Longest day of my LIFE! With aching eyes and teeth, I woke up at 6:30 this morning for an appointment with my orthodontist. He removed the hooks that were placed for surgery, took out the archwires, and allowed me to brush my teeth. YES. I was like a kid in a dental hygeine product-filled candy store! Because of the splint, the spaces between my upper teeth hadn't seen the light of day in two months. Even after burning through four pre-pasted toothbrushes and six toothfloss-singles, I can tell I am still going to need whitening treatment once everything is over.
Taken when the ortho briefly removed the wires-- there are still bloody spots from the splint. :/
Once my mouth was feeling the cleanest it had in two months, the orthodontist examined my teeth. My suspicions were confirmed: I require additional orthodontics because my molars are not touching and my teeth are canted slightly to the right. In an effort to combat the tilt, I have to wear a rubber band on one side in a rectangular fashion during the day and a linear one at night. (UGH.) He believes the shifting is a result of overcorrection of my bite by the surgeon, an expected outcome of surgery.
New wires! Note that the top wire is canted slightly upwards.
The orthodontist also remarked that I can now be likened to a patient first coming in for orthodontic work: the jaws in place, but teeth askew. Great. Even after all of this, my journey has far from reached an end. The worst may be over, but there's at least six more months of orthodontics to come... UGH.
In light of this big step in the process, I decided to make a few more changes today to celebrate coming this far. I got my ears double-pierced:
Good profile shot too!
And got a much-needed haircut!
Despite the frustration at requiring more orthodontics, it feels amazing to have the worst part of this behind me. My teeth feel so free and so much cleaner without that awful splint. Just braces to deal with now!
TOP TEETH OVER BOTTOM TEETH! :)
