Planet Cavity

This morning, I was abducted by aliens.

After waiting nervously with the other victims in the unsettlingly clean and quiet holding area, I was led through a labyrinth of colorless walls and identical doors to a small white room which contained only a reclining chair, lit by a large overhead lamp and surrounded by an array of metal tools of varying shapes, sizes, and sharpness.  I was instructed to lie down as the chief alien peered at me through ultra-magnification glasses.  He and his assistant begin to force a plastic splint-like device between my jaws which connected to an air-sucking tube-- this was not about to be a pleasant experience.  The aliens then proceeded to inject a mysterious substance into my gums, effectively numbing them.  I squeezed my eyes shut, fluttering them open occasionally to glimpse a white-gloved hand grasping a sharp silvery tool.  The instruments screamed like tea kettles as I felt the enamel of my teeth being roughly scraped away.  Amidst this noise I could only understand a few words of their garbled alien speech; when I did not respond, they seized my head and jaw and moved it as they pleased.

The aliens had a strange fondness for Adele.  A live performance of the singer was played three times during the procedure among several technical difficulties.  Based on the approximate length of each song, I could judge that I had been laying in the chair for over two hours.  It has to be over soon.  What else do they want from me?

Soon enough, they released me back into the holding room, having performed the necessary operation. The left side of my face drooped from the numbing substance, leaving me dribbly and awkward for several hours.

CAVITIES SUCK.  This was actually my second trip to the dentist this week, as I wanted to get each hole-ridden tooth filled before traveling this summer.  As a result of the inability to clean my teeth during the two months in a splint, I had developed SO MANY CAVITIES.  Chief Alien didn't tell me how many, but I guessed 8 or 9.  Oh well, another unpleasant side effect of surgery.  It could have been much worse: I apparently was dangerously close to needing a root canal.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR TEETH KIDS!  Or you will be abducted.

Update from Allie!

It's funny how after all of the pain and suffering, stress, insecurity, frustration, joy, depression, impatience, and multitude of varied emotions that accompany this surgery and its extensive recovery, life starkly refocuses itself after it's all over.  Back to the future, back to relationships, back to exploring the possibilities that lie within you.  During the surgery process, my mind was consumed by the feel and appearance of my jaw, a small and largely insignificant aspect of myself.  Now those few months of my life are so distant, so intangible that it is difficult to realize that they happened at all.

After the braces were removed, I returned to school with my head held high.  Did the surgery fix everything? No.  Do I consider my jaw/facial structure to now be perfect? No.  Am I satisfied with the results and believe the surgery, to be worth all the suffering? Yes I do.

The preoccupation with my jaw has largely vanished, leaving me, at this highly transitional and formative period in my life, to return to learning about myself and the world I live in, growing, and gleaning as much happiness as I can from every beautiful moment while I am capable.

Recently, my time has been consumed by track season(sorry for not posting!).  This summer, I have an internship at an online publication (which means I can travel!), and will then be spending my fall semester abroad in Valparaíso, Chile studying Cultural Identity, Social Justice, and Community Development.  I am optimistic about the future and am gaining confidence in my goals, desires, and interests.

The response to this blog has been overwhelming-- I never dreamed that it would reach so many other patients looking for information about surgery!  I read everything that people write and have definitely teared up at some of the comments I have gotten, you all are so wonderful.  Thank you for being amazing!

And to the jaw surgery patients who are thinking about surgery, about to get surgery, recovering from surgery: YOU are incredible.  You have seized an opportunity to refocus your mind on aspects of life much more worthy of your attention than jaws and teeth.  The suffering, albeit awful, is such a short hurdle to jump in the grand scheme of things.

To end, here are some recent pictures because everyone loves those!

Aaaaaaand here's my teeth from beginning to end:

Before:

3 Months Invisalign Braces:

Regular Braces/Underbite in all its glory

 Done!

<3

PS. I love smiling now.  I LOVE IT.

NO MORE BRACES!!!!

The big day is finally here!  My dad accompanied me to the appointment and documented the entire process:

Before...

 ...during...

... the braces...

...the smile...

