Deprogrammer update.

It's been about six week since I've had the deprogrammer (haven't totally kept up with the count).  I can tell that the angle of my jaw and the placement of my jaw has changed quite a bit.  I used to be able to bring my lower jaw forward and see what my "bite" might look like after surgery.  So, I used to be able to place my bottom front teeth directly behind the top front teeth.  My bite has opened up so much now that I'm not able to posture my bottom teeth behind my top teeth, there is just a space.  I'm not sure that I explained that very well...  Sorry that I have no pictures to show it either.  It's busy season at my work and I haven't kept up with photos.

I can't comment, so...

Blogger is apparently acting up again, and so I haven't been able to reply to comments on my blog.

So, Tara, Max, and Nora, thank you so much for your encouragement!  Yes, I have a TON of neck and shoulder tension problems because of how I posture my head.  I am hoping to have PT before surgery to help get ready for the new jaw placement.  It will be such a relief to be free from all this pain!  That is what I am most looking forward to.

Profile and my forward head.

When I saw my ortho last, he said he was very surprised at how fast my bite was moving since I got the splint.  He had to do a major overhaul of the splint and told me that I could go ahead and schedule my surgery so that I could have a date in place, but it will take longer than is typical for my joints to settle into their proper position with the splint.  This is because of the amount of the asymmetry and how my body has compensated for the asymmetry.

Over time I developed what's called a forward head posture.  It was probably to compensate for my bad bite and jaw alignment.  My body tried to put my jaw in a place where it would be more comfortable and functional.  Unfortunately, it has caused all sorts of neck and shoulder tension, plus poor posture.  I need to work on correcting my forward head position in order for my joints to sit in their sockets properly.

Here are some pictures to show what I mean.  (I took them myself, so they're not the best...)

Here are my right and left profiles (they're different because of the asymmetry).  In these pictures, I am holding my head in the correct position.  This is what my profile really looks like.

             

Here is what my profile usually looks like, because I always hold my head in this forward position.

Tool you may not have thought of.

Maybe it's just me, since I haven't seen this problem come up for others...

I include a pair of tweezers in my toothbrush travel kit that I take with me to work and elsewhere.  Why?  At least three times I have gotten a bristle of the standard type toothbrush caught in my brackets and I haven't been able to pull it out with just my fingers.  So, the tweezers have come in handy in those instances.  I don't seem to have the same trouble with my electric toothbrush, though.

I have a date!

It's official!!  My double jaw surgery will be...

MAY 30, 2012!!!!

I had a rather involved ortho appointment today.  I'll have a post about that later.  It will explain why the surgery will be later than I had hoped, but at least it's scheduled!

:)

Deprogrammer Update.

Well, my "bite" has shifted quite a bit since I've gotten the deprogrammer.  It doesn't allow me to posture my chin at all, but puts my jaw in its natural postion, so it's very easy to see the asymmetry and deformity. Thank goodness I can get this fixed!  I've taken some pictures of how my profile changes as well, but I'll post those later.  Here are pictures with the deprogrammer in:

* I apologize for how I look--I had a bad headache when I took these... *

Here is my bite with the splint--I can only bite with my anterior teeth, something I have never experienced!

Here is my real bite, right after I took the splint out:

Here is my smile without the splint.  Seems I can't smile without sticking my tongue through the gap...