Guest guest Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Hi again, Here's my not-so-quicky answers: 1. How soon did all of you stop letting the tingling and numbness bother you? *** right away. I knew it was not going to be forever. Every tingle means nerves are regenerating. It was just something different to get used to. What did frustrate me was learning to drink from a cup - that took a long time (I finally retrained myself with a pub glass and ale). 2. Drooling: Do you know why this is happening or what i can do to reduce it? *** I found that the drooling was liquid that I'd drunk that I hadn't completely swallowed and was pooling in my lower palate. Going to the bathroom sink and spitting it out as much as possible helped. 3. When do you think that i will beable to go out into public again and not feel awkward because of swelling? *** you can go out at any time. I went out on day 3 post-op with my chin bandage on. If you want to go out, go out. I had a t shirt I'd made with a saying on it " I look funny because I just had jaw surgery - what's your excuse? " just in case people stared at me. Nobody did. It was good to get out. 4. Will these stitches dissolve or will they have to be removed? Will this tension that is being created up there subside along with the swelling? *** the stitches will dissolve. My surgeon did a little trimming. Try salt water rinses - it helps to dissolve them. Mine took 8 weeks to fall out. Be careful you don't tug on the long ones. The tension that's there will take time to go away. At some point you can try doing lip exercises - smiling wide, tall, curling your upper lip, pursing your lips for a kiss, stuff like that. 5. Should i avoid brushing my top teeth for a while or should i press on and bear the pain? *** The first week I only used my Waterpik on very low, pointed away from the stitches. I couldn't open wide enough, like you, I was swollen inside and couldn't even see my braces, let alone clean them. I couldn't even tell how I was banded. After about a week, I think I gradually started brushing. I think it's more important when you start to do soft no-chew, and then chewing, to get rid of the food particles. I could not get at anything with my tongue for the longest time. I didn't do flossing at all, I had no cavities when my braces finally came off. I read your journal, Kendall, and all I can say is, if you've been patient your whole life, now is the time you should be putting that into practice. Try not to worry about the recovery. It's just something out of your control - the part you can control is your reaction to it. I know you're early on, and everything probably seems quite overwhelming, but things should get better rapidly in the early weeks of recovery, swelling will go down, numbness will diminish, and you'll find you can deal with what's left. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Thanks again for answering so quickly! Your advice is greatly appreciated and always helpful. Kendall > Hi again, > > Here's my not-so-quicky answers: > > 1. How soon did all of you stop letting the tingling and numbness > bother you? *** right away. I knew it was not going to be forever. > Every tingle means nerves are regenerating. It was just something > different to get used to. What did frustrate me was learning to drink > from a cup - that took a long time (I finally retrained myself with a > pub glass and ale). > > 2. Drooling: Do you know why this is happening or what i can do to > reduce it? *** I found that the drooling was liquid that I'd drunk > that I hadn't completely swallowed and was pooling in my lower > palate. Going to the bathroom sink and spitting it out as much as > possible helped. > > 3. When do you think that i will beable to go out into public again > and not feel awkward because of swelling? *** you can go out at any > time. I went out on day 3 post-op with my chin bandage on. If you > want to go out, go out. I had a t shirt I'd made with a saying on > it " I look funny because I just had jaw surgery - what's your > excuse? " just in case people stared at me. Nobody did. It was good to > get out. > > 4. Will these stitches dissolve or will they have to be removed? > Will this tension that is being created up there subside along with > the swelling? *** the stitches will dissolve. My surgeon did a little > trimming. Try salt water rinses - it helps to dissolve them. Mine > took 8 weeks to fall out. Be careful you don't tug on the long ones. > The tension that's there will take time to go away. At some point you > can try doing lip exercises - smiling wide, tall, curling your upper > lip, pursing your lips for a kiss, stuff like that. > > 5. Should i avoid brushing my top teeth for a while or should i press > on and bear the pain? *** The first week I only used my Waterpik on > very low, pointed away from the stitches. I couldn't open wide > enough, like you, I was swollen inside and couldn't even see my > braces, let alone clean them. I couldn't even tell how I was banded. > After about a week, I think I gradually started brushing. I think > it's more important when you start to do soft no-chew, and then > chewing, to get rid of the food particles. I could not get at > anything with my tongue for the longest time. I didn't do flossing at > all, I had no cavities when my braces finally came off. > > I read your journal, Kendall, and all I can say is, if you've been > patient your whole life, now is the time you should be putting that > into practice. Try not to worry about the recovery. It's just > something out of your control - the part you can control is your > reaction to it. I know you're early on, and everything probably seems > quite overwhelming, but things should get better rapidly in the early > weeks of recovery, swelling will go down, numbness will diminish, and > you'll find you can deal with what's left. > > Hope that helps! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Hi Kendall, Glad it's useful. But I'm not always so quick, I just happened to be online at that time, as were you, I guess. Other times I have trouble getting to the boards - work, work, work : < > Thanks again for answering so quickly! Your advice is greatly > appreciated and always helpful. > > Kendall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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