Common Questions
Following is a list of the most common questions I’ve received about double jaw surgery. If your question is not answered below, feel free to ask about it in the comments and I’d be happy to respond there.
Before the surgery:
- Why should I get jaw surgery?
- Is jaw surgery painful?
- How long does it take to recover from jaw surgery?
- How much does jaw surgery cost?
- What should I buy to prepare for recovery?
After the surgery:
- Will I look different after jaw surgery?
- How much weight will I lose after jaw surgery?
- Will I experience numbness after jaw surgery?
- Will I get all of my feeling back after jaw surgery?
- What can I eat after jaw surgery?
Cries for help:
- Help, I’m experiencing pain!
- Help, my breath is terrible!
- Help, my teeth are no longer touching!
- Help, my jaw movement is not returning!
- Help, I don’t look like myself anymore!
Why should I get jaw surgery?
There are several reasons to undergo jaw surgery:
- To be able to chew with all your teeth
- To speak without a lisp
- To speak without spitting
- To stop your mouth from hanging open
- To stop breathing through your mouth and start breathing through your nose
- To change your appearance (side profile)
These reasons are all explained on the Reasons to Get Jaw Surgery page.
Is jaw surgery painful?
Jaw surgery is usually not painful. This may be difficult to believe, but since your nerves become bruised and numb during the surgery, you don’t actually feel any of the pain. By the time feeling returns to your face, most of the pain is gone.
Granted, you’ll experience a bit of pain when you yawn, sneeze and cough. It’ll also hurt when your jaw spasms (and it will spasm for the first month), but for the most part, you should not experience much pain at all.
How long does it take to recover from jaw surgery?
It will take 90 days (3 months) for a full recovery after jaw surgery. Most of your feeling and energy will be back after 2 months, but it takes a full 90 days for your bone to fuse back together. A full range of motion in your jaw will return depending on how much you’re moving it around, so make sure you follow the exercises your surgeon gives you.
How much does jaw surgery cost?
Jaw surgery costs roughly $5000 in Canada, but that price may differ significantly in other provinces and countries. If your surgery is deemed cosmetic (instead of “medically necessary”), the cost will be higher because you’ll be required to cover the hospital bills. Sadly, patients in the US have seen jaw surgery bills in excess of $50,000.
What should I buy to prepare for recovery?
You can find a full list of items that with help you through the recovery at the Must-Have Recovery Products page.
Will I look different after jaw surgery?
You will notice subtle changes in your appearance following jaw surgery. Your overbite/underbite will no longer be present and your cheeks, nose, and chin may take on a different shape as well. My cheeks filled out a lot as a result of my surgery.
How much weight will I lose after jaw surgery?
Most people lose between 5–10 pounds during the first month of their recovery. The general rule of thumb is that you will lose weight until you reach your natural body weight.
Will I experience numbness after jaw surgery?
Yes, you will experience extreme numbness following jaw surgery. During the operation, several nerves in your face and chin have to be moved around. When you move a nerve, it becomes bruised, and when a nerve is bruised, it stops providing sensations, thus giving you that numb feeling (more on this in my Day 20 post).
Will I get all of my feeling back after jaw surgery?
70% of patients regain full feeling, while 30% may experience slightly numb areas in their cheeks, chin and lower lip for the rest of their lives. The feeling you have after 6 months post-op is likely what you’ll live with for the rest of your life.
What can I eat after jaw surgery?
You’ll be on a strict liquid diet following jaw surgery. Buy lots of Boost, Ensure or Carnation supplements and learn to make smoothies, because these will be your staple foods for at least the first 2 weeks. I had to eat them for 8 weeks, but my surgery was a bit more invasive than most. You’ll probably have to administer your food through a syringe for the first week as well.
Once your surgeon gives you permission to start chewing again, you can begin to eat soft foods such as pasta and mashed potatoes. During the weeks following your re-entry into the realm of chewing, you’ll be able to eat whatever is comfortable. Don’t expect to tear into a steak as soon as you’re allowed to chew again, though.
If you have the following implements, you should survive perfectly fine:
- A reliable blender (this is extremely important, as you’ll be blending almost everything)
- Smoothie materials (ice cream, yogurt, milk, bananas, strawberries, granola, peanut butter, honey, etc.) — Recipe
- Soup (you’ll have to blend everything except tomato soup)
- Ensure, Boost or Carnation (I drank 3 of these per day during my liquid diet phase)
- Prune juice (you’ll need the fiber in it)
- Whole milk (you’ll need all the calcium you can get so your bones heal back just as strong as they were before)
- Water (make sure you drink at least 1 L of water per day; drinking 2 L per day is a much better option)
The most important item on that list is water. If you don’t drink enough water each day, you’ll become dehydrated and sick, and your bowel movements won’t feel good because none of the fiber you’re eating will dissolve into your body.
