Recovery Tips
Following is a summary of the most important things I learned during my recovery from double jaw surgery.
- Drink lots of prune juice and water. Your toilet time will be far from enjoyable for the first couple of weeks because you’re likely to be severely dehydrated. The prune juice will provide your body with the fiber it needs to work those bowels properly, but fiber is useless without water because it won’t dissolve in your body. I recommend a bare minimum of 1 L of water per day. Drink 2 L per day as soon as you can.
- Before you attempt to pull any dead skin off of your lips, be absolutely certain that it’s not a stitch. I learned this the hard way.
- Start using medicated lip balm immediately following your return to your own home. If you don’t, you’ll end up with flaps of dead skin that are half an inch in diameter, and I promise you they won’t feel good when they catch on your braces.
- Apply heat to your face 3-4 times per day for the first 5-6 weeks to help with the swelling. The heat will also help you fall asleep.
- Begin each day at a decent time. If you sleep most of the day, you won’t be able to sleep at night, and you’ll hate yourself for it. Get out of bed, shower, eat some breakfast and brush your teeth and you’ll enjoy each day a lot more. (This is good advice for any day of your life, but it especially applies when you’re on the verge of depression from having jaw surgery.)
- Go to bed on time. Yawning will cause you quite a bit of pain, so prevent it by getting the right amount of sleep during the proper hours.
- As soon as you’re able to talk clearly enough for friends and family to understand you, call people and be social. Go outside and enjoy nature. Whatever you do, ensure you don’t fall into a trap of loneliness and self-pity.
- Start drinking from a cup as soon as you’re physically able to. Your upwards trek back to having full energy begins the day you can throw your syringes in the garbage.
- Eat solid food as soon as your surgeon gives you the go-ahead. It’ll be a slow, tedious and frustrating process, but you need to go through with it in order to build your jaw muscles back up and learn how to chew properly once again.
- It may take some time to get used to your new smile and your newly structured face. Don’t be ashamed of yourself. You don’t look funny at all. You’re simply not used to looking like you’re supposed to.
- And lastly, don’t worry about your looks, bite or facial feeling for at least 6 months. You may have an open bite, but you’ll wake up one morning and your teeth will have migrated back together. You may be completely numb, but feeling will return almost overnight.
If you have any questions about the recovery process, or perhaps have other pointers to share with upcoming jaw surgery patients, feel free to jot them down in the comments.
December 3, 2011 at 3:07 am
Hey thank you for replying even though I just saw it now I’m going to see the doctor on tuesday and he will explain all the details at first he said its only lower jaw but I have a feeling they will do something to my upper jaw too because it I so small. Bye x
December 2, 2011 at 3:30 pm
Good to meet you, Tim! I can’t believe you’re already back online only 16 hours after your operation.
Make sure you rest lots for the first few days and surround yourself with family!
December 2, 2011 at 5:23 am
oh my goodness, there is alot of good advice on here graham, i just had my surgery about 16 hours ago and this pain is unbearable, I hope that i can get past my numb lips and cheeks to bruch my teeth sometime soon!
December 1, 2011 at 5:54 pm
That’s too bad, Scottie. That sounds like a fairly large residual numb area.
I wouldn’t completely write off the possibility of feeling returning until a year or two has passed, but it’s also good to be prepared to live without it.
December 1, 2011 at 3:53 pm
I had upper and lower jaw surgery on April 19th,2011. Recovery has gone pretty good. I’m pleased with the changes, all but one…..I’ve never regained any feeling in the roof of my mouth, it is still totally numb. I’m hoping it will some day return, but it’s looking doubtful without surgery to repair that damaged nerve.
December 1, 2011 at 3:05 pm
It’s nice when the hospital provides you with syringes, isn’t it? They should most definitely provide patients with everything they need for the first few days of recovery. I find it frustrating when they’re so cheap and inconsiderate that they won’t even give you a bump in the right direction.
Enjoy these first few weeks, Mike!
December 1, 2011 at 2:39 pm
I just had surgery two days ago (upper & lower) at the University of Iowa. They provided me with 4 large syringes (they cut 6″ sections of catheter tubing and attached to the syringes). This works excellent for placing liquids to the back of your mouth.
November 29, 2011 at 10:21 am
You can most definitely purchase small syringes. I’m not sure where you’d go for these, however, because my surgeon provided me with 4 of them immediately following surgery.
I’d call your surgeon and ask if they can give you a few syringes. At the very least, they’ll be able to point you in the right direction to find them.
November 29, 2011 at 8:26 am
Hi Graham,
Thanks for responding so quickly! My mouth is completely wired shut so I cant really drink straight from a cup. I tried and well it was an epic fail and ran down my chin haha I wonder why my surgeon did not tell me not to use a straw. As for the syringe, can you buy small ones that are the size of straws?
November 28, 2011 at 8:01 pm
Hi there Jordana!
I had to sleep on my back with a heat pack on my face for the first 2-3 weeks. Like you, every resting position I tried put pressure on my jaw. Try sleeping on your back.
As for sucking through a straw, you need to be careful with this activity because it may loosen blood clots in your mouth, and you definitely don’t want those to lift. I would forego using a straw for at least a month and just drink straight from cups. If you’re unable to drink from a cup right now, you’ll have to settle for a syringe for the first week or so.
The first few days are the most frustrating, but life gets better quickly. I promise!
November 28, 2011 at 7:25 pm
Hello Graham,
I just had lower jaw surgery done on November 25th. I am finding it hard to sleep in a position that doesn’t put a lot of pressure on my jaw. Any suggestions? I also find it extremely difficult to suck through a straw. It hurts a lot and I just give up! I hope things get better soon or this is going to be a tough 6 weeks
November 27, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Thank you very much. This blog is very encouraging. I’m just hoping and praying their are no more delays with my recovery time.
November 26, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Wow, a screw came loose. It’s good to know these things happen. I’m glad you got it fixed, my friend.
November 25, 2011 at 11:34 pm
Well it ended up that I wasn’t having an allergic reaction. One of the screws in my plate came loose and they ended up removing the screws and plate on the day before Thanksgiving.
November 18, 2011 at 2:07 pm
Adam, I’ve heard a few accounts of people who reacted poorly to the plates put in during the operation. Every person I’ve encountered that experienced this issue just went in for a simple surgery to have the plate removed.
Has anyone else experienced this?
November 18, 2011 at 1:24 pm
So today makes day 38 and I went to see my surgeon and he wasn’t there so I had to see his partner. He said that it looks like i’m having an allergic reaction to one of the plates on the right side of my mandible and may have to be removed. Has anyone else ever had this problem or heard of removing the plates?
November 11, 2011 at 2:54 pm
You finally get to brush your teeth! That was one of my most coveted milestones following surgery.
You’re going to feel so fresh, Sam!
November 11, 2011 at 2:38 pm
so today is day 8 and I must say things are looking up. I feel a lot better actually starting to feel human again. I had my lower jaw moved forward 10mm my upper jaw widened and a my chin moved. I have full feeling in my upper lips – partial feeling in my lower lip and chin. My swelling is better but man I can’t wait for that to get better. I go today to get new elestacis which mean I can brush my teeth. The worst part is the film that has built up on my teeth – so gross.
November 7, 2011 at 6:42 pm
my hubby called surgeon today. we go see him tomorrow. although I must say I blended up some chili today and that was pretty good. I feel better tonight. Thanks everyone
November 7, 2011 at 6:05 pm
Sorry an error message came up, I didn’t think the first post went through.