Comments

I have edited my settings, so now you can comment on my posts! Yay!

My friend Kelsy pointed out to me this morning that when she tried commenting on a post it had really annoying captchas that I didn't know about. So I went and corrected them and now everything is fine and dandy. Well it should be. I didn't even know what a captcha was until this morning. Hey, you learn something new every day.

Considering I only found out about dropbox last week (though I still don't know how to use it) I think I'm doing pretty well!

Post-op appointment + videos

Today I had my post op appointment to check how I was recovering from my wisdom teeth extraction. It has been exactly one week since my operation. The dentist I saw said that everything looked fine, and that I had kept it very clean. This is good!

Everyone that I have talked to has had different experiences with their wisdom teeth extractions, and I have heard many stories about friends of friends. It seems to me that there is no way to determine how the surgery will go and how well a person recovers because everyone is so different. For me, it hasn't been anywhere near as bad as I expected.

I was expecting to be on a liquid only diet for a week or longer.
On the day I had the surgery I was managing to eat soft foods like bread and hummus, as long as it didn't touch the stitches. This meant that I was mainly just crushing food with my tongue and swallowing it, which is probably considered cheating, but I wanted my hummus! Other people I know were in lots of pain for a week or so after the surgery and stuck to liquids and things like ice cream.

I was expecting to be in lots of pain, drugged up, and bedridden.
Apart from the initial drugs they gave me at the hospital, I haven't needed to take anything but ibuprofen. And I took that 3 times a day for 5 days. I was not bedridden (though I did enjoy my sleep-ins!) and I played netball on the weekend. I also went to a 21st (didn't drink alcohol) which I was quite sore after, though it was mainly muscular pain that I attribute to all of the talking and laughing I was doing! There was a girl who was also invited to the party who had her wisdom teeth out on the same day as me, and she wasn't in a good enough condition to make it.

My mum was telling me that she remembers it not being a big deal getting hers out and that she was back to work within a few days. Maybe it's genetic or something?

I have had quite a bit of muscle ache, but I did a bit of research on this and it is totally normal. It even has a name! Thanks Wikipedia! Lockjaw/Trismus is typical after a tooth extraction.

On another note, I found some good videos on youtube that illustrate the surgery(ies) that I will be undergoing. I will also post them on my 'About Me' page.

This one shows the surgery used to correct an under-bite:

And this one shows the surgery used to correct an open-bite:

I'm pretty sure that I will need a combination of both of these procedures. But I'll find out when it's closer to the surgery time and it's clearer what needs to be done.

I have been reading other people's blogs and it appears most of the people that have undergone orthognathic surgery have had bands after surgery to stabilise the jaws. However I came across one person who was told that the use of bands decreases the likelihood of nerve regeneration, so she opted for wiring. I will definitely be raising this with the surgeon when the time comes along.

No-one has commented on any of my posts yet, but I hope one of you does soon! I don't bite :)

Wisdom Teeth

Yesterday I had my wisdom teeth taken out. They ended up taking all three out, though one had to get chopped up into pieces! I was under general and local anaesthetics, and I was out from about 8.30am to 11am. There was supposed to be someone before me but apparently she wasn't ready for the surgery, so I ended up going earlier than initially planned.

I had never been under general anaesthetic before. As far as I know there weren't any complications, though by the time I went to bed last night it still hadn't worn off. This could have been the local though.

I was quite swollen, I had Angelina Jolie lips! This morning wasn't much different, though I'm not really bleeding anymore. I was bleeding for most of yesterday, not profusely though.

Here is a picture of me looking like a chipmunk:

This was just as I left the hospital so I still look all nice and drugged up. The left side of my face is much more swollen, probably because this was the side with two teeth!

And here's a photo of me today:

Still swollen. With sexy hair.

So I'm off uni for the week, though I may go to uni on Friday if I'm feeling better. My friend Kelsy came over today and kept me company! Yes we have the same name. Yes we are both awesome.

Some bad-ass wiring

I had my second braces tightening on 8th August. A thicker wire was put on the top, along with a spring thing to push the canine out of the way to make room for the 2nd incisor.

You can also see in the above photo that there is no band around the lower canine. Instead there is a wire wrapped around the bracket and the archwire. I think this is to try and rotate this tooth as it is slightly crooked.

Dr. P has put some fancy rubber band thing around my first incisor on the bottom, and the teeth beside it, to try and rotate it around.

And here are some shots of the top and from the front:

In terms of the pain, it was definitely worse than last time I had them tightened but less than the inital pain of braces. It was mainly in the bottom, they just felt really tight and I couldn't put any pressure on the front ones.

My next appointment is on the 19th of September.

I'm getting my wisdom teeth taken out on the 21st August though! :)

First Braces Tightening

This actually happened a few weeks ago, it's been pretty hectic for the last month or so which is why I haven't posted anything.

Fortunately it didn't hurt that much, I was back to eating solid food the next day. Here are some top and bottom views:

I'm pretty sure my top front teeth are more crooked this time around... I'm sure this will be fixed eventually though! The gap where my premolars were extracted is slowly closing.

The bottom is looking a lot straighter, Dr. P put a band on my premolar that was leaning inwards to try and straighten it out. It looks like it has done a good job so far! Here is a picture:

Just ignore my saliva everywhere.

A small gap has opened up between my left canine and premolar. I think this is good because by bottom is quite crowded so this is providing some room!

As my teeth are beginning to straighten my underbite is becoming more noticeable. 

Here is another unflattering front-on picture:

On a bright note, I turned 21 last weekend! ^.^

Here is a picture of me with my amazing Harry Potter themed cake that my mum made!

It's the Monster Book of Monsters! I have the best mum.

My next appointment is 8th of August, see you then!