Day 40: Eating Again!!!!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but I've been very busy over the past few days.

Friday I went to see the orthodontist in the morning so they could fix my broken bracket. It was slightly entertaining because I saw another orthodontist in the practice who I don't normally see. He asked me to open my mouth wider, and when I told him I couldn't he asked why. I told him that I had just had surgery about five weeks ago. He asked what kind of surgery, and I explained. Upon hearing the explanation, he said "Oh that surgery! Well you look fantastic!" They decided to clip off the back bracket since it really isn't doing much at the moment. When I go back in October they'll probably put it back on before they adjust my wires since I should be able to open my mouth wider at that point.

Later Friday afternoon, I went to go see the oral surgeon. He said that everything is looking good. I can now chew soft foods and gradually work up to a normal diet over the next few weeks. I also only have to wear my rubberbands at night which also makes things easier. The surgeon also said that if I was at home and could go to the orthodontist every month, I would probably be able to get my braces off after 3 or 4 months. However, since I'm away at school and can only go every 6 weeks to 2 months, the process will almost definitely be prolonged. Even though this is disappointing because it would be wonderful to have my braces off as soon as possible, at this point I'm willing to wait patiently so that everything comes out the way it should. I've gone through so much that a couple extra months can't be that big of a problem.

Since I could eat, my family took me out to eat at Olive Garden. The food was delicious, but I had to consciously think about chewing because my initial instinct now is to just mush the food with my tongue. In addition, eating is really like exercise. All of the 'chewing muscles' in my face haven't been used for almost 6 weeks. Therefore, eating still isn't enjoyable and takes a lot of work.

Later that evening, we went to my brother's first football game of the year. Towards the end of the game, my jaw was very sore from all of the chewing, and I had to take some ibuprofen when I came home.

I'll continue to keep you updated as things move along, and here are today's pictures.