Today, at long last, they took off the arch bars. It's been 6.5 weeks. I would probably be raving about mouth freedom right now, but I can't, really.
That's because they removed my two fractured teeth because they'd hurt too much when I would chew. I'm holding an ice pack to the side of my head and biting down on gauze.
Truly I couldn't be happier. Those teeth hurt so much when anything at all touched them. And I can worry about prosthesis later--not like I can really afford it. What this really means is pancakes, pasta, rice, and fish! I'll be able to chew pie crust! I won't miss those two teeth at all after the pain they've caused me.
Dec 8, 2009
Dec 3, 2009
Improvement, New Issues
By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, I had the wires off and was opening but not chewing for six days. And I ate so much food on Thanksgiving.
I didn't even have to use a food processor to eat most of it, although the food processor has become my best friend. That thing chews better in four seconds than I ever did.
I'm able to open wide enough now on my own to fit two fingers between my bite (imagine making a little pistol with your hand and putting it in your mouth--morbid, but accurate). When I do the stretching exercises the opening is a little wider, but so far I'm plateaued here. The thing is, I don't know how wide I was opening before.
In just five more days they'll take the arch bars off. Of course, this will give me the same anxiety about my fractured teeth that I had when they unwired me. They won't be able to take them out immediately, unfortunately. And starting just today, I started to feel some pain in my cheekbone. Might this be where the root of my fractured tooth leads? Or is this some normal side effect of opening? It only hurts when I clamp down or swallow in certain ways.
I hope I can start chewing really soon after the arch bars come off. I've never been so happy to see the days on the calendar fly by. Just get me to February or so, when I'll be almost all the way recovered. At least recovered enough to eat a sandwich.
I didn't even have to use a food processor to eat most of it, although the food processor has become my best friend. That thing chews better in four seconds than I ever did.
I'm able to open wide enough now on my own to fit two fingers between my bite (imagine making a little pistol with your hand and putting it in your mouth--morbid, but accurate). When I do the stretching exercises the opening is a little wider, but so far I'm plateaued here. The thing is, I don't know how wide I was opening before.
In just five more days they'll take the arch bars off. Of course, this will give me the same anxiety about my fractured teeth that I had when they unwired me. They won't be able to take them out immediately, unfortunately. And starting just today, I started to feel some pain in my cheekbone. Might this be where the root of my fractured tooth leads? Or is this some normal side effect of opening? It only hurts when I clamp down or swallow in certain ways.
I hope I can start chewing really soon after the arch bars come off. I've never been so happy to see the days on the calendar fly by. Just get me to February or so, when I'll be almost all the way recovered. At least recovered enough to eat a sandwich.
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