I have had some strange clicking/popping here and there over the past few months, but nothing that is constant. My jaw still feels off at times. My bite lines up perfectly and then other times it feels strange and my teeth do not touch like they have been. However, hours later everything feels okay again and I forget all about the alignment of my jaw. Most of the time I do not think about the surgery, or the brutal few weeks where things were pretty rough. My life has moved on, and is back to a normal routine. I ate ribs for the first time ever and was actually able to bite them off. I mean yes they do fall off easily, but before I was always embarrassed to eat them as it was really difficult for me to get my front teeth together to tear them off. I had no problem. Next up is biting into an apple. I feel like I could totally do it now, I am just to afraid that I won't be able to do it and get discouraged. It's a mental thing at this point.
The terrible neck pain I had a few weeks ago has subsided thankfully. I was so worried that my chronic neck pain that I had before the surgery was back. I did get a special massage that stretched my neck and shoulder muscles, as well as pressure points. That really helped a lot.
Life without braces is amazing.
Overall I am so please with my results thus far. I have only had one headache since the surgery, which is amazing considering I had a migraine once or twice a week prior. My neck/shoulder tension feels a thousand times better, my teeth touch, I have a better range of motion in my jaw than before… all in all it was def worth it. I think my husband is scarred from the experience more than me. lol I think I was pretty drugged for the first week, which is when I was the worst. I just tried to sleep through it…however, he was not able to sleep through it, and was so worried about me. I think I looked worse than I felt. I think. It was bad, but not that bad. I mean I don't really want to have that surgery ever again, but I lived through it! : )
Hope everyone out there is doing super, and is recovering as well as I am!
Before and After photos (sorry they are all randomly scattered and sized, I gave up on trying to align them correctly):
SMILE:
The Dreaded Side Profile:
Mouth closed/Relaxed:
Hi Heather--
ReplyDeleteI wrote to you back a few months ago...my surgery was August 8th! I am curious how your tmj is feeling now. I am really having difficulties with it since my braces came off...pain with eating, opening has never gone above 25 mm since surgery,and increased clicking and popping. My surgeon is very impressed with my results but worried about my tmj issues. He wants to do something called an arthrocentesis on my joints as he says my joints don't like the new/correct way that my jaw fits together as they got used to the incorrect way for 35 years. If this doesn't work, there may be a possibility of another surgery. Just curious as I read that you have had some clicking, etc. Thanks so much, Heather! I hope you are feeling more recovered each month. Your pictures are great!
Hi Traci,
DeleteOh my goodness I am so sorry to hear that! So yes, I have had similar problems, but my clicking seems to come and go. I did talk to my surgeon about it and said that the joints and everything could take a little time to get "comfortable" as I am now chewing anything I want… the last 4 weeks I have had no popping or clicking. However, a month or two ago it was the worst it's ever been even before the surgery. I tried to not tell anyone. lol But it was driving me crazy to the point where I didn't want to eat, and when I did it was soft foods I didn't have to chew to much. I want to tell you that it will get better, but I know that every person goes through this process and has different results. : ( I really hope that your clicking and popping go away. I am sure you already do opening exercises but if you don't start doing them to get your mouth open more. MIght help relax those muscles in the jaw. Keep me posted Traci! I hope you are back to normal ASAP!
I'm glad your clicking seems to have settled down! I definitely have been stretching but my surgeon never gave me specific exercises to do...just said to keep chewing and that I "better be to 35 mm by my check-up post-braces." I wasn't there. :( My orthodontist told me yesterday that he really thinks I should try physical therapy first...surgery (arthrocentesis) should be a last resort. I really think it is amazing with all of my singing and talking (8 hours a day) that I did not have a quicker recovery. It really makes projection and singing higher notes more difficult. My 525 students are pretty forgiving though! Thanks for the response! Have a good summer.
ReplyDeleteHeather! Congrats on everything :) I am so happy things are working out so well for you! You look wonderful. That is awesome about your headaches being relieved!
ReplyDeleteKatie
Heather--
ReplyDeleteI'm just wondering how you're doing over a year since your surgery! Are your prior TMJ issues resolved?
Traci
Hi Traci! Funny, I have been so busy I feel like I never think about jaw surgery until today. One of my students parents is going to get an appointment for her jaw. She was told she needed surgery to help her lock jaw, popping and she was asking me a ton of questions… and it got me thinking wow! It's been over a year! I am doing great! My jaw pops randomly here and there, but nothing like it did prior to surgery. I do have neck pain again the past week, but I don't think that is 100% my jaw, I have been super busy with work and well I haven't really been taking care of myself. My show choir is performing at disneyland next week, and I am going crazy getting it all together! How are you doing? Any changes since I last talk to you? I hope you are able to open wider. I can open wider than I was able to before surgery now!! Very exciting : )
DeleteHi Heather--
DeleteIt sounds like you are doing great! I am so glad! There haven't been many changes since I last wrote...I ended up having that arthrocentesis surgery back in June and will be having it again this coming Friday. It is fairly minor but still a bit of recovery time. During the first one, my surgeon was able to get my mouth open to 37 mm but I still feel pretty locked at about 2 fingers. The biggest issue I'm having though is pain...neck and facial pain. My surgeon hopes to get my pain to a manageable level. I would still have chosen to do this surgery as it is amazing to have teeth that touch, no sinus infections, and more confidence with my smile. Singing is fine other than being able to open an appropriate amount but I am pretty much unable to play my trumpet which is sad! I'm not sure if I can attach pics to this reply but I'd be happy to send you my before and after if you'd ever like to see them...so you know I'm not a faceless person who writes you! :) Other than the pain, I don't think about the surgery much either...this is good! Good luck with your performance! I'm diving into performance preparations already, as well!
Oh man! I am so sorry to hear you have and will have another surgery, any surgery is not fun. I wish you a quick recovery, and I hope it all goes well. You will be in my thoughts this Friday! Ya, I have had a little neck pain, but I just started doing yoga and stretches daily and trying to teach myself to relax. I feel like I hold my stress there, so maybe it's not all due to my jaw? I can hope right? lol BUT you are soooo right, even with the little things that still bother me having my teeth touch and feeling more confident is worth everything. WOULD love to see pics! Hmmm I wonder how I can send you my email without it being on here. Would rather not have random people contacting me via email. lol I can only imagine how singing feels with your jaw not opening. The first few months after surgery were slightly challenging due to that. You poor thing! Thank you for the well wishes. Sorry I just realized I jumped around a ton in this reply. So scattered. I am going to try to message you privately : )
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