Sunday, March 11, 2007

Old Habits Die Hard

I'm not wearing rubber bands at night anymore. Woke up the other day to find my lower jaw slightly thrust forward. Very slightly, but very worrisome. Are my jaw muscles seeking their old positions?

Meanwhile, my right lower lip and right chin continue to feel numb and tingling. The jaws feel dull and tight, but less so as the days go by. The cheeks are gradually deflating, as the cheekbones gradually lower. I can't wait until all these changes finally stop and whatever I get stay permanent.

Still on a soft food diet, but I'm really enjoying cutting food with my front teeth! Sounds silly, right? Avocados, scrambled eggs, potatoes - even shrimp - bring them on! While slurping noodles the other day, I caught myself cutting the strands between my upper teeth and tongue (which I used to do to compensate for the gap between my edge-on-edge bite). THAT was a weird moment, realizing I didn't have to do that anymore. Old habits are hard to break. But it is time. And I can. :)

2 comments:

Mrs. Shanton said...

Even with the bands, and moreso without, my lower jaw falls backward into my neck. I know how you feel with regard to worrying about it. I find myself wondering if my retainers can be rigged up with hooks for rubber bands, which I'd wear every night into eternity...

Mary said...

I felt the same way about my rubberbands as you Steph. Eventually you begin to trust that your bite is at its new forever-resting point Kristen. Especially since you had the screws put in from the outside sidways. I think this is to ensure no "relapse." But I agree with you, old habits die hard. And good habits are gone a minute!
So, at the risk of becoming redundantly boring, how did your co-workers react to the new you? Since your change was quite dramatic, I can only imagine what kind of comments you are getting. M