my jaw's journey: braces, surgery and everything in between!: we'll see how this goes!

I never thought I'd have my own blog. I'm having surgery in exactly one week from today, and I am terrified!! I'm having orthognathic surgery... My jaw is going to be broken (hints the blog's web address), so that my not so appealing bite can be fixed. I googled orthognathic surgery a couple days ago and found a couple blogs where other people documented their recovery from the same surgery I'm having. I figured I could do the same! I mean, I love to read blogs, so why not start my own? Hopefully someone will read my blog!

July 2011.

So here's a little of my bad bite background.... I've always had a very gummy smile, and I've almost always had an open bite. I got braces for the first time when I was 11. I had the cool head gear and all. I wore my braces for 3 years, and when they were finally taken off, my bite was perfect. Unfortunately, that was short lived. Within 3 months of me not having braces on, my front teeth were no longer touching. Concerned, I went back to the orthodontist and that's when she told me I was probably a candidate for jaw surgery. What?!! Why was she saying that after 3 years of me wearing braces? That would mean I would have to wear braces again; I was not having that! So I went on with my life. My teeth were pretty and straight; the front ones just didn't touch at all.

May 2011.

Over the years, my front teeth kept getting farther and farther apart, and I kept getting more and more frustrated. I wasn't going to do anything about it, but then I noticed my two front teeth were no longer aligned. That really drove my crazy, so when I was 25, I went back to my original orthodontist. She told me for that to be fixed I'd have to go back into braces. I was so upset that I scheduled an appointment with a new, better orthodontist that next week to talk about fixing my teeth once and for all. I met with him and quickly decided that although I really, really didn't want to get braces again, it was what I needed to do. I met with the oral surgeon in early February 2011, got the surgery approved by my insurance, and by February 28, 2011, I was back in braces. Now, it's September 22, 2011, and my surgery is scheduled for September 29. I can't believe how fast everything is going, and as of right now, I'm so happy with the decision I've made. Ask me next Friday, and I might have changed my mind by then!
**so I know some of these pictures are scary.. but I wanted to share before, during, and after pictures!!

February 28, 2011. Got my teeth cleaned @ the dentist. Now on my way to get my braces on!

Whole face shot -- on my way to get braces.

First picture taken with my braces. Thank goodness for clear top braces!!

I'm doing this blog for two reasons. I really want to be able to document my recovery and the changes I'm going to go through. I know one day post-recovery, I'm going to be glad I blogged about my journey. And the other reason is to help others going through the same thing I'm going through. I don't know if anyone will ever read any of this, but if they do, I hope my blog will help them the way the blogs I read helped me!!

Exactly 6 months with braces -- I apoligize for the crazy, kinda gross close up!

6 months with braces -- after leaving the dentist!

I don't normally take pictures of myself, and I am not photogenic at all, but I definitely wanted to share pictures! All my pictures are from my iPhone, so they aren't the best quality.. sorry!! I'm also going to try to update everyday once I've had my surgery with pictures and how I'm feeling. I've got my pre-op appointment tomorrow with the oral surgeon, so if he says anything of interest, I'll try to update a little!