5 years later and still smiling!
Despite trying to walk away from this blog twice (here and here), I’ve been drawn back yet again. It seems helping people through the experience of having jaw surgery is something of an addiction.
Perhaps most importantly, I should let you know that I am back to help answer your questions (and have been doing so for nearly 2 months already). It’s been encouraging to see people helping each other in the comments as well, so thanks to all of you who are sharing your own wisdom with people new to this surgery.
In case you’re wondering what happened during my 5-year hiatus, I’d like to share a few brief updates on my life since my previous “final” post.
- After 6 years in university, I finally graduated with a degree in Computer Engineering. I’m not sure what that means, exactly, but many adults seemed to think it was a good thing to collect.
- I let all of my professors down by opting to become a traveling bum instead of getting a desk job. In 2012, I traveled around this blue and green orb God gave us (also known as Earth) and discovered friendly, hopeful people all over the place. The year-long experience involved many long bus rides, sleeping on park benches, eating frogs, walking cheetahs, and seeing the number $0 on my bank statements. (I was also lucky enough to spend Christmas in Malaysia with a fellow jaw hero!)
- I met a girl named Roma along the way and then married her a year later.
- We moved to Thailand because we’re wimps when it comes to winter in Canada. We have not stopped sweating since that day. 😅
- My commitment to being a computer geek finally paid off and spurred a career in programming. I now work as a remote software engineer from all corners of the world. (Today, I’m writing this blog post from the town of Siem Reap in Cambodia.)
- I learned that I like cats.
This is the girl I met. (Also, my wife.)
Since this is a blog about jaw surgery, I suppose an update on the current state of my jaw would prove useful as well. 😁
- I still wear my retainer 2 nights per week, a habit lovingly enforced by my wife.
- I now floss every single night, another habit
forcedencouraged by Roma. - I still have permanent numb patches in my lower lip and chin, but they do not negatively impact my life in any way (except maybe for those awkward moments when I have water running down my chin and nobody has the courage to tell me about it).
- I can eat and drink anything and my open bite no longer affects my chewing.
Finally, even 5 full years after my recovery, I still highly recommend this surgery for anyone who has difficulty chewing or feels an extreme lack of confidence due to their smile.
If you have any questions, or perhaps just want to say hello, feel free to leave a comment below and I will happily respond.
I wish you all a very happy new year and hope to meet even more of you in 2016!
August 20, 2020 at 11:41 am
Hi all!
I’m Keri. I stumbled upon this group in my jaw surgery journey. I’m not currently on Facebook, so I’m hoping this reaches someone out there! Who knows, maybe I’ll rejoin in search of this community 🙂
I will start by saying I haven’t gone through with this procedure yet, but I know a lot about it. I’ve been researching it for YEARS.
I’ve always had an underbite. Growing up, Orthodontists would tell my mom that I had one, needed to finish growing and that fixing it would be for “cosmetic” reasons. So I went through life totally fine, until I was 24, got my own health insurance and went to a dentist. He immediately pointed out how inflamed my gums were from mouth breathing and recommended I go to an ortho to see about my underbite. I thought, what?! Braces, again?! The orthodontist took x-rays and told me that I would need a LeFort I surgery + braces to correct my bite.
I was so terrified when I figured out what that was, that I tried to bury the idea of it, for years… but it always popped up in my mind again and again and again. I did tons of research, probably too much. Could I actually go through with something like this?
Fast forward to 2017, I’m 29 and I’ve moved to Seattle. I see two different dentists who say my underbite is something I might need to consider correcting. I went to a recommended Ortho who said treatment would be 12-15 months with surgery at about the 6 month mark. I buried it again for another 3 years.
Now I’m 32 and 2 weeks ago, I finally went to the surgeon, a step that I had never taken before. The surgeon was calm, kind and did not sell me on the procedure at all, which was a good sign. He said “you won’t die if you don’t get this done, but the benefits could outweigh the risks”.
