Five week post op: photos

I think my bite is getting better - midlines getting closer. During the night and when I wake up in the morning, my bite feels perfect! The top photo is with teeth closed and the bottom one when I am opening my mouth a bit. You can see that as I open my bottom jaw swings more and more to the right, away from the joint with the displaced disk. But I really take heart from the nearing midlines when my mouth is closed. That has to be a great sign!

I think my jowls are shrinking!

To me it still looks as though my top midline is off to the left, but it could definitely be an illusion created by having more swelling on the right than the left.

I'm feeling good. Heaps of energy most days. Numbness continues to reduce. My cheek feeling is back. Lips are normal apart from the top right (that still sneers a bit), and it is giving me lots of tickles.

My backmost right upper molar has feeling and HURTS. I can barely brush it with my soft baby toothbrush without pain. All the rest are numb. I hope like heck it's just supersensitivity as the nerves come back - although that also scares me because if all my teeth feel like that I am going to be a bit miserable until they settle down. The only other thing I can think of is a damaged root during surgery but there is no hot/cold sensation problem, and it doesn't hurt to bite down on it. It could still be that, I know. Funny how it's not numb like the rest.

Almost everyone I see comments on how my looks have changed. Most of them make no comment on whether it's for better or worse! One did today, said it looked good. Most of them just say 'so when can you get your braces off' - they think it must be the worst thing ever! I would love to know, and to have them off, but it's low on my priority list.

The splits in my lower jaw, which were really sharp at the corners to start with, are nice and softly curved now.

I have NO pain apart from the odd twinge from the troubled right tmj joint. I have stopped taking my anti inflammatories as of yesterday (because I ran out) and stopped rubbing in the voltaren gel (because it said to use for no longer than 2 weeks).

I still feel pretty tight under my nose, especially when I wrinkle it up, and talk. I guess it's the stitch they put in there. It's more on the right side than the left.