day 2 following root canal and day 14 post plate removal

Today is day two following my root canal on day 12 of my plate removal surgery. My endodontist told me that my tooth was totally dead, and probably contributed to why I couldn't feel any pain associated with it. It was abscessed, and I have to go back to her again in three weeks to have more medicine put into the root canal. I have no idea when I will be getting a crown, but my orthodontist suggested waiting until my orthodontic treatment is complete. 

Due to how many antibiotics I have been on lately, my endodontist wanted to wait to put me on any. I am supposed to call her today to let her know if my swelling has improved. If it hasn't drastically improved, I believe she is going to either put me on some or bring me back in sooner. I haven't noticed a huge difference this morning, but I'm going to wait to give it time to settle (fluid can build up overnight while lying down) and then I'm going to take a picture to do a true comparison to yesterday's picture. 

The root canal was not that bad. I requested laughing gas, and I must admit, despite the feeling of being "high" I still got nervous. They numbed me up very well though, and I didn't feel anything but pressure and vibrations. Oddly enough, the most unpleasant part of the whole root canal was at one point I had an overwhelming stench of bleach, which seemed to seap into every orifice on my face. I could have sworn I was swallowing it, but I had a oral guard on and couldn't swallow anything. That part was by far the worst. 

There hasn't been a whole lot of pain with this root canal. I have taken some of my leftover pain medication because it does hurt at times, but it feels like a walk in the park compared to what I have undergone to date. 

I truly hope that this is over with. Other than the rest of my treatment for the root canal, I don't want to have to have anything done ever again. This has been truly miserable, but will hopefully be worth it when I look back at this journey. 

an update on day 11

I saw my dentist today. He took an x-ray and I was placed in the exam room to wait. I prayed the x-ray would be normal, but to my dismay and frustration I have an abcess on tooth #18 that must be fixed. The longer I let it go, the more it will eat into the bone that was just operated on. SO, I will be undergoing yet my THIRD procedure tomorrow at 2:15 pm. While it is only a root canal, it is still another surgical procedure and one that I am not looking forward to.

From what the dentist told me, it is normal for the root of a tooth to react this way following all of the moving and shifting and moving again with all of the treatment I have had. The recovery will be very minor (I will return to work Thursday, ready or not) and the swelling should be minimal. He believes that the swelling I have now is a result of both my second jaw surgery and my abscessed tooth.

At this point I am rather frustrated. I'm not frustrated at anyone specifically, I am just frustrated at the course that my journey has taken me on. I still know that this will be worth it, and I am still holding onto that. My surgeon and orthodontist have both been wonderful and I couldn't have asked for a better team to help me through this- it just appears as if I will get to add a few more doctors to that team! :/

day 11 following 2nd jaw surgery

Today marks the 11th day following my 2nd jaw surgery. I am doing much better pain wise. I am able to eat what I want now, although I am still a little bit sore afterwards. I also still feel awkward chewing, and I am trying to relearn this task. My energy level has returned to normal (which was never great to begin with). 

Today I am going to see a dentist to have the root of my back molar checked out. On the x-ray that my oral surgeon performed, it looked as if the root could possibly be infected or decaying. I am opting to get it checked by a dentist now rather than to wait, because I want to have peace of mind that there's nothing wrong. If there is in fact something wrong, I can't do anything about it yet. I will have to wait until about 3-4 weeks post-op. However, I will at least know why if I begin swelling again.

As of today, I am still swollen. I take pictures of myself almost daily to monitor the swelling progress, and it does improve with each photo. The first week, however, swelling reduction happened much faster. It has drastically slowed now, and I am extremely fearful and paranoid it will plateau. I am not as self conscious as I was before, because the lump is hardly noticeable. But every time I look in the mirror, I still see it because I am looking for it, and this of course bothers me.

My oral surgeon said if I was still swollen by Friday to come see him. He also said even if I am just unsure of my progress to come see him. I fully intend to go by his office either Thursday or Friday. I don't really think that my swelling will have totally smoothed out by Friday, and I need to have some reassurance from him that it will eventually. 

I do believe that this part is the hardest. When progress begins to slow, things begin to look and feel bleak. I know my body is still healing, but I cannot help the frustration that I am feeling. I am more than extremely ready for this lump to disappear and never, EVER, come back. 

I will update after my appointment with my dentist. 

day 7 following 2nd surgery

Today marks one week since undergoing my second jaw surgery. I saw my oral surgeon yesterday, and it was a good appointment. I'm going to fashion this post a bit different. I'm going to put my questions and his answers. These answers are not word for word, and at some points are my interpretation. I asked him the following:

1. What did the lump I had consist of? What was I feeling? Answer: I was probably feeling the bone plate. The tissues surrounding it were swollen. 
2. How bad was the infection? Answer: There are stages of infection. Mine was in the beginning stage, where there is no puss, but just cellulitis. It was probably headed towards a raging infection.
3. Will the swelling return to normal, and will that side match the other when I am fully healed? Answer: Yes, the side that had issues will match the other side when the swelling subsides. If the swelling gets worse or doesn't go down all the way, it would be because of my tooth decaying (if it's in fact decaying).
4. Were you able to see the root of my tooth and check it out? Answer: You can't see the root because it is inside the bone. He doesn't know whether or not the tooth will need a root canal.
5. When should I see the dentist again? Answer: Because of how swollen and tender I am, I should wait about 3-4 weeks before going to a dentist unless I really want to.There's no harm in it. (I am going to go to a dentist, but not for a cleaning. I'm going to have them give me their opinion on my tooth so that I don't have to worry about it.)
6. When can I begin eating things like popcorn and steak? Answer: I can eat whatever I want now. I need to be careful not to get things caught up in my stitches though.
7. If you had to guess how long will it take for the left side to return to normal and match the other side? Answer: He can't give a definite timeline, but if he had to guess he said that it should be back to normal by 2 weeks post op.
8. When do I need to come back and see you? Answer: I only need to come back and see him if I am swelling again, or if I am still swollen by the end of next week. If I am unsure whether my swelling is normal, I should come back also.
9. What really caused all of the swelling in the first place? Answer: He doesn't know this for sure, but he thinks that it was the combination of the loose screw and plate as well as the beginnings of infection. The screw could have been loosened by a hit to the jaw (I have a two year old that wacked me a couple of times) or my body could have been naturally pushing it out. I am the first person he has had to take hardware out of as early as 9 weeks.

That is all of the questions I can remember asking him! Today I am still bruised and tender, but my swelling is improving rapidly. My feeling is continually getting better in my chin and lip, although there is still a great deal of numbness there. I believe when it is fully healed it will be pretty darn close to 100% if not perfect!

Comment please! :) 

the countdown has started over..day 3

Today is day 3 following my second jaw surgery. Tomorrow will mark 10 weeks following my first. I am recovering very slowly from this second surgery. As I may have mentioned before, pain is worse because there is no numbness. My swelling doesn't really seem to be improving. I will say, my lips are not chapped like last time because they didn't swell this time around. They are split however, from where I'm guessing the surgeon had to pull them to get to the back of my mouth. 

I had 23 screws and 4 plates. I believe the surgeon removed 7 screws and 2 plates. I still have 2 plates and 8 screws in my chin, and 2 plates and 7 screws on the right side. I'm getting all of this information from my x-ray. I felt the need to count hardware. :)

My orthodontist wanted me to put my rubber bands back in as soon as I was able, and so I attempted this last night. I'm not going to lie, I wanted to come up with excuses and take them out. For some reason, I'm afraid the clenching of my jaw will create another lump. I have no science or facts behind this, but I just came up with it in my head. I've been good though, and have worn them since last night. It's been about 14 hours now. :)

Tomorrow I return to work, and I will admit that I am not ready. Not only do I still rely heavily on my pain medicine around the clock (about every 3 hours), but my face is grotesquely swollen on one side and looks very strange. I'm going to be more embarrassed this time than last. I also know how exhausted I will be because of how I felt last time. It's too early. Please, if you are planning this surgery, rack up enough vacation/sick time to be out for AT LEAST 2 weeks. I can not stress this enough. I needed 2 weeks with the first surgery, and I can't help but wonder if I hadn't pushed myself so much perhaps my body could have more effectively fought off infection. With this second surgery, I need at least a week. I don't feel that I am in a position to take off that much time, but if I was I would. It also doesn't hurt to inform your boss that there's a chance you will have to undergo a second surgery. Even if the chance is slim, if they are prepared you reap the rewards because you can take off more time. 

I cannot even begin to explain how badly I want this all to be over with. This is just a bump in the road, but I am ready to wave goodbye to this chapter of my life. 

Please post comments, I still have 0! Feel free to share experiences or ask questions. That is what this blog is here for. :)

day 1 following my 2nd jaw surgery

So I underwent my second jaw surgery yesterday. I have to admit, this surgery was a good bit more painful than the first. I believe this is largely because there was no nerve damage, and so I could feel everything that I couldn't feel before.

My surgeon said that he didn't find much infection, but he did find a loose screw. He removed all of the plates and screws on my left side, but left the others in. We're not sure what was causing the severe swelling, although we are hopefully it will now go back down to normal. My orthodontist believes the swelling was due to the loose screw and the hardware on that side.

My face is so incredibly swollen right now, but only on one side. It looks grotesque. It feels softer than it was before though, so I am hopeful the lump is gone although it is hard to tell at this point.

I plan to take Monday off of work. My surgeon informed me that that would be the hardest day. I will probably go back Tuesday, although it's not going to be easy. It will also be embarassing because my face looks so strange right now.

The symptoms I'm experiencing are somewhat different this time. I have the same swelling that I had before, but I have more pain where the incisions are. He cut right through the old scar tissue, and now that I am not numb on the inside, I can feel it and it's very bothersome. I didn't experience any new numbness, and the residual numbness is continuing to improve. I can open my jaw wider than I could on the first day following my first surgery, although my mobility is much more limited than it was before surgery yesterday. I am restricted to a soft food diet for the first 48 hours, and then no meat or anything tough and crunchy for the first week. After that I can return to a normal diet. As you can probably imagine, I've taken quite a few steps back. I am hoping and praying that this time will be the final time. My biggest concern is my lump that I had. I want it to be gone for good, as I was very self conscious about it. Of course, not many people go into orthognathic surgery for purely cosmetic reasons, but it is a big perk and a huge plus. To face losing the cosmetic benefits because of a lump or abnormal swelling can be very discouraging. This second surgery has given me the opportunity to create more normalcy to my orthognathic recovery.