For me this decision is hard because I’m not “in pain”, whatsoever. I have mild tension and discomfort at times. Chewing and speaking can be awkward because I know it’s “not right” and I over-correct for it. I mouth breathe during the day and definitely at night while I’m sleeping, which the surgery might be able to help with. I stare at other people’s bites and wonder what it would be like to have a good bite! I almost wish I was in pain so I could more clearly make the decision.
More than anything else, I’m suffering from severe indecision anxiety. If I decide to do it, I do believe that my quality of life would increase, but by how much I’m not sure. If I decide to do it, I think now is a good time because the world is on pause with Covid.
I’m terrified of the recovery, nerve damage and that I will look different! I want to believe that I can get through it and deep down I know I can, but I’m just not sure that I want to (who would?!). I also don’t want to just kick the can down the road another 8 years, so I need to make a decision and stick with it.
If you made it all the way down here, I appreciate you reading. Any words of encouragement, support, or knowing if someone out there had a similar journey would be so helpful!
Thanks and I wish you all luck on your journeys, wherever you may be on them!
Keri
August 20, 2020 at 12:29 pm
So I’ll comment by giving you a little bit of insight into my journey with underbite surgery . I had braces for a while before surgery mostly due to being in the same boat as you. When I got the braces put on I was dead set on going through the process as quickly as possible, but life happens and as time progresses I didn’t care as much and eventually put off the surgery for a while. So I was just sitting in braces while contemplating even going through with the surgery. Eventually I had the surgery, they moved my top forward about 3 mm and the big one was they widened my upper palette I think 8 mm. Which is a lot. Now time for recovery, I spent one night in the hospital, and then went home wired shut. I was wired shut for a little over two weeks and had a top splint in for seven weeks. After that was taken out I had a bar on the roof of my mouth for a year after the initial surgery. For me the worst part was all the stuff that would get stuck in the splint, and there’s just no getting it out. Now I’m an exception whereas I think most people don’t receive splints but who knows. As far as pain level, absolutely zero. I took the pain medicine as more of a precaution than anything but I was never in pain. Was I uncomfortable? Oh yah. I’m not going to lie it’s not a comfortable experience and it’s not really enjoyable. But as for me, and my experience, I feel like I got off fairly easy. Now complications down the road, I had all my bottom screws removed due to infections that came about well after I had my braces off. The infection was some serious pain, they said it was most likely a bone fragment that didn’t get cleaned out coming out through my gums and infected my screws. And if an infection latches onto the metal, there is no getting it off unless you remove the screws. It was basically a kidney stone coming out through my face. Again, this lasted a few days and then they remove them , outpatient surgery, and you’re good to go in a few days. Would I recommend this procedure or process? Hell yes. It has skyrocketed my confidence and worrying about an underbite or this and that is a long distant part of my past. It was a process that I to this day am thankful for because it’s no walk in the park and I’m better because of it. So if I were you , I’d slap the braces on, and just run through it. It’s a small portion of your life and before you know it, it’ll be all done with. ( sorry this is so Long)
July 27, 2020 at 7:26 pm
Hi jaw surgery community i have to get double jaw surgery and I play the clarinet and any tips for double jaw surgery
April 15, 2020 at 9:49 am
I sincerely urge everyone who is deciding to have a jaw surgery to research AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE on both the risks of the surgery and other short/long term implications.
There are now other alternatives to jaw surgery – I would definitely have taken another options (for my case the surgery was not compulsory though it was recommended) – please at least look up orthotropic (Dr. Mew) on youtube for alternative treatment.
Short term complications i had:
the first week post-op was hell. I could not swallow water at all. I could not sleep at all (i could not swallow my own saliva, my mouth was completely dried for the first days, then my body adapted and my mouth became completely wet – as i still could not swallow).
I had an intense nose bleed on the 5th day post-op, which I thought I might not make it through – I had 6 nurses around me when that happened.
I was bed-bound until the 6th day, and i swear i tried my hardest to walk in a bid to recover quicker.
The other recovery steps were normal – could only drink blended food for 1-2 months.
Medium term complication
I realized that (perhaps due to general anaesthesia) I was nowhere near the mental capacity i had prior. for the first few months, I thought I had become extremely dumb i nearly had panic attacks.
