Day 37: Setback, Drifting, and Frittata . . .

I met with the oral surgeon today for my weekly visit; the fifth weekly visit is a bit of a milestone as it means that I now only have to wear my bands for two hours in the middle of the day and then in the evening from seven o'clock onwards! However, things didn't quite work out that way . . .

My scar tissue is still in a place where I am constantly biting it as well as my cheek (gross) and honestly, try biting your cheek every time you talk or eat. Not fun. At all. Dr. Egbert looked at it and essentially the issue is the back (no functioning) molar that simply doesn't have space given the fact that my lower jaw was moved so far forward.

It is interesting because when I am banded shut, my jaws are actually in perfect alignment and obviously I do not bite down on my cheeks and scar tissue. When the bands are off, however, my lower jaw is essentially floating although strong enough is not stabilised enough and so the jaws are not sitting in alignment and hence I am biting my cheek. Does this make sense?

How about this: Basically, when the bands are on and the jaws are aligned, I do not bite my cheek as they close and open where they are supposed to. When the bands are off, my jaw drifts and consequently I end up biting my cheeks because they do not close where they are supposed to. That better? The truth of the matter is that I actually prefer wearing my bands presently rather than having them off due to the biting and aching that I have have been experiencing . . .

The solution? There are two options. The first option, and the one we are trying presently, is to band my teeth so that my jaws stay in alignment and will not drift. The Orthodontist will be able to move my teeth but obviously my jaws need to stay in position. So instead of wearing my bands for just two hours, I now have to band them shut for four hours in the middle of the day instead of two as well as early evening onwards.

If banding them does not stabilise the jaws, the next option will be to extract the non-functioning molar. In reality, the tooth is no doing anything as it does not bite down on any other teeth due to my jaw being moved forward so it really will not matter. Still, what a hassle. We will give it a month and see if things improve before making a decision on the tooth. Stay tuned.

Final item: As you know, my diet is less than ideal but today I ate great, tasty food! My wife made me a frittata and it was soooo tasty; slurpilicious, healthy, balanced, contains fruit and vegetables and it felt like I actually ate food. As in real food. As in food I ate before my surgery (without the chewing of course).  

Ahhhh, the good ol' days before surgery . . .