#i’m going to make three smoothies and put them in mason jars. this will fix me.

[serkonans]

throwing an entire fit bc i’m sleepy and i ran out of good snacks and computer programs at work are not working

[embracingmybraces]

Saturday: Behold, a photo of me awkwardly smiling with my new temporary upper essix retainer and trying to test if I was in the frame.

Post-Bone Graft Update: Detailed Version

This is sort of a two week update while my video exports, but technically tomorrow is the official day. I have a love/hate relationship with uploading videos... I can’t believe a 10 minute video takes 5hrs to encode. I can’t guarantee it’ll be uploaded anytime soon and this was filmed on Saturday, but while I sort that out, this will be about my experience with the surgery, healing, lessons I’ve learned (tips/self-esteem), and updates from my prosthodontist and orthodontist.

This will also sum up my vlog from last week.

For those of you who are new, I have a missing front tooth and I got bone taken from my chin (in between my teeth and lips) to be placed in the gap on my upper arch. This video explains it all.

PHOTOS will be added later on.

SURGERY PREPARATIONS

My surgery was at 8am on Tuesday, May 9th.

The day before, I picked up my medication which included 7 pills: antibiotics, several pain killers, and decadron (for swelling?) which I took 2 hours before my surgery. I was advised not to eat or drink anything 8 hours prior to, so I used as very little water to wash down the pills. God, they almost got stuck in my throat.

I took public transit by myself to my prosthodontist’s office, which was an hour away. I remembered feeling a bit out of it on my way there, which I’d blame on the medication but it helped with being less nervous (jokes, I was still very nervous).

I was advised to wear a short sleeved T-shirt going in and no face makeup. They then outfitted me with this scrub to protect my clothing and I had to wear a hair net. I was also given mouthwash beforehand.

SEDATION – I had a separate doctor, who specialized in sedation, come in. He asked to what degree did I want to be “sedated”. Ultimately, sedation affects your memory, but I did not want to be awake at all, so I asked him to put me right out haha.

The insertion of the IV was definitely the most unpleasant for me.

I’ve never had blood work done, but I’ve had flu shots and lots of local anaesthesia done, so I didn’t think it’d be an issue. However, I was pretty nervous and I just reminded myself to take deep breaths while I felt the needle go into my vein. The pinch wasn’t bad but the thought and feeling of the needle’s presence and having it taped was what bothered me the most and I might have shed a fear tear drops...

The medication then got screwed into my IV and I just remembered feeling calmer as time passed and before long, the needle didn’t feel like anything and I eventually dosed off (I don’t even remember when I did).

SURGERY – I wasn’t awake for any of it. No recollection. I just remembered waking up and noticing everyone was cleaning up around me and that I had the IV removed beforehand was band-aided up on my hand and the inner bend of my arm. No pain either. I just knew my lips were numb because I couldn’t close it properly and I was given gauze for my upper and bottom lips.

Getting up, I was a bit disoriented and needed assistance but only momentarily.

Afterwards, I was given an envelope of medication (same kinds that I took before the surgery) and my parents drove us home.

FIRST 24 HRS – The sedation didn’t really affect me all day like I was told. I did ice my chin immediately and it took a while before my upper lip felt “normal” (e.g., when the numbness wears off and your lip no longer closes funny).

It did take me 2 hours to eat my food because I couldn’t open my mouth wide and the rest of my face just felt very swollen. I stopped bleeding shortly after and didn’t need to use gauze for the rest of the healing.

Sleeping on an elevated pillow helped but my face did feel very “heavy” whenever I would bend down.

Lots of salt water rinses as I couldn’t brush my teeth.

HEALING – Generally, I didn’t have much facial mobility for the whole week+ I couldn’t open my mouth wide or smile and laugh as it pulled on the sutures. I described it as my face being very “stiff”. No drinking from straws or exercising, at all.

My bottom lip was numb and tingly until maybe 1.5 weeks in. Smiling naturally occurs around the same time frame. I still can’t frown or pout though - I blame that on the sutures. But, I can do double chins for Snapchat 8)

My bottom teeth has no feeling currently and this will last a maximum of 6 months before the feeling returns.

Currently, I still find it a bit straining to naturally close my lips. Perhaps after the stitches are taken out it may get better. A few pieces of the stitches did come out this week.

Expect to book off 1 week from any activities or work, unless you don’t mind going out with a swollen face. I could work on my computer, edit videos, make food, walk in the mall and take public transit later in the week. 

 SWELLING – It was definitely got worse on the 4-5th day, but after that it gradually went down.

MEDICATION – I have to take antibiotics until they are finished. I did not take the extra strength pain killer, but I did continue to take pain killers consecutively after each meal for the next three days and on and off throughout the week for good measure/peace of mind.

