Here we go

Woohoo first post of many to come for the next two years or so!

To start off, I feel the need to backtrack a little bit to tell you how I got to this point, a 19 year old about to get braces for the first time. It all started my junior year of high school. My dentist, who I saw regularly, asked me when I was going to get braces. Before I could answer he tried to sell me on the knock-off Invisalign he did in office, as in orthodontics without the orthodontist. I was frustrated leaving the office, it bothered be that he suddenly wanted to straighten my teeth without ever suggesting I see an orthodontist.​​

{My smile spring of my junior year, you can see one tooth that sticks out further than the rest and you may notice that my teeth go almost straight back rather than curve back}

Well, my parents thought it was strange and mentioned it to a friend who was an oral surgeon. Their friend told my parents to absolutely not let my dentist straighten my teeth and to bring me in for a quick exam. So, I went in for x-rays and was told surgery would be necessary to straighten my teeth along with braces. I absolutely did not want braces my senior year of high school and the doctors told me putting off surgery wouldn't change the extent of what needed to be done. So, I put it off.

Fast forward to the second semester of my first year of college. I found myself more stressed and consequently clenching my jaw. Around spring break I had a tooth ache, thinking it was my first cavity, I let my mom make an appointment with my dentist, (who I seem to like less and less each time I see him). Luckily, I was still cavity free, but my dentist told me I was putting too much force on my back teeth when I clenched jaw and had bruised a tooth. Yep bruised a tooth. My dentist told me it was time to go back to see a surgeon again.

{My teeth spring of freshman year. I think my jaw actually got worse after high school. Here it's super clear that my jaw doesn't form a nice U, instead it almost curves inward.}

As soon as I got home for summer I had an appointment with an oral surgeon (our family friend retired, so this was a new surgeon he recommended). I had done some research and went in to my consolation thinking I knew exactly what would happen. I thought they would just surgically expand my jaw, give me a nice gap between my front teeth, put some braces on and give me a beautiful smile in a year or less.

Boy was I wrong, my surgeon noticed so many things about my jaw as soon as he went in, that I had no idea weren't normal. He told me that I had an open bite and deviated septum. Because of that, I have been breathing through my mouth the past 19 years, preventing my jaw from growing properly, over exerting the muscles in my chin to try and close my lips, and not chewing correctly.

Well, there went my one year plan.