Wicked Benders and a Nickel Plated grille

OK so I apologize for being so late with the updates. Annual enrollment is finally complete and some resemblances to my life are starting to come back...so I can now fill you in on the fun known as my experience at the Elliot....

So i left off with the upcoming meeting with the surgeon. Now I was on the fence about the whole thing to begin with, however this dude, Babameto is his last name, has some good credentials. (I did my homework before i agreed to have ANYONE at the Elliot Hospital operate on my for an extended period of time. ) So to make a long story short, he said i was most certainly a surgery case however it wasn't a functional cross bite, but a natural one. Skip ahead few weeks and my orthodontist and my surgeon are playing phone tag. Trying to get a hold of this guy is harder than finding bin Laden.....Once he was finally found in his cave hideout, i found out i needed a CT scan before i could proceed with surgery in the spring. They cut this super close as in 3 weeks i was to get the dreaded braces put on. I called my favorite bitchy secretary , who i would later find out is named Pam, and they scheduled me in for the scan fairly quickly. Little did I know it would take 3 WEEKS to get results that are usually ready within 2 days. I ended up getting the bittersweet confirmation the morning of my orthodontic appointment that I was able to proceed with getting the braces put on...

*phew*
So that was about what 4 months worth of data? Anyways I have been in braces for a month now and i can already see teeth moving. I was unsure at the beginning what kind i would be able to have, keeping my fingers crossed i could get the clear ones....negative...nickel braces for me, just like the ones you had when you were 12...sweet right? The original overall plan was 2 months in, surgery, then moving the teeth after. However they want to try and avoid additional "orthodontic appliances" as they say so its 4months then surgery, and then whatever it is they do after. Orthodontic appliances?! REALLY?!?! Like why can't they say an even more painful way of manipulating bones in your head....when i hear appliances i think a blender or a toaster.... So is it like a toaster for my mouth? Is there a button somewhere to make a margarita out of my teeth or a milkshake? ugh...

As much as i hate it there isn't much i can do. My dating/social life has suffered which was expected. Ive gotten some mixed feedback...good and bad...At least its only a year, 18 months max....*sigh* I'll truck on through like i have everything else

anyways, I'll post some pictures on here tonight...once of me before braces and now with my sexy new nickel plated grille. I'll be back in a few weeks to let you all know how i am doing.

Until then,

~Jody

Step one: Cut a Hole in the box

And so the adventure begins.....

I had my FIRST meeting with the orthodontist yesterday. Everything that I had been researching for the last week was true. So no surprise when she said "yep we'll have to crack you open like a fortune cookie". Eh oh well. I think the one thing that bothers me about the orthodontia piece is the sole fact that I have to have braces for a SECOND time in my life, and my teeth aren't even messed up! Not much I can do as there is a valid reason why I need them post-op

For those who are un-informed before I continue my rant, I am having orthognathic surgery. So basically, I have had TMJ for the last, oh, 10 years of my life. Over the last few years, i have been getting progressively worse headaches with muscle pain. My dentist has been hounding me to get it checked out and i FINALLY agreed to it. Sooooooooooooo....fast forward to today. What will be done, is this: my upper jaw is not wide enough to contain my lower, so they will split my palette and widen my upper jaw, then break and reset my lower so that they fit together. Lovely mental picture right? I'll have my mouth wired shut *most likely* for a few weeks...and I'll basically look like Nancy Kerrigan's leg after Tonya's henchmen beat her...just my face instead.

So this will be used to post pictures and log my daily boring life as my journey progresses into the unknown world of extreme makeover....It shall be interesting!

Catch ya in a few weeks when I meet the surgeon...