Help, I’m experiencing pain!
If your pain is chronic (ie. consistent and throbbing), you may have an infection and should schedule a visit with your surgeon just to be safe.
On the other hand, if your pain comes in small bouts, it’s likely your nerves reawakening or your teeth being pulled by the elastics. In this case, just be patient and the pain will subside in due time. If you were prescribed pain medication, that may help as well.
Help, my breath is terrible!
At times, your breath may be indicative of the fact that you are not allowed to brush your teeth or floss during the first several weeks of recovery. To aid in freshening your breath, try gurgling with warm salt water a few times each day. Soon enough, you’ll be given the go-ahead to brush and floss again.
Help, my teeth are no longer touching!
An open bite is a common problem following jaw surgery. Fear not, however, because your teeth will naturally grow until they encounter opposition (in the form of your other jaw), so this problem will slowly correct itself over time.
Help, my jaw movement is not returning!
If you have been given the green light to resume eating regular food, but the movement in your jaw doesn’t seem to be returning, try whistling and chewing gum each day. Whistling will help to break up scar tissue, while chewing gum will stretch the muscles in your jaw.
Help, I don’t look like myself anymore!
This is perhaps the most common fear people have following jaw surgery. Remember that swelling takes a minimum of 3 months to go away, so try to avoid judging your appearance until that point.
Also, keep in mind that you are your own worst critic because you’ve been seeing your face in the mirror every single day for most of your life. While the subtle changes in your appearance seem drastic to you, most people will not even notice that your face changed shape.
August 22, 2013 at 4:51 pm
Graham, Im guessing my day two will be my worst as I will only be in the hospital only one night. Thanks for the response. Good luck to you and God bless you and your family.
August 21, 2013 at 6:25 pm
Graham,
I just had my surgical consult today and I’m scheduled to have lower jaw surgery hopefully on 17 Sep, with a chin reduction. Thanks to your blog I have had all my questions answered before I went into the surgeon and then some. Thank you for your blog and helping ease some of the apprehension with my upcoming surgery. What was your worst day and why? Was it mental or physical? Thanks for fielding my question.
August 22, 2013 at 8:33 am
Stephen, I’m glad I was able to help you out with my ramblings. The worst day for me was honestly my first full day at home (day 4, I believe), because, despite being with my parents, I was unable to talk with them. Each day following that was better, though, and that’s one of the best parts of recovery—you see forward progress with each passing day. =)
August 21, 2013 at 12:17 am
Graham,
Found your blog from a buddy a few weeks back, I have read almost everything and you’ve been a huge help at bringing some peace of mind. I’m going under the knife on Sept 11, 2013 coming up for upper jaw surgery to fix my overbite and open mouth breathing. At first my surgeon wanted to do double jaw, but my recent appointment with him has apparently shown him that the braces have made my alignment better than it was before so double may be out of the question thank god. However my biggest fears post op are breathing. I have really bad asthma and use an inhaler daily, sometimes hourly. My surgeon said I’ll be fine to open my mouth and use it, but I’m still pretty nervous about having a panic attack right out of surgery. I had nose surgery done a couple years back as well (deviated septum) to help my nose breathing, but I’m still pretty plugged up from allergies and September – October will be pretty bad for that while I am recovering from surgery. I am a Photographer, Concert Lighting Director, and a Golfer, hopefully it doesn’t take too long after surgery to get back to those things since my birthday is in October!
Anyways, Thanks for Listening. Take Care.
-Terrence
August 21, 2013 at 12:59 pm
Hi Terrence,
While breathing is quite frustrating for the first few weeks following surgery, you certainly don’t need to worry about not getting enough air. You won’t be able to breathe through your nose at first, so you’ll have to rely on opening your mouth and breathing that way. The most important thing to remember is to avoid panicking.
I can promise you two things:
1) You’ll get through the recovery just the same as the rest of us did.
2) Breathing will become much easier after than first week.
