I've just been having a look some of your sites. 50ft Etta - I tried to post a comment on yours but it wouldn't let me! I thought the bit about the fairy dying each time you smiled was so sad - awww!

Your bimaxillary osteotomy sounds pretty radical. I have just been reading a blog by someone called Andrea, who had jaw surgery because her teeth wouldn't close at all, and the results are amazing. It's a hell of a thing to go through, but it looks as if the results will be well worth it.

Very best of luck for your bracing appointment. The brace puts a bit of pressure on your teeth, so having a couple of teeth removed beforehand will help. I noticed a real relief in pressure when I had my tooth out.

P.S. I'm sure your little niece Maisie will be fine when her big teeth grow. By the time she's old enough to have anything done, dental treatments will probably have advanced so much that she won't have to go through what you're having.

Hello again - and welcome to my new followers! It's been a busy couple of weeks, what with staring at my teeth in the mirror about 150 times a day, trying not to get food stuck in the TPA, and somehow living a halfway normal life as well ...

In the past few days, it has really felt as if things are moving a bit faster. The space where my tooth was extracted has started feeling a bit mushy again, and the space and the teeth either side of it are aching and sensitive to cold. I don't mind this at all - not if it means there is some action going on there. I can't see much of a change, but it definitely feels different.

I have my next appointment with the orthodontist on Monday evening, so I'm hoping for more change after that.

I hope you don't mind the graphic pix - don't have nightmares ...

I may be fooling myself, but it feels as if things are on the move already. As soon as I had my premolar out, my teeth stopped aching as the pressure had gone. The gap from my tooth extraction feels a bit smaller than it did 2 weeks ago. I've also noticed that my bite seems to be much better since getting rid of that tooth, and my lower jaw sits a bit more forward, so I should be able to ward off that dangly double chin for a few years to come. For a view of the gap, see below:

Managing OK with the TPA, although it is rubbing a bit at the sides of my tongue. I still have to think a bit about what I eat, but most of the time it goes fine. Some of the oddest things cause problems - peas are a nuisance because their skins get wrapped around the device, and a coconut chocolate bar was a nightmare, because the coconut pieces got stuck all around my brace.

Here is a pic of the TPA in place, mercifully without food debris attached: