Today is day 47. The surgery was almost 7 weeks ago. Today, at long last, I got to go to the oral surgeon and have the splint removed. So, let's talk about that for a minute.
SPLINT REMOVAL
Having the splint removed did not hurt, but it was not comfortable. The doctor kept telling me to open my mouth, which was still a little hard to do. She would shove a pair of scissors in, grab the wires, and twist them. The nurse would snip the wires and the doctor would pull out the pieces. After 8 or so wires, the splint was out! That was the best and worst feeling in recent memory. The best feeling is pretty obvious, but the worst feeling might be a little surprising. Without going into all of the gory details, let's just say that six weeks of not brushing leaves the mouth feeling a little furry. That's pretty gross. Also, being covered up for six weeks leaves the tissue on the roof of my mouth feeling a little pruny. She gave me the splint and told me to keep it in until I saw the orthodontist. I said "Yes, Ma'am" and promptly took it out as soon as I got in the car.
AFTER THE SPLINT
It was wonderful to hear the sound of my voice again. I actually sounded like myself. That is what my husband was most excited about! I guess the lispy voice just wasn't me. He prefers me to nag him with my regular voice. It sounded odd to my ears at first. I guess I had forgotten what I sound like. Today was also the first time that I got to see my new smile without a huge piece of plastic in the way. The jury is still out. My nose doesn't exactly "smile" with the rest of my face. It also seems crooked to me, but the husband doesn't see it. Overall, the physical changes are small and probably unrecognizable to most people. We'll see after my "debut" tomorrow night.
BACK TO THE ORTHODONTIST
My orthodontist (who is WONDERFUL!) was quite excited to see me. I guess they don't get a lot of surgery patients up in Rhode Island. He determined that my teeth on the right side do not make contact. He is going to work to make my teeth touch again. This involves rubber bands from the top teeth to the bottom. Good times! He thinks that the braces will be off in about 6 months. That., of course, is right in time for us to move again, so hopefully my teeth move quickly. There was a LOT of opening and closing and stretching the jaw muscles today. I am little scared of how it will feel in the morning. He did take x-rays and new pictures to tweak the treatment plan. I got to see the x-rays for the first time since the surgery. (You may remember me mentioning that the hospital took x-rays a few hours after the surgery. Since I could barely stand up, I am not quite sure that I remember if I even saw them.) There is a lot of metal in my mouth. It's really neat though....3 screws on both sides on the bottom and it looks like screws and wires in almost a lattice on the top.
FOOD AFTER THE SPLINT
I had my heart set on a big, juicy cheeseburger sometime this week. It didn't have to be today, but I have really been looking forward to it. I have also been REALLY looking forward to a salad. BOTH of these are going to have to wait a few more weeks. I have been given the go ahead to chew, but only soft foods. My first meal after the splint came out was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I tore it into little pieces, chewed it once, and swallowed. It worked. Dinner was a bacon and cheese quiche. I kept the bacon a little rubbery and cut it really, really small. I couldn't eat the crunchy crust, but it worked and it was delicious. The most exciting addition to the diet was a glass of wine. (Great White from the Newport Vineyards) It was hard to drink with the splint in - drinking from a cup made a bit of a mess. I couldn't bring myself to drink wine from a straw, so tonight I celebrated a little!
WHAT NOW?
Now I just practice chewing and strengthening the muscles. The doctor said that the actual jaw bone still needs time to heal and to take the eating slowly. I think that I will post weekly for the next few weeks. Thanks for following this journey! I appreciate that you have taken the time to read my thoughts every day!
My chin/jaw line and nose seemed off or crooked for months after surgery. It wasn't until about 4 or 5 months that I stopped seeing it and it started to actually be even. It takes time... I hope you're doing well!
ReplyDeleteHello! Im also wearing a splint due to double jaw surgery i had a week and a half ago. I was wondering if you can help answer a question for me?
ReplyDeleteAfter thw two week of liquid diet, since all im wearing is a splint. How did you eat/drink the small soft foods? Did you use a syringe or a tiny spoon that can be fed through your mouth?
Please help! Thanks!
I did a little of both. Anything that was thick enough for the syringe, but too thick for the tube went just in the syringe. I could open my mouth just far enough to get the tip of the syringe in. I would squirt the pudding or milkshake or applesauce into my mouth and then wiggle it back with my tongue so I could swallow.
DeleteAt about 2 weeks post surgery, I put some pork BBQ into the food processor and got it as small and mushy as I could. It fit in the syringe, but it was hard to no choke on it. I used a little tiny spoon and put it on my tongue and swallowed. My rubber bands kept snapping, so I convinced the doctor to let me replace my own rubber bands, so I would take them out so I could "eat."
Hope that helps! Let me know if I can answer any more questions for you.