Long term complication
I have extremely blessed – so far its been slightly more than a year post-op. my only complication was i feel bloated on my chin (as if there are water filled up).
Again, I consider myself extremely lucky. I urge you to read the real life long term complications other people are suffering from the link below:
https://www.realself.com/review/fort-lauderdale-fl-orthognathic-surgery-weeks-from-surgery-still-in-terrible
I am not sure if I ever will have other long term complication such as https://myholisticdentist.com/2019/08/20/emfs-and-dental-health-should-i-be-concerned/
but if you ask me to choose again, given that my case was not one which mandates a surgery, I would 100% consider other alternative treatments first. Jaw surgery i think should be the last resort.
March 21, 2019 at 12:17 pm
I am 22 years post-op! I had it done at age 21. I had lower jaw surgery. I feel so old saying this but I don’t remember having access to Internet back then, so any information I had came from whatever the doctors told me. My jaw was wired shut for for a month, and I was lucky enough to have my mom make me nutritious meals which she would liquify in the blender. I still lost quite a bit of weight and couldn’t walk for too long without almost fainting, I felt really weak. The recovery process even for one jaw surgery is painful and slow and frustrating. But it was definitely worth it. Like many of you, I have numb spots on my chin and lower lip. I would have to say that it feels like I’ve had anesthesia at the dentist’s office. Sensitivity is probably around 50-70% there. It’s a small price to pay. Some people are lucky to recover completely. I do recommend that you wear your retainers forever. I stopped wearing mine when I had crowns on two molars after root canals and my lower jaw retainer stopped fitting properly. Nothing happened at first but now my teeth are misaligned and my smile isn’t as perfect. I can’t bite ketchup packages open, for example. But that’s nothing, really compared to my original problem. My profile is still fine. I’m waiting to have some extra money to get new retainers or braces, because it would be a shame to lose my normal bite after all the effort. SO, bottom line is: be aware that you may lose sensitivity and there is risk of damage to facial nerves which could affect lips, tongue, etc. Talk to your doctors, choose great doctors. Be a good patient, follow instructions and take care of yourself. Overall, like I said, it’s worth it. I don’t regret having it done. I hope you all recover well.
May 27, 2018 at 9:33 am
Hi everyone!
My name is Claire and I am almost seven weeks post op for double jaw surgery. It has been a difficult journey so far but slowly but surely getting there. Still have very limited movement but am starting to eat normal food again (nothing too hard!) I spend most of the time biting my cheeks while I’m eating and generally looking pretty silly. My biggest worry now is my top lip. I had a maxillary disjunction (widening of the pallet) and the surgeon assured me there should be no difference in the appearance and function of my upper lip but right now it just does not seem to be functioning at all! I feel like the stitches were too tight as my lip is now higher (showing more of my upper teeth when my mouth is slightly open) and it is making it difficult to articulate correctly. I have to really stretch my lip to pronounce words properly but I look ridiculous. I have always had thin lips but my top lip has practically disappeared. Has anyone had this experience? My surgeon assured me that if it not in a good position at the end of my orthodontic treatment (six months from now) he can fix it with some cutting and stitching but I would rather not spend the next six months like this and would rather that it heal on its own. Did anyone else experience this?
Thanks for any help you can give!
Claire
March 28, 2018 at 7:50 pm
I had double jaw surgery only one week post op. I’m 24. Let me start by saying that I’m not good patient so I don’t deal with things like this well. The first 3 to 4 days including day of operation were the worst most painful days of my entire life there’s nothing like it. It’s still a blur I don’t even remember it completely all I know is that it was absolute hell. There’s nothing that could have prepared me for that. With that said, I feel a lot better and the swelling has gone way down already and like I said it’s only been a week. You must have family or spouse with you when you get discharged and begin your recovery at home because you will not be able to keep up with all the medications and routines you need to do in order to heal. The pain is gone at this point just very uncomfortable. Worst part about the post op recovery is not being able to eat food. Ive never felt like this in my life I cannot take it. I NEEEEED food. It’s eating me alive mentally more than physically. Not to be soft but so far I’ve cried at least once a day over not being able to eat food. Watching everyone else eat and smelling the cooking from dinner at night I literally feel like I’m not going to make it. I know I’m being very negative and probably over reacting but I’m just overwhelmed, I’ve been skinny and underweight my whole life I’ll never take food for granted again. And the fact that I know I can’t eat food for over another month and even when I do probably not enjoy it because it’s going to be such a pain in the butt to chew, it just seems like I’m going to have to go to hell and back so to say. At this point I’m just looking for some type of comfort or encouragement or someone who has ACTUALLY been through this to tell me how they got through I really need some help. I began writing this to tell my experience but now I’m just down in the dumps. I know it will be worth it in the end. Just sucks.
March 28, 2018 at 8:57 pm
Do not get discouraged!! Trust me, a healthy mindset is your best medicine through the entire healing process. I remember feeling the exact same way but trust me there is an end to what you’re going through. It sucks right now but when it’s all said and done, this will be but a distant memory. Try to entertain yourself. I must have played a dozen video games during my recovery time. Binge watch a show, do anything other than focusing on your pain. With the food situation, mix and match different things, I was blending pizza at one point just to get a taste of something else. You are going to be uncomfortable that is a certainty but days have already passed from your procedure and I can guarantee the next days will continue to go faster because you will be getting better and better. Just hang in there, And before you know it you’ll be on the other side of this.
March 28, 2018 at 9:42 pm
Jake: Like the others, I was mixing EVERYTHING in a blender to eat it! I mixed pizza with beef bullion to thin it down so it would go in the syringe. I did the same with Mac & cheese, scalloped potatoes, etc.
March 29, 2018 at 7:19 am
I know how you feel. There is no way around it, it’s awful for about a month after the surgery. I didn’t blend anything. I just tried to have some Ensure or whatever but I didn’t like it. I lost a lot of weight. BUT after I got the hardware off, I started eating again and I felt less sorry for myself. It’s a difficult process and the end result is worth it. My surgery was almost 3 years ago and my teeth fit together perfectly now. There is some numbness in my lower lip and chin area but I am more and more used to that now. Overall I am really happy that I went through with the surgery, but it took some time to be comfortable again. Good luck and like the others said, find something to take your mind off it, like some good books or some Netflix series.
March 26, 2018 at 2:02 pm
I had a double jaw surgery about 6 years ago. I had an overbite and was having serious problems with jaw pain and migraines. The bottom jaw was moved forward 7 mm and the top jaw was moved up 4 mm. I have a chin now, hehe. It was definitely worth it, because the headaches are gone and my jaw doesn’t ache except when it gets cold. It also starts to ache a little when I run or get breathing heavy with my blood flowing. I was 18 and 160 pounds (I didn’t have any weight to lose) and I was having sleep apnea (which is for older overweight people), which could have killed me as I got older. That went away with the surgery too.
I was very scared of the surgery and when I woke up right after I had the worst night of my life. Luckily my mom stayed at the hospital to help me because the nurses are very busy and cant be around as often as needed. The liquid medicines were pretty nasty too. I wasn’t wired shut but the idea that chewing would cause problems scares you into avoiding chewing. I was given a big syringe with a catheter on it for water and another one for food and medicine. Some of the best foods to eat are PASTAS. Lasagna tastes almost the same after a blender.
Everyone thinks you want shakes and ice cream but my body got sick of it. I would crave salt because of all the sugary foods, so I licked the salt off of crackers and threw them away because Chewing or Sucking could ruin something. Some numb spots don’t go away and because of that I always have people tell me about food on my chin because I cant feel it sitting there. I can also stick a magnet to one of my plates that is close to my eye on the edge of my nose. Any of the negatives are easily outweighed by the positives (except I couldn’t go fishing for two months).
August 19, 2017 at 11:47 am
Has anyone used Kaiser for their jaw surgery? I’m looking into switching over to them because I hear they’re really good at covering the whole surgery but I’m wondering if i switch over after already getting surgical braces and having consultations with a jaw surgeon will they consider my condition pre-existing and not cover the surgery? If anyone has any insight on this please let me know!
June 8, 2017 at 12:59 pm
Hi everyone,
I’m currently 19, but I’ve been awaiting double jaw surgery since I was 16. Until my othor pointed it out my family never took my pain complaints or comments about my jaw being shifted to the left seriously. When I’m extremely skinny it is really noticeable but as I gain more weight i actually kind of look almost Normal; until you look at me from a certain angle or head on. Many people say that they don’t notice it until I point it out. I feel like they’re able to noticed something about my face being off but they just can’t pinpoint what it is. I have struggled with low self esteem for as long as I can remember and having this deformity, as they call it, just makes matters worse. I use to have pain and get lockjaw quite often, but after having my braces for a while it went away. I still get a sense that my jaw is sore at times,but it’s not painful; it sort of feels like an ache from simply chewing a lot. Well anyways, now it’s a week before my surgery and everyone’s asking if I’m sure I want to go through with it. Since I tend to stress a lot and focus on the negative, I thought the easiest way to go through with this was to not think so much. Everyone said it was a good idea so i agreed to it. I feel like I’m sort of naive in the sense that I’m just blindly jumping into this, but at first I was hesitant. I did think about the risks and the recovery time. The surgeons nonchalant attitude as he explained i would need at least 5 weeks off and I would probably start to eat food after two weeks, made everything seem simply and made it feel like it wasn’t a big deal. but I ran into a patient that had her surgery a year ago and she said it was the most traumatic thing she’s ever gone through and she barely feels like she’s filling recovering. Her first piece of food was 2 months after her surgery and it was only a little piece of toast that she had to let soak in her mouth. Now I understand that the surgeon seemed to downplay the aftermath a lot more than I though and I realized that as my family urged me toward the surgery they didn’t really considered the aftermath because I was the one that would be experiencing it. Now that the date is finally near it’s so real they’re beginning to question the surgery. They say “are you sure you want it? it’s not even noticeable”, “you don’t even need it, others have it way worse”, “you can barely tell” , “you look normal.” I know they’re worried about the pain I’d go through but that’s the least of my worries. I’ll go through take the pain if that’s what it takes to want to be in photographs and to want to smile. But the thought of not liking how I turn out terrifies me completely. My fear is coming out even worse than I looked before the surgery. And now the recovery time has me a little nervous too. I keep seeing people say “years”. As it is Im really self conscious, I’m hoping to look semi Normal by the time I have to return to school in August so i don’t know how I’m going to do it if it takes months to years to recovery . And If people say they don’t even notice my crooked jaw then should I not go through with surgery? If I never allow myself to get really skinny then it’s not as noticeable. I mean the way I am rn you can tell something is slightly off with my face but it’s something you just look over I guess. I just have to not let myself get too skinny or too fat to keep up my semi normal looking appearance? I know I can back out of the surgery if I really want to but I don’t know if I should. As I’m writing this I kind of talked myself into getting it. This isn’t something I want to have to be struggling with the rest of my life, even if the surgeon says it’s a mild case ,it is still something that affects me tremendously and I put a lot of thought into it everyday. But there stilll is that little part of me that thinks maybe I’m being childish and I should just learn to love my face the way it is because of what’s at stake and how serious this surgery is. So sorry I’m not sure if this is worth posting or if this is more of one of those things that you just write for yourself, but I’m just going to post it anyways and see if I get any feedback. Thank you all for listening (:
June 8, 2017 at 2:39 pm
I’m 38 and 6 weeks post-op. There are bad days and good days. I can safely say for me mostly good.
I’ve been where you are. I struggled for a very long time with going through it. I waited nearly a year before even starting the braces. I consulted with the chief of surgery for the area to get a better understanding of the process and it helped.
Within a few months of surgery I really started to panic about it and stress over it. So much so I sought a consult from the surgeon who would end up operating on me. It helped bigtime. I really had to work to train myself mentally to appreciate how great it is to get this surgery. It’s a teaching hospital with a gifted staff.
It is understandable that you are going through feelings of self-esteem. To this day, I do not like to be in photos and hated my face. 6-weeks out and things are not quite settled, but I already feel better about my appearance. It kind of hits me every few days.
This blog is a great informative place to see how Graham’s experience was. I learned though that everyone’s experience is different. You will just note similarities in experiences.
It’s worth it. You are not being “childish”. If you have the opportunity to get this procedure, it will be worth it in the end. The success rate is high across the board for most.
On my site I have some blog entries specific to how I am dealing. Head out over and check them out if you want.
Dann
http;//www.dannalexander.com
June 8, 2017 at 3:18 pm
Everything “Dann” said in response to your comment is spot on. I hated and I mean hated the way I looked for so long, I had a gf during the whole thing and it darn near tore our relationship apart because all I could think about was if anyone could notice my jaw, or does smile look weird? Am I ugly? Blah blah blah, I am thirty yrs old now and I am a little over a year post op braces removed and all. All I can tell you is it is 100 percent worth it . I had a major crossbite and underbite , and my recovery was twelve days wired shut with a splint in my mouth for six weeks. Every single day of that is worth it for the way I look now. Also in the grand scheme of your life, it is a relatively short amount of time . I look back in regret at how petty and ridiculous my insecurities were, but I totally understand where you are coming from. Also I made my self darn puke days before surgery because I was terrified. Wether or not I would be in pain or all these complications would arise, or just the worst thing imangiable you could think of, I was worried about it. Like I said I’m a year out and yah I still have numbness and can feel just surgery sensations I guess , but they are so small in the sense that I have the biggest smile now. Trust me man I know how hard it is to go through this, whatever you’re thinking or afraid I guarantee you I thought of it as well. You either gotta do it and hope for the best cause the majority of the time it’s going to work out.
June 10, 2017 at 5:25 pm
Hi Rose,
Yes it will be the most traumatic thing you will ever go through, but you should do it now before you get older. I waited too long for mine to be done, until 28! The longer you wait the heavier the mental recovery. That’s the part that doctors didn’t tell me anything about. I suggest a strong support system of people who love you and help you day to day tasks. You’re literally going have your skull sawed off and put back together with screws, plates, and bolts. My recovery was about 4 months before I could start feeling like myself and start to eat normally-ish. Don’t underestimate the power and strength in your youth. Your 20s will thank you! trust me, the sooner you get it done, the sooner you will forget about it. You wont even recognize the person you were before. Do it for yourself, not for looks, for your overall oral health in your later years. You have to think about the future. It’s been almost 3 years for me post op, double jaw surgery, I only had a few friends checking on me, once in a while, the person I was dating at the time couldn’t take it and dumped me. I fed myself with those awful smoothies through a syringe day after day, all alone! If you have family hold on to them. You will NOT come out of it worse than before. Today I’m a completely different confident person who LOVES to smile all the time. I don’t recognize the self-conscious/low self-esteem person I was before. If I did it, so can you! This site helped me SOOO much, and it’s perfectly fine to cry, or be scared.
February 27, 2018 at 8:50 pm
hi ! if u did end up having the surgery, would u be willing to talk to me about it and give me more info. I’m 17 and I really want to get this surgery done despite the minor complications that come with it cause I’m tired of all the funny looks I know people give me when they think I’m not looking and just all the bs. I’ve told my parents countless times that I need it but they’re in denial and are very against it. Whenever I bring up the subject to my mom she says that nothing is wrong with me and it’s all in my head and that it irritates her hearing me talk about “my problems” and that it’s selfish to only think about myself even though the orthodontist himself told her I need it. Given my circumstances it would really help to talk to someone who understands what I’m going through. And u may not end up seeing this in a long time but once u do, it’d really mean a lot if u reply
February 27, 2018 at 10:14 pm
HI Emi. I’m sorry you are going through this feeling alone. I had the surgery at 19 but prepared for it from the time I was 16, so about your same age. Its been almost 10 years now since I had it. I was fortunate enough that my parents were on board with it from the beginning, but I can speak to the feeling before the surgery. People would comment to me about my severe underbite and for years before the surgery I would never smile with my teeth knowing everyone would stare. It’s been a journey but one I would never take back. It was not an easy process. It was long and painful but very worth it to me for not only my self confidence but for my dental health too. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have or help you in whatever way I can 🙂
February 27, 2018 at 10:55 pm
Well, my main concern now is how much it will cost and how long the process usually is before I can get the surgery. Anyway, your comment really has made my day 🙂 so thank you
July 13, 2020 at 8:26 pm
Hey Rose!
