First Ortho Visit Post Op

Well I have been looking forward to this day. I haven't seen my ortho since mid July and I have been wondering what would be next in my treatment. I knew that my stubborn lower was still not matching up with my upper jaw so I knew that would have to be addressed. I also have some small gaps and of course the issue of my small open bite on the left side of my molars. My appointment was too eventful. So the first thing was the removal of those horrible and dreaded surgical hooks. The funny thing is I was a bit nervous of receiving them but once they were put on, I was ok with them until the second day. They irritated my mouth and wrecked havoc on my mouth after surgery. So I enjoyed every single hook being removed. As the last hook was removed, the tech noticed a broken bracket. I thought I escaped surgery without a broken bracket but no. The lower canine on the left was off and replaced. After everything was removed, my ortho came by and checked everything out. He was really happy with the results. Said everything looked great. He wanted to address the midline issue of my lower jaw and start work on the open bite. Three hooks were added and 4 rubber bands were placed on. 2 of which will work on the open bite and the other 2 with work on shifting my jaw. I am to wear one most of the day and at night. The other I am to wear only at night. I recalled all the chaffing people complained about rubber bands and thought there wouldn't be a problem.... That is until I ate my first meal. The insides of my poor jaw was chaffing. After about 9-10 hours, I had to take it off. Hopefully I will last longer as the weeks progress. I will go back in 6 weeks.

At the appointment, we looked at the before pics. It was surprising to see how bad my teeth looked before I started orthodontic treatment. It was kind of embarrassing. It is really encouraging to see what a 1.5 years of treatment could do. My ortho says if everything goes well, I could be completely done as early as 4 months! I can't believe I am nearing the end of this whole process.

I still have complete numbness in my chin and bottom lip. I also realized that the inside of my lower lip and the front of my lower gums are numb too. I think I am starting to gain minor sensation at the left corner of my lip and when I brush on the left molars I feel a tingle that goes from that too all the way to my chin. I hope this is a good sign to show that the nerve only had a small amount of damage and will heal properly. Only time will tell. Until then, I will continue to enjoy the joy of eating.