Background

After many years of struggling with my teeth, I finally bit the proverbial bullet and decided to do something about it. Before Americans start going on about poor British dentistry, I'm going to say that I had straight teeth and jaw until I went to University; unfortunately, my jaw didn't stop growing evenly, so I've ended up with an underbite and a class-III malocclusion. This has resulted in my grinding down my molars in an attempt to chew food.

So far I have had the following:

Procedure Pain

Roots planed stinging pain, quickly gone

All fillings replaced about a 2, needed valium to relax muscles

All wisdom teeth pulled None! great surgeon

Braces Pain every time adjusted, from dull ache to tear inducing

Pictures

December 2003
After 2 years of braces, the teeth are almost aligned properly with the jaw; now if my bones were straight, things might meet!

January 2005
Almost ready for surgery -- the loops hanging down from the lower braces are the hooks ready for the surgery

5 January 2005
Me in bed in intensive care; the ice-packs on the side of my face are to reduce swelling, and I've tubes up my nose to keep the airways open, along with an oxygen/moisture mask

6 January 2005
At home; swollen face, lips, neck and nose.
Braces are all wired together, and the teeth are in alignment!!! [the photo angle is off]

7 January 2005
Hopefully this is as swollen as I get. You might be able to see the bruises (?) under my eyes.

8 January 2005
Swelling down. Most of what I eat comes in a syringe, and it's either brown or green.

9 January 2005
The swelling has reduced quite a lot, you can see my chin.
Notice the discolouration on my neck as the dead cells are carried away by the lymphatic system. It isn't a bruise.
Walking is good for you.

10 January 2005
Much less swollen.

11 January 2005
6 days after the surgery the swelling is down quite a lot, and the lymphatic drainage from my face is discolouring my neck. On the left side I am still numb from below my left eye to my nose down to the end of my chin; on the right, I'm only numb from my bottom lip to my chin. Where it is numb I have pins and needles and it feels as if my lower lip is on fire like it is badly chapped (the shininess around my mouth is from the lip balm -- I can't lick my lips!)

12 January 2005
The swelling is down quite a lot now, and you can see the discolouration on my neck quite well in this one. Tomorrow I promise a closeup of the metalwork in my mouth now that my lips are less swollen.

13 January 2005
More swollen today, as the steroidal medication is wearing off. On the other hand I no longer bounce off the walls with the energy of a flubber.
As promised, closeup of teeth, notice the shiny metalwork. The big thick bar is what everything is wired too, it fits into sockets in bands around my upper molars and is holding the upper sides of my jaw apart. The wiring looping through it holds everything fixed in relation to the bar, with my lower jaw kept in alignment to my upper jaw. Too much coffee and the mouthwash has discolored my teeth, but at least I managed to get all the food out from between them.

14 January 2005
Back to normal, the discolouration on my throat is receeding nicely.

15 January 2005
The discolouration on my neck is almost gone, I just have a slight greenish tinge.
The feeling is mostly back in my face, with the exception of under my left eye and my lower lip/chin. as the sensation comes back the muscles are spasming, so if I'm gurning you'll know why.

16 January 2005
Swelling is down and colour are much better. On Thursday I get unwired.

22 January 2005
Almost a week since the last update; Last thursday I got unwired and can now open my mouth. Initially I could only open about 5mm, I'm up a bit beyond that now.
Where it's numb I am feeling hot, or cold, or pressure. Hopefully the nerves will be back top normal in another month.

13 February 2005
I'm upto about 30mm opening now, the target is 40mm.
I am still not allowed to chew food, so I mash everything on my plate before eating it. Pizza and hard foods are out, but if it's cooked enought I can manage it.
I'm starting to get some feeling to the lower left quadrant of my lip.