... the awkward pictures...

...the team...

... and the first bite!

AND WATCH THIS VIDEO AND BE JEALOUS THAT YOU DON'T HAVE THIS ORTHODONTIST.

I am celebrating tonight with friends I haven't seen since summer-- so excited!  I have more pictures to upload and a lot more to write, but I wanted to get in this quick update. :)) YAY!

OFFICIAL Debracing Date!

So I paid the orthodontist another visit yesterday to take impressions for retainers-- it was gooey and disgusting but I was so happy to finally be at that stage!  We agreed that a more convenient day for debracing would be the 21st, the first day of my Thanksgiving break.  THIS WEDNESDAY I WILL BE FREEEE! I will be able to eat Thanksgiving dinner with no wires or brackets to trap bits of turkey and sweet potatoes!! The date is so close I can hardly believe it.  I cannot WAIT.

Ouch in My Mouth

I woke up this morning and the inside of my mouth was absolutely screaming at me!  The braces have burrowed their way through the soft tissue, leaving the inside of my lips cut and swollen.  My tongue is rough, calloused from its repeated contact with the jagged metal around my molars.  One bracket especially feels like it's a spike attached to my tooth!
In this last month with braces, I feel as though my mouth is resisting these things more than ever.  I'm coming up on nine months with them now and they've almost never bothered me this much.  I have my appointment this thursday to get impressions done, then another two weeks (possibly one!) till they're off!  For now just poppin Advil.

SPIKE TEETH.

Also, here's my profile as of right now: 

Almost five months post-op!

DEBRACING DATE!

Had an appointment with my ortho yesterday and I finally have the coveted debracing date! November 29th. NEEDS TO COME FASTER. I am itching to have these things off of my teeth for good!
He also said my occlusion is textbook perfection: The extra month without bands is to ensure that they stay that way. I am counting down the days!

¡La historia de mi cirugía!

For Spanish class, I had to write a composition about a dramatic change in my life.  I didn't have a hard time deciding my subject! 

So I thought I'd post my surgery story en español if anyone wants to try and read it (I also translated it into English below).  It's a concise little summary of my entire experience!

Un verano mudo

            Regularmente cada verano, yo pasaba el cuatro de julio en la playa con mis amigos mientras comía la carne asada y tomaba el sol.  Sin embargo, el verano pasado no podía comer la carne asada porque no podía comer.  También no podía ir a la playa con mis amigos porque no podía hablar.  Tuve un cambio dramático: ¡mis mandíbulas estaban cerradas con un cable!

Cuando tenía doce años, los dentistas me dijeron que tenían una submordida.  Mis dientes no encajaban y necesitaba una cirugía de la mandíbula para corregirla.  Mis padres y yo tuvimos mucho miedo cuando supimos la información pero consentí hacerla en el futuro.  No me preocupaba mucho hasta el año pasado cuando la ortodontista me dio frenillos.  Entonces, la idea de cirugía se hizo real.  Antes de la cirugía, busqué las historias de otros pacientes similares por el Internet.  Encontré muchos diarios en el Internet que describían cada día de recuperación.   La información me parecía muy útil y decidí hacer un diario también para documentar mi experiencia. 

El 15 de junio de este verano pasado, tuve la cirugía.  Tenía una mezcla de sentimientos: estaba nerviosa, tenía miedo y estaba un poco emocionada.  Después de la cirugía, me desperté en el hospital con mucho dolor.  Estaba incapaz—no podía hacer nada.  Las enfermeras me ayudaron a comer con una jeringa y a ir al baño.  También no podía respirar, dormir, o abrir mi boca.  Pasé la noche en el hospital en vela y me sentía muy miserable. 

El próximo día, me sentía extremadamente cansada como resultado de la medicación.  Me miré en el espejo con shock: mi cara estaba muy hinchada y mi perfil parecía diferente.  Las próximas semanas pasaban muy difíciles.  Por un mes, mis mandíbulas quedaron cerradas por cable.  Necesitaba una jeringa para comer y no podía hablar nada.  Siempre tenía dolor.  Durante el mes, veía muchas películas, dibujaba, y escribía en mi diario por Internet.  Mis amigos me visitaban mucho pero no podíamos hacer casi nada.   No podía hacer ejercicio y no salía de mi casa mucho.  Era una época muy deprimente en mi vida.

