After months (years?) of braces, I finally have rubber bands to wear. Not that I was eager for them, I just thought it was funny that so many prongs were available and ready but not used. So at their first introduction, I now have six rubber bands to wear. My mouth has been trussed like a steer ready for branding or a pig ready for roasting.
The Joy of Braces
No whistling allowed
One thing I miss is the ability to whistle.
What kind of food are you craving?
As coworkers have seen me “enjoying” my liquid and mush diet, many have asked what food I most pine for. It’s really not a single food that I crave. It’s more the sensation I yearn for. I long to plunge my incisors into some substantial, hand-held entrée, rend off a dripping, intemperate hunk, and chew with unconscious abandon. Burrito, pizza, chicken leg, sub sandwich, even just crusty bread. I don’t care, as long as I can eat without the move-by-move self-consciousness I’ve had to exercise during this process.
My Teeth are Going Out of Focus
After years with a cross-bite where I at least had a way to chew, my mouth now seems to be out of focus. None of my teeth match or meet up like they’re supposed to. I’m journeying to a distant shore where my teeth will meet and cooperate in a new and coordinated way. The orthodontist said he sometimes has patients who are finished with treatment slam their teeth closed to demonstrate how their bites have improved. Right now, the idea makes my skin crawl. I’ll just have to take that on faith and trust him to guide the voyage.
Expanding Every Day
It’s a curious sensation to turn a small crank in your mouth and feel the sides of your head moving apart. It wasn’t painful, just strange. I turned the crank twice a day. At times, I had headaches that felt like sinus headaches, but they were above and in front of my ears. I wore ice packs on a circular sling around my head, took hydrocodone like clockwork, and asked the prayer chain at church to pray.
The pain subsided and only flared up on rare occasions later when the weather changed. Today, I am headache – and hydrocodone – free.
Passing the Salsa Test
I’m no fire-eater, but I like a little picante in my diet. It’s not too impressive, but jalapeños are about my upper limit for capsaicin intake. So I knew I was making progress in my recovery after oral surgery when salsa sounded good and didn’t hurt.