7 June 2005
I am opening more than 40mm
I am can bite food, but nothing raw (no salads).
The bar on the outside has gone now, but there is one across the underside of the roof of my mouth, to prevent the upper sides from relapsing.
On the nerve-damage front the area under my lower lip is hyper-sensitive, hopefully the feeling will eventually be normal there.
Tomorrow I meet with the cosmetic dentist in the morning, and the Oral surgeon in the afternoon.

Procedure	Pain
Roots planed	stinging pain, quickly gone
All fillings replaced	about a 2, needed valium to relax muscles
All wisdom teeth pulled	None! great surgeon
Braces	Pain every time adjusted, from dull ache to tear inducing

December 2003 After 2 years of braces, the teeth are almost aligned properly with the jaw; now if my bones were straight, things might meet!
January 2005 Almost ready for surgery -- the loops hanging down from the lower braces are the hooks ready for the surgery
5 January 2005 Me in bed in intensive care; the ice-packs on the side of my face are to reduce swelling, and I've tubes up my nose to keep the airways open, along with an oxygen/moisture mask
6 January 2005 At home; swollen face, lips, neck and nose. Braces are all wired together, and the teeth are in alignment!!! [the photo angle is off]
7 January 2005 Hopefully this is as swollen as I get. You might be able to see the bruises (?) under my eyes.
8 January 2005 Swelling down. Most of what I eat comes in a syringe, and it's either brown or green.
9 January 2005 The swelling has reduced quite a lot, you can see my chin. Notice the discolouration on my neck as the dead cells are carried away by the lymphatic system. It isn't a bruise. Walking is good for you.
10 January 2005 Much less swollen.
11 January 2005 6 days after the surgery the swelling is down quite a lot, and the lymphatic drainage from my face is discolouring my neck. On the left side I am still numb from below my left eye to my nose down to the end of my chin; on the right, I'm only numb from my bottom lip to my chin. Where it is numb I have pins and needles and it feels as if my lower lip is on fire like it is badly chapped (the shininess around my mouth is from the lip balm -- I can't lick my lips!)
12 January 2005 The swelling is down quite a lot now, and you can see the discolouration on my neck quite well in this one. Tomorrow I promise a closeup of the metalwork in my mouth now that my lips are less swollen.
13 January 2005 More swollen today, as the steroidal medication is wearing off. On the other hand I no longer bounce off the walls with the energy of a flubber. As promised, closeup of teeth, notice the shiny metalwork. The big thick bar is what everything is wired too, it fits into sockets in bands around my upper molars and is holding the upper sides of my jaw apart. The wiring looping through it holds everything fixed in relation to the bar, with my lower jaw kept in alignment to my upper jaw. Too much coffee and the mouthwash has discolored my teeth, but at least I managed to get all the food out from between them.
14 January 2005 Back to normal, the discolouration on my throat is receeding nicely.
15 January 2005 The discolouration on my neck is almost gone, I just have a slight greenish tinge. The feeling is mostly back in my face, with the exception of under my left eye and my lower lip/chin. as the sensation comes back the muscles are spasming, so if I'm gurning you'll know why.
16 January 2005 Swelling is down and colour are much better. On Thursday I get unwired.
22 January 2005 Almost a week since the last update; Last thursday I got unwired and can now open my mouth. Initially I could only open about 5mm, I'm up a bit beyond that now. Where it's numb I am feeling hot, or cold, or pressure. Hopefully the nerves will be back top normal in another month.
13 February 2005 I'm upto about 30mm opening now, the target is 40mm. I am still not allowed to chew food, so I mash everything on my plate before eating it. Pizza and hard foods are out, but if it's cooked enought I can manage it. I'm starting to get some feeling to the lower left quadrant of my lip.
7 June 2005 I am opening more than 40mm I am can bite food, but nothing raw (no salads). The bar on the outside has gone now, but there is one across the underside of the roof of my mouth, to prevent the upper sides from relapsing. On the nerve-damage front the area under my lower lip is hyper-sensitive, hopefully the feeling will eventually be normal there. Tomorrow I meet with the cosmetic dentist in the morning, and the Oral surgeon in the afternoon.