Good luck with the surgery in a few weeks and let me know how it goes! =)
August 5, 2013 at 3:30 pm
Graham,
It’s day 4 of recovering from double jaw surgery and things are going well. I visited my surgeon today to get cleaned. He told me it usually takes him 15 minutes to clean a patient’s mouth out but it only took him 2 minutes to clean mine. So he was content that I’m cleaning my mouth right :)!! I was relieved to hear that as well. My questions would be if you had a constant slight unpleasant odor in your breath? I find that mine doesn’t go away no matter how well I clean my mouth, which confuses me. Also, would it be strange if I wasn’t hungry? I read a couple of comments from people who have undergone jaw surgery and the majority have said their liquid diet had them starving and unsatisfying. I, on the other hand, am experiencing the opposite. I had two meals today so far (chocolate shake and oatmeal) and a bottle of water and I’m not yearning for food. Is this a bad thing?
Thank you for this post!!
August 8, 2013 at 9:14 am
Ari, congratulations on feeling great during your first week! I also had terrible breath for the first few weeks and found the only way to combat it was to gurgle with warm salt water each morning and evening. As for your appetite, you should try to eat regardless of whether you’re hungry or not for at least the first month because your body needs to calories to repair the bone in your jaw. Stay healthy and enjoy your easy recovery! =)
August 4, 2013 at 10:50 pm
Love your blog, I am also in YEG and wanted to know who your surgeon was? Thanks!
August 8, 2013 at 8:59 am
Angie, my surgeon was Dr. Saranjeev Lahl. He’s a super friendly man and an experienced surgeon. I highly recommend him!
July 26, 2013 at 1:58 pm
Hey Graham and everyone!
Thanks so much for this blog being helpful. I’ve recommended it to anyone looking into the surgery. I got my heavy elastics removed on Wednesday and now I just have to wear light elastics at night. My mouth only opens enough to fit one finger in. I was wondering Graham if you had any tips to loosen one’s jaw muscles or how long it takes for it to be open a reasonable amount to eat some of the less soft foods!
Thanks so so much. Feels great to be (almost) done–but done with the hard part!
July 29, 2013 at 10:31 am
Corey, it took me approximately 7 weeks before I could comfortably eat soft foods again. As for loosening up the muscles in your jaw, I recommend whistling (to break up scar tissue) and chewing gum. Note that you may not be able to chew gum for a few more weeks, though!
July 24, 2013 at 1:48 am
Hi! I’m going to go get my underbite fixed next year (I also need to get cavities fixed and braces, ahh). Your site has calmed me down a bit about it so I’m not as worried. Just want to thank you u w u
July 24, 2013 at 8:03 am
Zacharie, I’m glad you found this blog well before your surgery. You’ll have a solid idea of what to expect when you take on this operation next year. Take care!
July 17, 2013 at 11:53 am
Bologna! This surgery cost $25,000 in the U.S.!
July 9, 2013 at 6:10 pm
Hi Reese – I feel your pain, I was there 8 wks ago. First I would say you need some serious liquid pain meds. I used hydrocodine in liquid form with applesauce w/a syringe and got it all down faster – lasted 6 hrs. Ate puree soup, warm dahl, warm oatmeal w/milk. I could not handle cold food. This served 2 purposes, hydration and nutrition at the same time. Also a warm rag against my face where I felt discomfort from the muscles contracting seriously helped me. Slept on couch in sitting position was the only way i could sleep, so recommend it. I would say you are about half way through the really miserably stage. Give yourself one more week to feel so much better. Any chance you could have a family member help take care of you would be great so you could spend your time resting and recovering instead of preparing food for yourself, it worked great for me in that process. Definitely get a damp rag and warm it in the microwave and apply to area of pain, what a relieve. Hang in there, you did the right thing by having it done now instead of later in life.
July 9, 2013 at 4:38 pm
Hello I previously also had upper and lower jaw surgery aswell as 3 wisdom teeth taken out Wednesday July 3rd. My orthodontist said that I had a twisted jaw, basicly meaning I can only bite down on one side. It hasent given me any problems, but they felt it could down the road, such as joint problems.
I really wish i stumbled across this website before I had the surgery, because atleast I would of known what to exspect which is very helpful.
Anyways after surgery, I had woken up with alot of pain. I was wired and had elastics, swollen and a little bruising. I was taken childerens liquid tylenol but it was not strong enough clearly so they also started giving me dilaudid, it helped but did not last long, only for a half an hour or so.. so pretty much was always in alot of pain. The hospital kept me over there for about 2 days until i got realised, and 2 days later had to go back because an infection. I’m on alot of medicaiton such as pain killers, and inflamatory and now anti biotics, but they switched my dilaudids to hydromorphone and I’am limited on how much I have. There are no refils so when its gone I only have childerens tylenol and its scary because I know it wont be strong enough for me. I have about a few more days until i run out. I told the doctor but he said I didnt need anymore of it but my pain speaks other wise.
Also I will agree with a few posts I’ve read above about the sleeping part, i really hate sleeping because when I wake up my pain is so much worse, everything aches, i wake up and im deluded, times i dont even realise i am until a few hours later so im basicly just miserable and its been day 6 and no sign of relief yet other than my swelling has went down some.. but my pain is all still there. usually it will go away for a half an hour and it will be right back there. I take up to 8 meds 4 times a day, it takes me a while to get them all into me and it seems like after i finish taking them.. its time to take them again. Also my new anti biotic they gave me for infection its awful it makes me so nauseous and sick, so far i have tried not to throw up, but its so hard not to sometimes. Aswell as food I been drinking ensure and chicken broth, usually once or twice a day.. I know its not enough and my body needs it to help heal faster but my appetite is not strong, I’am not use to liquid foods, and i prepare all my own meals and wake my self up for my meds its really hard on me.
I’m not quite sure what to really do other than keep waiting for relief, most of my aches are above my upper lip (the mustache area) it throbs all the time.
I have an appointment on the 16th I dont know if its for to get my elastics off or not, i really hope so.. its alot of discomfort and hard to keep clean, and my tongue is getting irriated and my whole mouth feels dry. I drink plenty of water every day, I feel as if I didnt have water .. I would die, such as yesterday when i had a really bad tooth ache, i could barely even take my meds .. so i wasent drinking alot of water and i felt really sick and dehydrated.. I regret getting it done right now but im sure i will be thankful in the long run.. its just so hard to see it right now, please if you have any suggestions or information or ideas on what I should do.. that could be really useful too..
July 4, 2013 at 9:50 am
Hey Guys,
Just an update! I’m finally starting to get energy back (mid week 5)… although after I get tightened up by my wires, it’s still really hurts for the following 24 – 48 hours.
I had three questions I was wondering if anyone could answer–more light hearted stuff than earlier. I have to say that after week 3 for me I’ve seen drastic improvement but still a lot of emotional lows & highs Graham mentioned:
1) I should be getting my splint off on Wednesday–how will it be different after? Is there that much of a change between that and my elastics? I asked my doctor but he was sort of unclear.
2) How long does it take to get back from soft foods to harder foods? My birthday is 3 days after I unwire and I’d love to have some pasta for dinner then. Is that too soon?
3) I’m going to see Book of Mormon while wired–which I realize might be dangerous seeing as I can’t laugh too much. I’m thinking of putting wax on (because I will be laughing), but what did people who watch comedies where they laugh a lot do to stop the pain (besides avoiding it–parents bought the tickets before unwiring date was known).
Thanks as always guys. I have to say I’m having some emotional lows–missing my friends who have started work after graduation. But physically, a lot improved.
Happy 4th of July as well (for people from the US)
July 4, 2013 at 11:20 am
Hi Corey!
1) The biggest change you’ll notice will be your level of comfort. You’ll be able to maintain better oral hygiene as well as begin eating soft food with more ease. Having your splint removed is a blessing, trust me!
2) You should be able to eat pasta in 3 weeks as long as you remember to chew slowly. Take your time eating so you don’t do things like grind your teeth together or bite your tongue.
3) Laughing will probably be a little bit painful because your elastics might snap, but you shouldn’t have to worry about undoing any part of the surgery. Do your best to keep your teeth together when you laugh (to avoid opening your mouth too wide), but other than that, have a great time!
You’re in a good place, Corey. Life will grow a lot easier once your splint is out. Take care!
July 3, 2013 at 8:24 pm
Graham, my daughter is 19 days post op from double jaw with genio-she is 15yrs old. Recovery is going well and things look good–only issue right now is she is extremely fatigued. She sleeps fro 12 or more hours and then gets easily fatigued after doing a short activity. Dr says it is normal from blood loss during surgery. Just wondering how long it took you to get your stamina back. Prior to this she was energetic and ran 3x a week.
July 4, 2013 at 11:16 am
Maureen, I didn’t rediscover my energy until around the 6-week mark. I was able to remain alert throughout the day after 3 weeks, but I wasn’t able to participate in anything overly active for the full 6 weeks. Each day will be a little bit better for her at this point, though. =)
July 3, 2013 at 12:58 pm
Graham, thanks for the advice and fast response.
I have a feeling it may be a combination of swelling and maybe elastics at this point. Hopefully it subsides soon, as this is the only problem I’m having right now. I’ve been quite lucky as I haven’t had a large amount of swelling or bruising, and my bite has been perfect so far. The results are really great. I’m still waiting for my face to return to normal, though. Nose is off centre and one side of my lip is fatter than the other! But this should all settle down when the swelling gradually goes away. Hopefully!!
Great blog by the way, it really helped me through my first week!
July 2, 2013 at 10:12 am
Hi Graham,
I had double jaw surgery 2 weeks ago and had my splint off a few days ago, however I seem to have developed a worse lisp at the moment. I still have some minor swelling and it’s going to be a few weeks before its mostly gone. Do you think the lisp will eventually subside? I’m going to speak to my surgeon next week but thought I’d ask your opinion on the matter, too. Did you have any issues with your speech?
Thanks
July 3, 2013 at 8:59 am
Andy, I found my lisp actually went away after the surgery. I wouldn’t worry about anything until you’re at least a full month into recovery, though. Wait another two weeks and if you still find you have your lisp, ask your surgeon if they’ve had any other patients experience the same thing. Best of luck! =)
June 20, 2013 at 3:15 pm
Hey Graham, I am 17 & I am getting the same surgery in one month I am sooooo stressed & very very nervous!!! I was originally suppose to get double Jaw surgery, but I saw my surgeon this week & he said that I could get by with just doing upper jaw surgery & then just softening the jaw on the bottom which means just shaving some of the bone off on my bottom jaw & shaping it… So now I am even more overwhelmed… Do you think my surgeon is leading me in the right direction with just moving my upper jaw forward and softening the bottom? My surgeon also said that this could be less risky with losing any nerve damage & would be a faster recovery. I would also like to ask did you get double jaw surgery or just upper jaw surgery? I would really like some advice & encouragement 🙂 Thank you so much!!
June 21, 2013 at 8:10 am
Hi Chelsea!
I had double jaw surgery because my surgeon felt he needed to reshape my upper palette as well as shorten my lower jaw (which is what “softening” is—removing a tiny bit of bony from each side). This is completely at the surgeon’s discretion and honestly, you just need to make sure you feel comfortable trusting their judgement. It’s almost always better to have just a single jaw operated on versus having both of them altered. Permanent nerve damage generally results from working on the lower jaw, so this may be to your advantage.
I would personally follow your surgeon’s recommendation, especially if they’re leading you towards having only one jaw operated on. =)
June 17, 2013 at 8:59 pm
Sheryl, I live in British Columbia and my mom lives in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, so a whole country away! FaceTime is a wonderful thing! We took my mom and daughter out to the pub for supper on Thursday and I managed 12 sweet potatoe fries cut up very small. I haven’t tried soup yet because I can’t get a spoon in between my teeth unless I turn it upside down and that just won’t work with soup! LOL
June 17, 2013 at 5:45 pm
@Terry – so sorry to hear abut your daughter and you mom…..both moving? How far? My Mom lives 2 thousand miles away and we still are the best of friends…talk all the time so don’t get too discouraged!
I haven’t tried the heating pad but will keep it in mind! I am venturing out in public a lot more and I am going to a concert tomorrow night (Tom Petty!) and going out for dinner first which will be the true challenge! Iicked the restaurant and the soups sounded awesome so wish me luck! Take care, Sheryl
June 15, 2013 at 9:49 pm
@Sheryl & Terry ~ I will be in touch by email. I had my first real night of sleep starting from midnight and slept until 10. Crazy nice feeling. Thank you both. @ Terry hope you are able to cry softly and not hurt when mom takes off. hang in there.
June 15, 2013 at 8:42 pm
Sheryl and Kayla, my email is tlgillis68@hotmail.com if you want to chat. Sheryl, I really thought the heat helped a lot! I used a heating pad on my face, it stayed hotter a lot longer then the pads, and it really helped with the pins and needle feelings. I changed my own elastics today:), and on a sadder note my youngest daughter moved away today and it really hurt to cry at the airport. My mom leaves on Tuesday so the waterworks will be on again!
June 15, 2013 at 8:13 pm
@ Kayla, I am just sitting down for the evening treatment of ice cube and heat alternating so I can get the nerves regenerating! I also have been full steam ahead but realize I might need to slow down a bit as I am exhausted. I also don’t blog but you can email me @ smiles.ross@execulink.com sure would like to have a “partner in crime” so to speak as the weeks go by and people forget about what we are going through……not being able to talk normally, numbness and of course the lack of real food!