Where was I? Oh yes, that's right... I had put myself thru years of hell preparing my jaw & teeth for surgery, and put my parents through many pointless payments, agony, etc, etc. But they are wonderful people & would never force me to do something I didn't want to do, so they just let it go. Removed the braces, didn't force me to wear my retainer, and just pretended like nothing ever happened. No guilt trips, no animosity. Wonderful people I tell you.
But the docs had given their warnings when I left. "If you don't have jaw surgery by the time you're in your 30's your teeth will probably start falling out." "It's absolutely IMPERATIVE you have this surgery, for your health, for your speech...." Did I care about anything they said? No. I was young, impetuous, and for lack of a better term, a BRAT. It wasn't so much that I didn't believe what they were telling me. Sure, maybe it was possible my teeth would begin falling out. Maybe there would be jaw pain. I just didn't CARE because by the time I was in my 30's I rationalized... I would be OLD! *rolleyes*
And so the years flew by. I smoked a great many of them too. 2.5 packs a day at one point. Yes, from the age of 12 til I was about 22 years old, I smoked cigarettes as if they were going out of style. None too good for a mouth already at risk. I had quit completely by the time I was 22 however, when I got together with my now husband, Brent. After that I only smoked occasionally, a "social" smoker. Even that I tired of by the time I was 25. I mention getting together with Brent though for one main reason. He was the first stability I had in my life since I'd left my parents at the age of about 17. Being with him, he insisted on the necessity of adult things such as medical insurance, and yes even DENTAL insurance! As we were not yet married however, most of this was paid for out of pocket. Still, I began once again seeing dentists semi regularly. We filled a few cavities, cleaned some teeth. And the dentists once again began asking their questions. You do know you have a pretty bad jaw malocclusion, right? Your teeth, they're not wearing evenly. You don't bite at all with your front teeth, so those are almost atrophying from disuse. Do you have pain?
The answer, in general, was YES. Yes I had pain, and pretty severe pain if I were finally honest. Here I was 22 years old and everyday it felt as though I'd been in a boxing match with Mike Tyson. My jaw was always tense, as if I were clenching it nonstop, however, I knew I wasn't. I'd asked past boyfriends to pay attention while I slept. And was I absolutely sick to DEATH of not being able to chew & eat normally? Of being embarrassed to go out to eat with friends, that they'd see what a difficult time I had, and how I would NEVER order a sandwich or eat pizza in front of anyone I didn't know well, because basically in order to take a bite I had to use my tongue in place of my bottom teeth, the open bite was that big, and using my tongue against the top teeth I'd tear the food apart. Well, what was this also doing? It was tearing my TONGUE up pretty good! The tongue is not meant to be "bitten" that much, I assure you. But it wasn't until a dentist who acted like he cared said to me "Lyd, your tongue is drying out, like a piece of meat left out on a counter." Because of the open bite, air would seep into my mouth more often than it does to others. Yes my lips were able to close, but you have to pay special attention when you have an underbite of my degree to make sure you're not always basically in "duh" state of rest. Which I often was without even realizing it. You can't be "on" all the time :( Trust me, it made me crazy how often I tried *sigh* My tongue was also drying out at night as I was a mouth breather due to all this! And finally, as I said before, the tongue is not designed to be a tool for cutting. It was just tired, period. And so was I. My teeth were ultra sensitive because of all the exposure to air, the gums were eroding and the front teeth were loose from not being used (same as a muscle atrophy, so do the teeth). The dentist who acted like he cared about me.... well he actually DID. Dr. "Max" Maqsoud is a godsend. He truly cares about his patients. He said he would try to do everything possible to fix it but avoid an extensive & painful surgery. And he did. But oh, did I mention how old I was by the time I found him? I was 30. Yep, right on schedule as the doctors had said when I was a kid. Except for one thing... I wasn't OLD like I thought 30 was. No, I was still young & I wanted pretty teeth. I wanted to stop being self conscious of the way I spoke. I was now becoming prettier, getting fit, starting to model. But my teeth... they were showing their age. They were threatening to derail my budding career and if I didn't stop them, possibly my overall health :(
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