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.
April 13, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Everything is back to normal except for a small numb patch on my chin. I’m guessing that I’ll be numb there for life, but the benefits far outweigh that single, small consequence.
You’ll be amazed at how quickly your jaw regains its strength and movement.
April 13, 2011 at 11:12 am
Thanks for the advice Graham – reading your blog has definitely helped to ease my mind. Do you have residual effects of the surgery at this point or is everything pretty much back to normal?
April 12, 2011 at 8:47 pm
Mark, my best advice is to not worry about the operation. I know that sounds extremely unhelpful, but this surgery is just something you have to deal with one day at a time.
When you wake up from surgery, you’ll be pretty swollen and find it difficult to talk, eat, breathe and so on, but everything will be alright. You’ll have to live with severe discomfort for about 2 weeks, but things will look up after that.
It’s definitely doable, but it takes a bit of positive thinking and perseverance to get through that initial phase. Find some good movies and make sure you get outside every single day and take in some fresh air!
April 12, 2011 at 8:44 pm
Hi Brande. I’m not a smoker or a coffee drinker, so I can’t speak to the caffeine, but I certainly avoided carbonated beverages until my stitches were all gone.
I would ask your surgeon when you can drink certain things again. You don’t want to get an infection right after surgery. That’d be an unwelcome ordeal.
April 12, 2011 at 8:41 pm
Hi David. You’ll likely be numb for several months. I rediscovered most of the feeling in my lips and gums about 2 months into recovery.
There’s a 30% chance that certain areas might remain numb forever. I have a numb section in my chin that will probably be a lifelong thing, but you adjust to it quickly and forget you’re even missing feeling.
I wouldn’t worry about anything until at least 6 months have gone by. 🙂
April 12, 2011 at 8:39 pm
abc, I had my wisdom teeth removed about 6 months before surgery as well. It was a painless procedure for me, but I’ve heard others have a different experience with it than I did.
April 11, 2011 at 5:07 pm
Hey guys and Graham – I’m scheduled to have the lower jaw advancement on May 2. Getting a bit nervous – but has been a long time coming. By the sound of all of you, it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be a piece of cake but necessary to remedy my severe sleep apnea. My major fear is feeling a sense of panic when I wake up from surgery – not being able to breath. I haven’t even had my pre-op yet, so I’m not sure what to expect. Any suggestions?
April 11, 2011 at 4:53 am
Thank you
April 11, 2011 at 4:52 am
I quit smoking in November so I wouldn’t have that to contend with that post-op and I’m weaning off the caffeine, but I know that I have a serious addiction. I get headaches without it and jittery. I’m trying to taper off before I have my surgery (June). I was just wondering if you tried to drink anything with carbonation or caffeine in it and did you have any problems?
April 10, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Pose to Happen but i didnt have any numbness at all
April 10, 2011 at 11:12 am
5 days since I had my surgery. Did anyone experience a lengthy spell of numbness? My lower lip, chin, half my tongue and half my top lip are still numb, and i’m slightly concerned.
Would be good to get some reassurance…
April 10, 2011 at 9:37 am
I agree they’re frustrating! But, I have to say I’ve not had too much pain or anything with them so far. My orthodontist has estimated 2 and a half years for me aswell, although they haven’t said when they think they’ll perform the surgery. I’ve also to get all my wisdom teeth out in about 6-9 months time, did you get yours out?
April 10, 2011 at 8:06 am
abc, you’ll be amazed at what braces can pull off. They’re frustrating, but they do their job well.
I was in braces for 2.5 years before I had surgery performed. Remember that these changes won’t happen overnight. 🙂
April 10, 2011 at 7:05 am
Thanks for the reply, I’ve just started braces: have all the bottom ones one, and about 4 on the top with a roof brace, orthodontist wants to expand my upper palette first before she puts the rest of the top ones one. Although, my bite is the opposite of yours – I’ve got a severe overjet, and my front teeth are almost horizontal! (well, they feel like that).
April 9, 2011 at 10:43 pm
They wanted to do mine a week before christmas i said no -.- so it was feb 18th
April 9, 2011 at 9:47 pm
abc, I was given a date for my surgery about 3 months beforehand. Hospitals up here are too busy to plan further ahead than that, unfortunately.
April 9, 2011 at 10:23 am
Hi! How many months (or weeks) in advance were you told the date of your surgery?
April 5, 2011 at 11:18 pm
Yea but this wasnt my ortho this was my surgeon telling me this lol but my ortho could agree with him my bite is coming together well he said go back to him in 6 months not much swelling left and i didnt have any numbness
April 5, 2011 at 8:31 pm
Hey Tyler,
Isn’t is exciting to hear that you’ll be getting your braces off soon?! I was ecstatic when my orthodontist shared that news with me!
April 5, 2011 at 8:31 pm
Hi Saara,
I wasn’t comfortable speaking for about a solid month post-op. I went back to work after two weeks, but I’m a programmer so I’m not forced to talk very much at my job.
I’d recommend giving yourself a month off just to be safe. If you can speak clearly before then, just go back to work earlier and they’ll love you for it!