Week Three

I can't believe it's been three weeks already. Well, at least in some aspects, in others it seems like forever.I can really see some changes. It's cool thinking about the change that seems so rapid. The downside is all that rapid change has been very sore on my mouth.

A friend of mine got braces on her bottom teeth the week before I got mine. She's had no pain. I on the other hand, have had enough for both of us. I've had only 3 relatively pain free days so far. :-(

The newest is a dull ache in my jawbone. I suppose it's because of all the stress of the moving teeth above it, but it's not a fun feeling. BUT on the PLUS side, I haven't had any problems with my TMJ since I got the braces. I was talking with my husband last night. I'd rather go through 2 years of discomfort for a lifetime of no/less TMJ pain than not have the braces and know that my jaw is going to hurt worse and become more unbearable for the rest of my life.

There hasn't been one single "crack" from my jaw in 5 weeks (from when I got my spacers). I've had a few minor adjustments kind of like a gentle stretching feeling and pop like when you're stiff and your back pops and you feel much better for it.

It's going to be a long road and it might be a cranky one for me...but it WILL be worth it in the end.

AND as it is Thursday, it's time for a progress picture!

First day of Braces

Week Three

(as you can see, they are playing havoc with my lips...all chewed up!)

What changes do you see? I see that my front two top teeth are almost straight, not overlapping and that the teeth beside them are also almost straight and no longer overlapping. I also see that you can see some of the gap between the top and bottom jaws closing a little bit on the left side of my mouth. As I mentioned in a previous post, the bottom teeth in the front are also starting to stand up straight and tall.

I suppose the motto of the story is that rapid progress is wonderful but it does come at a sore price. (see what I did there? :-#)