Small recap

Well its been a very very very long time since my last post. Well Ive been fairly busy with work and what not and honestly not much has happened since my last post that I felt was worthy of posting. But I will recap the last few months since I have been unbanded.

Well when the ortho techs tell you the importance of caring for your retainers....LISTEN. Well I have to admit that I did listen intently and was paranoid about messing them up. I did not want to pay the $180 ($90 a piece) to replace them. I can be very forgetful but I did manage 5 weeks without losing them. The problem is with the first few weeks you have to wear them all the time (minus eating). So that means you have to take them out, place them in the case, eat, brush your teeth, and replace them. Well on the spring break trip with softball, we stopped to eat. I forgot my retainer case on the bus and then placed my retainers in a plastic bag and put them in my pocket. When we returned to the hotel, I brushed my teeth and then went on a frantic search for my retainers which were never found. Whats worse is I would have to wait another 5 days to get a replacement since we were in florida. It was strange to go from a eatiner 24/7 to none at all. It was nice in a way. LOL The funny thing is all my friends stated how they were surprised that I was able to keep them for that long without losing them. Thanks "friends" LOL Well after I had them replaced, the ortho tech stated that I can cancel my appt next week and that I can now stop wearing my retainers 24/7 and just at night. She said that Dr Brust would only check the retainer to make sure it would fit and then send me on my way. Since the retainer was just made and it fit perfectly, it would be a waste. So in the end it all worked out. I have enjoyed eating chips, chewing gum, popcorn, buffalo wings, ribs, corn on the cob, hard candy, etc.

My chin and bottom lip is still a little bit numb. It is slowly getting better. Believe it or not, kissing isn't as weird anymore. In the fall it was weird having someone kiss my bottom lip and you have no idea they were doing it. Now its a little better. The weird thing is my smile is a little lop sided. I have to practice to get my smile straight since I can feel the left side more than the right. I still can not whistle. Not that I whistled much to begin with but its a struggle. If I work at it, I can get a note or two out but I have lost all ability to whistle with a bottle.

One question that I get quite a bit is "Do you have any regrets?" And then I immediately think back to all the mess I have went through the past couple of years. The whole banned food list, not being able to each solid foods for 5 weeks, relearning how to talk and even smile, all of the aches, pain....stabbing pain....knife wrenching pain....horrible horbble pain...LOL Then I simply reply "I have no regrets at all and if I had to, I would do it over". Eating is so much easier and talking is different now that my teeth touch properly. I now smile with my teeth for pitcures. I am no longer insecure about my smile. Braces and surgery is definately a life changing experience. Hell I gained 15 pounds after my surgery due to me eating whatever I wanted. Saldy my blood pressure, cholesterol, weight were all affected and I was sqeezing into my clothes. I can now say that I have worked out steadily since february and have changed to a healthier diet. I am now at 140 which is my ideal weight. I do feel much better. I am still anal about my retainers so I do wear them every night.

I can say without a doubt I am happy with the result. The weird/sad thing is I do not get to see my ortho and his staff as much. They've all grown on me and have seen me go through quite a bit. They were like my extended family. Well my next appt will be sometime in june where they will check my bite and the retainer. I can say nothings changed so its all good. Not sure there will be much more posts from here on out. Maybe I can soon post that I returned all feeling into my lower lip/chin! Here's to wishful thinking