A Smile Connects Us You And Me

Recently I have had several other "jaw buddies" state that my situation has made them second guess getting their jaw surgeries. This scares me because if anything my experience should do the exact opposite! If I didn't have this surgery I would have eventually lost all of my teeth due to my clenching/grinding/terrible alignment of my teeth. Not to mention the terrible/unbearable pain I was in pre-surgery. Compared to where I was pre-surgery I am doing amazing! I just still have pain and muscle spasms (due to the arthritis) that the average person doesn't have. These are things I knew would not be cured by my surgery. Surgery DID help tremendously and I have not regretted for one second getting my surgery. Dr. Gunson and his team have been so supportive and helping in figuring out what treatment is best for me pre/post-op. Nothing is black and white, and no two people will have the EXACT reasons for having surgery, nor the exact results. It is a personal choice, and

Today I go to see a Rheumatologist about my joints to see if there is anything they can do to help my joint pain. This isn't something that could have been fixed by my surgery, in fact surgery has made them feel better. But because I still have pain/swelling in my joints on a daily basis my surgeon has decided to send me to the Rheumatologist . I'll let you all know how it turns out! Still loving my new bite! Keep on Smiling! :)

Nearly 4 years since my journey for a healthy smile and jaw here I am, braces free!! SMILE!

After nearly two months without a post....I'M BACK :) I decided I needed to take a summer break from thinking and writing about my jaw. On Wednesday I will be nine months post-op! Time really does fly. Today I saw Dr. Mac up here in Vermont. It was decided that TOMORROW morning I will be getting my top braces off, so I will FINALLY have all of my braces off. I am quite excited! Dr. Mac also gave me an exercise to do to help with my jaw tension. I make a clucking noise with my tongue on the roof of my mouth. It may sound silly or easy to do, but I had a hard time figuring out how to do it! The point of the clucking is to get my condyle to sit back in my joint properly. The muscle memory post surgery is just crazy. As a reminder, here is a picture of the jaw joint: In the last couple of months I have spent a lot of time with family and friends enjoying the summer while it lasts. My jaw has not had so much control, as I can basically eat anything I want - as long as I keep in mind m