Cuando el cirujano cortó los cables, estuve muy alegre.  Todavía llevaba un protector bucal de plástico por un otro mes, pero me sentía felíz porque podía hablar y comer comidas blandas.  Al final del verano, la cirujano me puso bajo sedación otra vez para eliminar el protector bucal.  Ahora, solo tengo frenillos.

Este verano pasado era difícil y frustrante pero aprendí mucho sobre mí misma.  También gané mucha paciencia y ayudé a otras pacientes similares por el Internet.  Estoy contenta de estar en el final de mi recuperación: mis mandíbulas son perfectas y me alegro tener la experiencia.

TRANSLATION:

A Silent Summer

Usually every summer, I spend the fourth of July at the beach with my friends while eating barbecue and tanning.  However, this summer I couldn't eat barbecue because I couldn't eat.  I also couldn't go to the beach with my friends because I couldn't talk.  I had a dramatic change: my jaws were wired shut!

When I was twelve, my dentists told me that I had an underbite.  My teeth didn't fit together and I needed jaw surgery to correct it.  My parents and I were scared when we learned this information but I consented to go through with surgery in the future.  I didn't worry much until this past year when I got braces.  Then, the idea of surgery became real.  Before surgery, I looked up the stories of similar patients on the internet.  I found many blogs that described each day of recovery.  I found the information very helpful and decided to make a blog as well to document my experience.

On June 15th this past summer, I had surgery.  I was feeling a mix of emotions: I was nervous, scared, and a little excited.  After surgery, I woke up in the hospital in a lot of pain.  I was incapable of doing anything.  The nurses helped me eat with a syringe and go to the bathroom.  I couldn't breathe, sleep, or open my mouth.  I was awake all night and felt miserable.

The next day, I felt extremely tired as a result of the medication.  I looked in the mirror with shock: my face was very swollen and my profile looked different.  The next few weeks were very difficult.  For one month, I was wired shut.  I needed the syringe to eat and I couldn't talk at all.  I was always in some pain.  During that month, I watched movies, sketched, and wrote my blog.  My friends visited me but there wasn't much we could do.  I couldn't exercise or leave my house much-- it was a very depressing time in my life.

When the surgeon cut the wires, I was so delighted.  I still had to wear a plastic splint for another month, but I was happy because I could talk and eat soft foods.  At the end of the summer, the surgeon sedated me once more in order to remove the splint.  Now, I only have braces.

This summer was difficult and frustrating but I learned a lot about myself.  I also gained patience and helped other patients through the internet.  I am so happy to be at the end of my recovery: my jaws are now perfect and I am glad to have had the experience.


-------------------------

Note: my teeth were banded, not wired, but I didn't know how to say rubber bands in Spanish.  Writing about surgery was more difficult than I anticipated.  It was so uncomfortable to relive all those emotions!  My professor approached me later asking about the surgery as she had never heard of anything like it.  She responded with a ¡Qué experiencia!

Little Update!

Sorry I haven't posted in so long!  The college life has kept me busy.  I have still been keeping up with the progress of the other patients whose blogs I'm following though, several of whom are just in the early stages of recovery.  Everyone is doing so well!  It's so strange to think back on the misery of the first month after surgery-- I am not sure how I survived not talking or eating for a month but I am so relieved that that part of my life is far behind me.
I really haven't been wearing my rubber bands as much as I should.  Having braces is bad enough!  I'm hoping that this doesn't delay getting them off because I am SO ready.  My molars aren't quite touching yet but I have an appointment the week after next to evaluate my progress.  Wouldn't it be amazing if my braces came off then?  One can only dream.

Thankfully, the clear braces aren't too visible in pictures!

Smiling is so much easier!  I am slowly forgetting how the arrangement of my jaws felt before surgery-- the way they fit now feels so natural.  This is how it was always supposed to be. :)  Pre-braces Facebook photos can be found here.