BRUISING – I believe my face showed visible bruises on both sides near my lips on the 5th day and gradually got more prominent before it went away I’d say, close to 4 days later.

Where I had my IV also bruised. The one on my hand hurt when pressed, but my face and inner arm was fine.

PAIN – Not really “painful” or excruciating per say, but it felt like I had a canker sore on my bottom lip if I didn’t take my painkillers and it was just uncomfortable... Much like how it feels when you get your braces tightened and your teeth are “sore”.

On and off I may feel light headed if I exert too much energy, so I kept myself hydrated and lounged around to resolve that. In the vlog, cooking was probably the most labour intensive thing I did.

RETAINER – Yeah, I didn’t wear it the whole week :S I’m not sure what could’ve been done differently. Yes, the fake tooth on my retainer was altered to not touch the gums but I had forgotten to check until later in the week. For some reason I didn’t think they did anything to it? 

The post-surgery care sheet said not to wear any prosthetics as it may affect the healing. That being said, my orthodontist also said it might not have been good to wear it as my gums would be quite swollen and that I should’ve made an appointment earlier a few days after the surgery to get a new temporary fitted.

My teeth did close in a bit into my gap, so my hawley retainer is tight but I didn’t want to force it in while the stitches were still tender.

I got a new temporary essix retainer on Thursday, May 18th with resin added as the “fake tooth” which isn’t the best craftsmanship... The colour does not match at all and it sticks out slightly so I look like I have a buck tooth.

It holds my teeth for now, so I can’t complain too much. It did cost $50. More add ons to my bill :( BUT now I have two matching pairs, two essix (upper and lower), and the same for hawley. At least now, from far it doesn’t look like I still have braces on as it’s just a clear tray.

ALSO, IF ANYONE HAD A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE WITH THEIR RETAINER, PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU DID. I feel like we could all learn from this.

DIET – LOTS OF FRUIT/SMOOTHIES/VEGETABLES/SOFT PROTEIN. 

Kale and Lentil Curry Soup. Congee. Scrambled eggs. I had Pork Bone soup and Korean side dishes, the spiciness was not a problem. Baked fish, sweet potato, cereal... sautéed greens, soggy bread.

Tbh I ate more solids later in the week as I could still chew with my back teeth. Anything in small pieces. After the first week, you can even attempt lightly toasted bread but just be careful and allow yourself the extra time to chew.

TIPS

IF YOU HAVE A RETAINER, MAKE SURE YOU GET THAT SITUATION SORTED OUT FIRST.

Drink lots of water!

Grocery shop before! Look up recipes for soft foods, soups, etc. have fruit to puree so you can still have nutritious food while you are healing. No ice cream or much junk food for me (other than cereal)

A blender in any form is your best friend :) or be patient and cut into smaller pieces. Of course, this depends on where your surgery site is.

Mason jars or tupperware to portion your food also helps

Have movies to watch, low energy activities to do, or friends who you won’t mind to see your swollen face. It helps the time pass.

Boil an egg with the shell on, wrap it in a cloth, and rub it on your bruise to help it heal faster

MOST IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED –

COMMUNICATE! COORDINATE! With those who are in charge of your braces/surgery. Write down concerns you have as you will forget something important and ASK AWAY. Or write down instructions too! I won’t blame anyone for the retainer situation, as we are all human and sometimes little details get forgotten, but sometimes these are also crucial and it might be best to take matters into your own hands. If your orthodontist or prosthodontist does not coordinate with each other, you should remind them to or initiate it (which I didn’t). The more clarity you have, the less miscommunication or misunderstandings there are and it will cost you less if you don’t have to fix things. I am glad that my prosthodontist’s office called to check on me for the first few days, as I was also able to ask them questions right then.

SELF-ESTEEM – I had my retainer in probably 90% of the time these past 4 months since I’ve had my braces off. I loved how ‘normal’ I looked with a full set of teeth, and I would only take out my retainer when I am eating, but sometimes I felt reluctant to do so with friends who I am not close with or in front of strangers. By myself in a restaurant, I didn’t care so much. Oddly enough, I still feel self conscious, despite having a gap for 3 years... but back then I had all this hardware to hide behind. Note: I will do a video/post on this topic soon! But this week+, living without my retainer made me get used to how I look au natural. I also couldn’t wear makeup, so that helped too! In fact, going outside without my retainer, I probably look like I got into a bad fist fight with my bruises and lost a tooth in the process hahah. But whatever, I embraced it. My friends embraced it.  In short, people may look confused, but it wasn’t a big deal. I had to explain to my co-workers what was happening but afterwards they were very understanding. 

Thank you so much for making it here - please continue to send me your questions and comments :) I love reading them.

Until next time!

Thursday, May 25th - PROSTHODONTIST FOLLOW UP (for real this time)

Saturday, June 3rd - ORTHODONTIST RETAINER CHECK UP