My orthodontist did not scold me for wearing the bands differently but told me not to do it anymore. He said I am on the tightest bands he has and two is too much.
But he was impressed with the improvement in the bite. Now I am back on one band either side I fear my lower jaw will swing over to the right again.
He did say I could change them twice a day, because they get loose and saggy after a while. Certainly I can tell that by the end of the day. So that might help.
I know I clenched again last night. My teeth hurt this morning. I clenched on my improved but not perfect bite position - on my left hand side, the outside cusps of my lower molars clash against the inside cusps of my upper molars. Only the lower ones hurt (the top ones being dead numb still).
Just another 1mm over and I would be there.
He also suspects one of my canine teeth has died and I'll need a root canal. He went to do his test of putting cold on it and I had to point out to him that my upper teeth are completely numb so it was pointless. I can't believe he didn't know that! He might as well have been spraying a hunk of wood for all I could feel on any of my teeth and that is how it is with everyone who has upper jaw surgery for a while (longer than my 4 1/2 weeks post-op, anyway). However the reason he suspected it is that my tooth is discoloured and it might just be the savacol mouth rinse I had to use after the surgery, because that puts a brown colour on teeth.
He said there is nothing orthodontically he can do to fix my bite and if it doesn't 'settle in' then the only option would be another surgery, but he doesn't think it's bad enough to justify another surgery. However he says he really DOES think it'll settle in - yet his demeanor doesn't match the optimism of his words. So I was pretty disappointed to hear there was nothing he could do to help if it doesn't happen by itself. I don't know why he can't just drag all the teeth over slightly. But he's the expert.
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Andrea,
ReplyDeleteALL of the questions you listed are certainly on mind. Particulary the question of if I wait, will it be harder to move things around with ease. I imagine it would be, because the body will eventually grow solid bones that would essentially have to be completely broken (again) in order to be moved around.
I have a sneaking suspicion, also, that the top jaw will need to be repositioned because of the open bite. I'm trying SO hard to just relax and face the inevitable. The "why me??" syndrome has been taking over for the past couple of days.
I should have many more details within the next week or so, once a response from the insurance company arrives.