Did you end up going through with the surgery?! How does it look and are you happy with your results?
May 24, 2017 at 6:29 pm
I hit my 30 year double jaw surgery anniversary at the beginning of this month, my senior year of high school! Although I wasn’t quite fully developed and my jaws did reposition a bit, I would do it again in a minute! It changed my life….my self esteem! I still have numbness in my chin and roof of mouth and have had to have root canals due to damaged nerves, I too have had removal of titanium plates due to sinus issues but still retain a couple! Lately I have been dealing with a bit of pain in the back of my lower jaw, a little daunting but nothing Aleve won’t help with….still the best decision I made, or my parents made, although as I lay in preop my dad tells me I can change my mind!!
April 17, 2017 at 7:37 pm
This is such a great blog . I wish it had existed when I had my jaw surgery over ten years ago! I just wanted to add a story here in case in anyone else has this issue and is looking through this. Last year, almost 12 years after my surgery, I developed major pain and swelling in the top right cheek. The first doctor I went to thought it was a sinus infection. When it still didn’t go away after a week I went to a dentist who said it looked like an abscessed tooth. After scheduling a surgery I went in to meet with the oral surgeon who ran an MRI. It turns out, I was one of the less than 1% of people who develop an infection or reaction to the titanium plates used in the surgery. He removed the plates and the infection immediately went away. Just something crazy to keep in mind in case anyone else ever has this incredible uncommon problem as well! Make sure you don’t forget to tell your doctors about your surgery even after a very long period of time. (By the way, I am still incredibly happy with my double jaw surgery. It may have felt like getting hit in the head with a 2×4 the first couple of weeks but you WILL recover – and smile soooo much more afterward!)
April 17, 2017 at 11:11 am
Hi Graham.
This website has, and continues to be a terrific resource for me to refer to as I get closer to surgery which is now 8 days away as I type this.
It has been 17 years since I experienced any surgery under general anesthesia. I’ve never been scared of any surgery in my life until this one. I’ve going through several surgery as a kid and they never bothered me then either. In December of 2013, my Dad passed away suddenly in my home town hospital. That night made me extremely fearful of hospitals. Something I am working to overcome this day.
I am working hard every day to turn the fears into excitement. It is important for me to get in there and walk through those OR doors. Rather than be fearful, I need to be excited to get this done. The surgery is fully being covered by the provincial health plan. I’m very fortunate.
I appreciate being able to read all of the comments, stories, and of course your posts and advice. I hope that I will wake up shortly after going under anasthesia and feel like no time has passed.
Kind Regards,
@WriterDann
March 23, 2017 at 5:49 pm
One year after double jaw surgery , just got my braces off today !! Not gonna lie this post helped me a lot when I was going through the early days and weeks of recovery. We had almost the same bite and procedure, and I also had to wear a splint for seven weeks after surgery ,and a bar on the roof of my mouth the rest of the time I had braces. There are some side effects like my jaw popping on my right side if I open too wide and some numbness but I’m so used to it by now I don’t notice. Anyone who is currently going through it or about to go through it, just do it ! I’m so much happier now that my teeth fit together so well and I can smile with confidence. If you are wired shut for a serious amount of time, BUY A WATER PICK!! That thing is a life saver for cleaning your teeth when your mouth is wired shut and your sucking liquids for so long. I also had a humidifier for when my nose would get all stuffy. All in all though once you’re through the procedure time will fly by so don’t get discouraged because before you know it , you will be staring in the mirror at those pearly new whites!! Haha good luck y’all !
March 8, 2017 at 9:03 am
Love this blog! I’ve just recently turned 40 and finally decided to have double jaw surgery 2 weeks ago (must be having a midlife crisis)!
Your daily updates (albeit 5 years ago) has helped me through the journey and your sense of humour has certainly put a smile on my face when days were low (well, kind of smile).
