I awoke this morning with significant pain in my neck and jaw. Those little rubber bands can really pack a punch! Frustrated at the reality of additional orthodontics, I ditched the little thing for the remainder of the day. As it progressed, I was alarmed at how much I could feel the obliquity in my jaw. When I bit down, my teeth clamped down on the right side and remained apart on the left. This tilting scares me-- I was under the impression that once the splint came out, the teeth were supposed to be in the perfect position. I thought that braces were going to be largely unnecessary, as I believed the surgery should serve as a cure-all for everything teeth and jaw related. Why else would I endure all this to get it? Realizing that this is not the case is all the more exasperating, even though I know the worst is behind me.
Wearing the rubber band now, I am conscious of it training my bite. As reluctant as I am to wear it during the day, I suppose it's necessary. Ugh-- Sometimes it feels like there is no end to this. I often feel as though if I had fully understood the frustration, time, patience, pain, and difficulty involved I would not have agreed to surgery. Being on the younger side of surgery patients, I may have not yet learned to accept circumstances the way many older people do. I am constantly dissatisfied. Most of my frustration stems from a feeling of powerlessness at the inability to somehow speed up this process. It's certainly a learning experience!
