Man... it's been so long since I have posted a website update that I forgot how to do it! That is the thing with jaw surgery. Eventually you get on with your life more and/or have bigger fish to fry. In my life it's been kind of both since the last update.
I saw Dr. Karas for a 3 year follow up, which ended up being almost 3.5 years post op for me. Time seriously freaking flies! It was weird seeing Dr. Karas in what I felt like was the first time in forever. The last time I caught up with him was back in Aug 2018 when I had pain on my lower left (suspected infection, but a friend poked in to me with their hand hard enough it just pissed everything off around the hardware and osteotomy site there). As usual, Dr. Karas was all smiles. He's still impressed with how solid my front teeth feel despite how awful they look on xray (they're loose, but not as loose as you'd think seeing how bad the roots are on film), and said my bite looks fantastic still. For the most part I still have zero dental and skeletal relapse (wear your retainers, people! It really matters!!) Thumbs up from the surgeon is always great feeling! I'll see him around the same time next year for my 4 year follow up.
How have things felt otherwise? Pretty much the same as last year, I think. My muscles in my face have never calmed down. I think it's partially because of my stress/anxiety, and partially because my muscles are stubborn and they refuse to ever settle calmly around the new bone positions. I feel like my face is always fighting itself. It's hard to describe. Anyway, my loose teeth are still hanging on. My veneers still look great. I'm wearing a night time splint for my clenching, and thanks to said clenching, I am now getting a day time splint as well. Hopefully that will relieve some of this muscle tension in my face. My TMJ's get stiff and slightly sore in the worst of it, and sometimes have popping that is not associated with any severe pain or locking (woohoo!). I just came back from a dive trip where I still had issues opening my mouth (pain and stiffness) after the first day of diving 2 tanks. This is to be expected and totally normal after all the work I went through. Sucks, but it's a cost of doing business. I'm sure warm moist heat would help me in these situations, but I just don't go out of my way to do it anymore.
Things are still stable and good overall, and I am still very much enjoying my new (now getting not so new lol) smile. I didn't have any records taken at this visit, so I don't have any of those pictures to update with. And my xray pretty much looks the same as last years, so I am going to leave that out as well. A few pics to show where things are at 3.5 years. I'm still not in love with my new nose, but again, it's the cost of doing business to get my bite right.
Admin note for website inquiries-- I am sorry if I have not gotten back to some people recently. I am incredibly bogged down with work and typically on my work machine, which does not allow my personal email to be opened. I have totally sucked at checking emails the last few months with work being crazy. I WILL eventually get back to you guys....eventually, I swear. :)
I saw Dr. Karas for a 3 year follow up, which ended up being almost 3.5 years post op for me. Time seriously freaking flies! It was weird seeing Dr. Karas in what I felt like was the first time in forever. The last time I caught up with him was back in Aug 2018 when I had pain on my lower left (suspected infection, but a friend poked in to me with their hand hard enough it just pissed everything off around the hardware and osteotomy site there). As usual, Dr. Karas was all smiles. He's still impressed with how solid my front teeth feel despite how awful they look on xray (they're loose, but not as loose as you'd think seeing how bad the roots are on film), and said my bite looks fantastic still. For the most part I still have zero dental and skeletal relapse (wear your retainers, people! It really matters!!) Thumbs up from the surgeon is always great feeling! I'll see him around the same time next year for my 4 year follow up.
How have things felt otherwise? Pretty much the same as last year, I think. My muscles in my face have never calmed down. I think it's partially because of my stress/anxiety, and partially because my muscles are stubborn and they refuse to ever settle calmly around the new bone positions. I feel like my face is always fighting itself. It's hard to describe. Anyway, my loose teeth are still hanging on. My veneers still look great. I'm wearing a night time splint for my clenching, and thanks to said clenching, I am now getting a day time splint as well. Hopefully that will relieve some of this muscle tension in my face. My TMJ's get stiff and slightly sore in the worst of it, and sometimes have popping that is not associated with any severe pain or locking (woohoo!). I just came back from a dive trip where I still had issues opening my mouth (pain and stiffness) after the first day of diving 2 tanks. This is to be expected and totally normal after all the work I went through. Sucks, but it's a cost of doing business. I'm sure warm moist heat would help me in these situations, but I just don't go out of my way to do it anymore.
Things are still stable and good overall, and I am still very much enjoying my new (now getting not so new lol) smile. I didn't have any records taken at this visit, so I don't have any of those pictures to update with. And my xray pretty much looks the same as last years, so I am going to leave that out as well. A few pics to show where things are at 3.5 years. I'm still not in love with my new nose, but again, it's the cost of doing business to get my bite right.
Admin note for website inquiries-- I am sorry if I have not gotten back to some people recently. I am incredibly bogged down with work and typically on my work machine, which does not allow my personal email to be opened. I have totally sucked at checking emails the last few months with work being crazy. I WILL eventually get back to you guys....eventually, I swear. :)
RSS Feed