Cheers!
Rebecca (London)
March 2, 2017 at 10:27 am
Hi Graham,
I’m close to my 90-day mark from my double jaw surgery, on the 8th of December.
Out of all the blogs, I found online yours was not only very helpful but well designed!
Thank you for having the courage to put yourself out there and help others like me have a guide!
March 1, 2017 at 5:05 pm
I had jaw surgery 22years ago for TMJ. I still believe it was the best thing I ever did, even though back then they still wired my jaw shut afterward for four weeks. I too had to brief my husband to let me know if I ever have something on my face because there are still places on my chin where I just don’t feel anything. Lately though, I’ve started having popping again in my left TMJ joint. I started scouring the internet to see if anyone else ever had residual issues so many years after the successful surgery. That’s how I found your page. Good luck to you!!
February 2, 2017 at 6:53 pm
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog. I admire your willpower to survive months on a liquid diet. I’m 6 days post op (double jaw surgery) and I feel like I’m losing my mind. I’m happy to see that things turned out so happily for you, it gives me hope that everything will be ok 🙂
January 31, 2017 at 8:06 pm
Thank you for writing about your experiences with this surgery. I’m tentatively going to be getting the same surgery this coming April and have been very nervous throughout the 15+ months that I’ve already had braces for. I’ve always been super self conscious about my smile as I have a severe underbite. Not only that, my teeth only really hit in the back so it is a pain to eat some foods (braces sure didn’t help). Reading about your experience has eased my mind a bit and I am hopeful that my surgery goes as well as yours.
January 21, 2017 at 12:23 pm
I can’t thank you enough for writing this and putting me at ease a little more! I will be having double jaw replacement in April of 2017. In the past 4 years I have had 2 double jaw reconstructions and they didn’t work. I’ve had TMJ and migraines since I was in elementary school so docs thought surgery number 1 would fix it….it didn’t! I was opening fine right after surgery and then my jaws stopped opening. On to the second surgery same thing happened! My surgeon then decided there was nothing more he could do now i have another surgeon who seems like he knows what he is talking about. They have concluded with CAT scans and other scans my jaw bones are growing together and if nothing is done in the next couple of years i won’t be able to open at all! Double jaw replacement here I come! I”m getting new jaws from TMJ concepts and I pray this fixes me up! As of now I can only open wide enough to get a kids toothbrush in my mouth so like something the size of a pen, pinky finger etc. Again thank you for blog and others who have posted!
June 7, 2018 at 5:56 pm
Seneca,
I just found this blog. I also had a double jaw replacement in March 2017. How are you doing now?
I am still in extreme amounts of pain. My opening isn’t more than 15mm. It has been a tough road.
I thought I was promised less pain with this surgery?! It doesn’t seem like it at all. I also suffer from ear pain and low grade hearing loss on the right.
Any advice or tips would be very helpful. Thank you.
January 13, 2017 at 8:13 am
Thank you so much for this blog. It’s not only helping those actually having/had the surgery, but those caring for the patient as well. My boyfriend is 2.5hrs into his jaw surgery as I am writing this. Being the slightly over-protective type, I think I was more scared than he was in the run up to this. This blog has helped me so much to understand what they are doing and how and why. The tips on must-have items were awesome and I bought him a Nutri-bullet (I think I secretly wanted that) and some soft heat packs for his jaw as a get well soon present! His worst fear is the nerves being wrecked and having a numb mouth, but now we know that it’s up to 6months before we need to be concerned about that. About 2 hours left now… and still praying that everything is going to plan.
January 15, 2017 at 11:55 pm
Day 3, right? How’s he doing?
January 20, 2017 at 3:58 am
1 week later… it was rough at first because he was kept in hospital for 4 days and couldn’t seem to stem a constant nose bleed. Then he was back in hospital on day 5 for anaemia (no surprise). However, in the last 2 days he’s definitely more himself and feeling much better. The swelling and pain seems to be more manageable. It seems like if you can just get through those first few days, it’s all uphill from there because every day there is another improvement, even just little things make a big difference in the world of jaw surgery!