¡Ay mami, my jaw!: Hello there!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Hello there!

My name is Esmeralda and I will be going through corrective jaw surgery later this year (date is still to be determined) to fix my overbite/over jet. Originally I was planning on just documenting my journey on YouTube, but once I started to read the blogs that people have written on their experience with the surgery, I realized that you get more day-to-day details and personal experiences then one do on YouTube, so here I am!

My story:

Before I even went in for the consultation for my braces I was blissfully unaware of the true status of my mouth. I knew I didn't like the way my teeth looked and that I was missing a couple teeth, but I had come to accept it for what it was and didn't think much of it. I guess it was because I didn't really know many people that had gotten braces, let alone have jaw surgery to fix their bad bite, it also never occurred to me that my parents would pay for braces, not because they won't want to , but because I come from a family with seven children, so I just adapted and started smiling with my mouth close and forgot all about it. That is until I saw the picture below where my mom caught me laughing and showing my teeth. Prior to braces I smiled with my mouth closed, picture below.


22nd birthday, October 2010

Halloween 2010

I still remember the day I had my consultation for my braces, my orthodontist looked at my mouth for what seemed like forever and then asked if it was okay if he had another patient (who was a dentist) take a look at my mouth. I kept wondering what he was seeing because I didn't really see anything wrong other than missing my upper laterals and having my K-9's drifted into their place, which is why I decided to look into getting braces. He asked me what my chief compliant was and I told him that my gaps where what bother me. He told me that he could fix that with braces, but that wasn't going to fix my problem and that I would need jaw surgery to fix everything. I had never noticed that my lower jaw didn't grow all the way and I later I found out that my two front teeth tilted back so that my teeth could meet and be able bite into things.

So there I was, 22 years old, being told that I am going to need to have surgery if I wanted to fix my bite/mouth when I've never even broken a bone! I thought about it for a moment and decided why not! I'm not going to spend money on braces and not have my teeth look perfect! That's how my journey got started. The following money I went in to have my records taken.

Pictures taken before braces.

Mold before braces

Pano before braces

Lateral ceph before braces

I got my braces put on in May 2011. Below is a picture of my teeth the day I got my braces put on. A side effect, I guess, of getting my braces was that I could no longer smile with my mouth closed like I used to, it didn't feel natural anymore. As time went on I adjust and now after a year of braces when I try and smile with my mouth closed I feel like it is fake. Also, as part of my treatment, my K-9's were going to be moved to where they should be which meant that I had gaps on either side of my front teeth.