as best as possible, not that I think you look bad

now. I think your nose is cute!

Take care Diane.

Sara xx

> > Hi All

> >

> > Well I went to see both my OD and OMS yesterday after 3 months

post-

> > op. Neither of them had seen me in over a month since I was away

in

> > Italy.

> >

> > My OMS was super pleased with my progress. He said that my jaw

was

> > healing very nicely and I was looking very good. I still have

some

> > swelling but it's noticeable only to me and the people who know

me

> > very well. In other words if you were to see me walking down the

> > street you wouldn't notice it. I discussed with my OMS the fact

> that

> > my nose has truly turned up as a result of the surgery. It's not

a

> > big deal to me since everything else went REALLY well but if I

> could

> > have had everything turn out perfect I would have liked to have

> kept

> > my nose at it's former position. Unfortunately that couldn't be

> > helped but it seems that if I ever decide to get my slightly

> > deviated septum fixed with a septoplasty then my nose issue

should

> > be resolved. We'll see...I'm certainly in no rush to have another

> > surgery. My OMS also gave me the go-ahead to start flossing again

> > even though I still haven't regained any sensation in my upper

> gums,

> > I just need to be careful. He even said I could go get my teeth

> > professionally cleaned. Whoohoo!! I'm to see him again in 1

month's

> > time.

> >

> > My OD was also very pleased with how my teeth were coming along.

He

> > took off 4 of my brackets - 2 from my back upper teeth and 2 from

> my

> > back bottom teeth. I know it's only 4 brackets but it felt like

the

> > beginning of liberation!! Right now my bottom teeth are only

being

> > held stationary by a little piece of wire. Next month I'll get

all

> > the braces off on them and have a permanent retainer put in. The

> top

> > teeth still need about 2 more months of braces and then I get to

de-

> > brace them too after which I will have to wear a retainer only at

> > night for 6 months and then for 1 hour every day for another 6

> > months. My OD explained to me that it takes about 267 days for a

> > bone to truly solidify hence why I need to use the retainer at

> > night. I must say when he showed me what my retainer would look

> like

> > I was impressed because it looks just like an invisalign would -

a

> > see-through plastic cover. VERY different from the retainers I

had

> > the past 3 times I took my braces off. Since my adjustment

> yesterday

> > the gap in between my 2 front teeth is already almost gone. It's

> > amazing how fast the teeth move!!

> >

> > The last piece of news is that I've also been cleared to start

> > chewing fully again, with the exception of steak and hard

> vegetables

> > and fruit like apples, which I am totally fine with.

> >

> > So that's my LONG update. Sorry for the long and boring email but

I

> > just wanted to share with everyone and show them that light does

> > exist at the end of the tunnel so hold on tight and don't give up!

> >

> > Thanks for reading!

> >

> > Sara