Day 49 (7 weeks post op)

So I saw my surgeon yesterday and he said everything looks good and that I probably had a minor infection but the antibiotics should clear that right up. Then he said he would see me in another 6-8 weeks. I find it frustrating that some people seem to get very specific instructions from their surgeons and I'm getting vague statements. I was expecting him to give me instructions on where to go with the elastics that are on my braces like "keep them on for 8 hours a day" or something like what I have read in other blogs but Steinbacher told me that where to go with the bands is now up to my orthodontist. These bands were only needed to keep my jaw in place while it was still healing from the surgery but now that I'm "out of the woods" with that my orthodontist might decide to use bands to move individual teeth. I'm hoping that I am done with these elastics because they really are a pain in the ass but without them opening and closing my mouth feels foreign. Which is another thing the doctor didn't look at, he didn't even want to see how far I could open my mouth without the bands which seems weird to me.

I haven't noticed any changes in the swelling really but I look mostly normal so whatever swelling is left doesn't bother me. One thing the doctor asked was if I noticed and changes to my nose, which I have, it seems to be slightly wider, which is common when you move the top jaw forward but also could be caused by swelling. Either way I really don't care.

Above is a picture of one of my elastics, its in the red circle in case you couldn't see that microscopic thing, thats the size of it compared to a penny and the tweezers I have to use to maneuver the elastics around the hooks on my braces. Side note: the gap in my front teeth seems to have closed up by itself and my bite is perfect all my teeth line up with each other...at least from what I can feel with my tongue...

I'm quite literally re-learning how to chew and its challenging, you don't expect to forget how to chew. Another thing thats hard with the current bands because they don't allow me to open my mouth very much. I could probably take them off to eat now but I feel like I still need help with the chewing motion. I can move my jaw up and down but when you're eating you also move your jaw side to side to manipulate the food, what I find really difficult is getting the food back into my mouth to swallow once I have chewed it. Since the doctor didn't give me any advice on this I've decided not to rush it, I've been on the soft foods that don't need to be chewed but now I am sticking with the same foods but I am trying to chew them. Once I master that I feel like I will be more comfortable manipulating harder foods like chicken.

Opening with bands on: I am able to fit the tip of my pointer finger flat between my teeth.

Opening WITHOUT bands: I can open enough to fit my pointer finger between on its side which is maybe a millimeter or two more.

It looks like a lot but its really really not, a normal person with a fully functioning jaw should be able to open their mouth about 42mm, which is about two-three fingers. P.S. See that dark dot on my jaw line? Still a stitch from the only external entry point for a screw, I finally got the adhesive stuff around it off so its much smaller now.

I am very cautious about opening my mouth without the elastics because my jaw tends to float open by itself without them and it takes a conscious effort to close it. Like if you have every had a cast and when they cut it off your arm floats up a little bit? Though I noticed just now taking that picture that it has gotten a littler easier and it was only a little bit tight and only on the right side.