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.
June 7, 2011 at 7:47 pm
I also feel the same way about the overbite. i’m at Day 19 going on 20 tomorrow (I actually ate two bowls of pasta today, and a few french fries yesterday so I must be making a quick recovery.. haha although it didn’t happen without a lot of pain afterwards) So.. general consensus says the feeling of an overbite is normal!
June 7, 2011 at 6:27 am
Dawn, if you take a look at my mugshot roundup, you can see that on Day 32, it looks like I have a pretty big overbite still. By Day 76, it seems to be almost gone.
So my advice is to wait until 2.5 to 3 months before you pass any judgements on the shape of your face. Time will fly by and you’ll see your new smile taking shape quite nicely!
June 7, 2011 at 12:16 am
Ahh, that is good news. I was worried that I have an overbite now after trying to fix my underbite. But how long did your swelling last?
June 7, 2011 at 12:11 am
Hi Dawn,
Your jaw most definitely hurts because you haven’t exercised it in over a month. That’s to be expected.
As for the overbite, that will go away with time. I assure you in a month or two, you’ll look in the mirror and smile, and you’ll wonder why you were fussing over an overbite you never even had!
I also felt like I had a really bad overbite to begin with, but it turned out to be a result of the swelling. Once the inflammation vacated me, my mouth lined up just like it’s supposed to.
June 7, 2011 at 12:08 am
Darnetta, good to hear that your surgeon says your recovery is on track (ear pain and all)! If 9 weeks have passed already, it must be time to start smiling! 😉
June 7, 2011 at 12:00 am
Hi Graham! I am starting week 5 of my recovery from a double-jaw surgery (suffered from an underbite) and doing very well 🙂 Ate a pancake for the first time today and was actually able to chew it 🙂 But my jaw started hurting after a little bit so I was just wondering if that’s normal since my jaw is still not used to chewing?
However, I also have some concerns.. I feel that I now have an overbite and is unable to close my mouth sometimes. I dont know if that’s why we have the elastics?
June 6, 2011 at 6:28 pm
Hello Graham,
Tomorrow June 7th makes 9 weeks for me. My lower lip and chin is still numb, but I’m having that crazy tingling and itching. My rom is at 20. I eat a lot of baked fish and other soft foods and still losing weight, I like that part. I do have the inner ear pain and pressure in my right ear, but my surgeon said it will go away. This is is the best, you have given me and others good and accurate advice, just wanted to update you and say thanks.
May 27, 2011 at 8:09 am
Hey Kevin,
If you’re already over 2 weeks into recovery, I don’t think you need to be monitored any longer. You’ve got to gauge how you feel though. If you’re sure choking won’t be a problem, you’ll be fine.
As for being winded after short walks, I think you just need to let your body heal naturally. That’s not really a faster way to heal. Getting as much sleep as possible and walking more and more will help, but at the end of the day, you’re going to heal at roughly the same rate.
Good luck with your recovery and let me know how your hip holds out!
May 26, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Hi there! I just had jaw surgery almost 2 weeks ago. I’m so sick of fluids!! lol Anyway I’m still drooling and only getting fluids in. Doctor told me last time I saw her I could take off rubber bands for mashed potatoes and what not. I’m tonervous to do it due to taking it off when I got the day of and freaked when trying to get them back on. I have feeling already returning on my chin after just less that 2 weeks! Doctor says I’m more that 90% that get that. Anyway my questions are.
Walking even from the couch to the kitchen. They did a bone graph. Advanced my jaw 10mm’s Anyway I walk like literally 30 feel. I have to sit down and pant heavily cause I’m out of breath. My teeth are shut but just barely able to open if I need. But still any tips for getting strength back sooner?
Doctor recommended someone watch me till I’m fully off meds. Has taken no pain killers today but about to. Starting to hurt on my hip. My mom has to go back yo work monday. Should I get a friend to try and watch me for one more week or you think I’ll be fine?
May 20, 2011 at 9:04 am
Adrian, this is all excellent advice! The points that resonate with me the most are:
– “You will have highs and lows emotionally and physically and I strongly recommend having family around you at all times.”
– “Make a list of movies you have always wanted to watch..books and magazines you have wanted to read and instruments you have wanted to learn.”
– “The faster you begin to walk around and keep your blood flowing the faster you will heal.”
Thanks for contributing, pal!
May 19, 2011 at 11:51 pm
This brings back many memories of my first 6 weeks. I am a 28 year old male very active and healthy and always on the go. I have a good head on my shoulder and emotinally/physically strong. Furthermore I have allergies and asthma and am a big mouth breather….On April 7th 2011 I had my Upper jaw expanded in 3 locations and both jaws aligned on the same plane since they were shifted and then my chin was moved over and brought out while they were in there doing surgery. Tomorrow I have my splint removed (week 6) and I don’t think I can go a day longer wearing this thing. My first 4 days I lost 10 pounds. Most of this is water weight and muscle mass. I have a fast metabolism so this sucked especially since I weighed 155 pounds going in. I do have some tips and expectations in my own experience in case you live my type of life and have my type of personality. I will list them in bullet form for ease of reading…
-If you have kaiser they cover orthognathic surgery. Mine was free except the medications and consults.
-You WILL lose weight. I recommend eating everything you crave but feel guilty eating because once you are wired shut you will wish you ate that burger or donut.
-If you can, borrow a VITAMIX blender. I placed some cooked chicken breasts and chicken broth in that blender and it was like a smoothie texture chicken soup.
-Buy ALOT of chicken broth and beef broth…low sodium preferably since you will be using this as a liquid to mix in vegetables (carrots/brocolli etc)
-ENSURE..careful they are delicious but have ALOT of sugar. I was drinking a 6 pack per day on top of all my other meals.
-If you have a Wholefoods or Trader Joes market they sell SOUP IN A BOX!!! Found this out last week.
-buy a protein supplement for your bones and muscles..add it to your smoothies.
-You will swell..levels vary and you will not know until after surgery.
-You will have highs and lows emotionally and physically and I strongly recommend having family around you at all times. You will contemplate why you are doing this but I have yet to hear any negative comments/outcomes on patients that received jaw surgery.
-Preparation is the key for the surgery. I moved in with my family for 4 weeks. You will be on medications for about 4-5 weeks depending how well you tolerate pain. These medications will be every 3-6 hours around the clock. I woke up at 3 am, 6am , 9am etc since I was under alot of pain.Antibiotics are also presribed and mouth rinses.
-If you have asthma or allergies and you are wired shut….learn how to breathe through your nose now!It was like breathing through a straw and I had to take anti-anxiety medication in the hospital.
-Make a list of movies you have always wanted to watch..books and magazines you have wanted to read and instruments you have wanted to learn. You will have about 1-2 months off of work with a doctors note of course. Make sure your school or employer knows this asap.
-The faster you begin to walk around and keep your blood flowing the faster you will heal.
-Heat pads help you go to sleep faster.
-Air purifier and Vaporizer help keep your room fresh and clean in case you have allergies/asthma.My doctor recommended strongly that I DO NOT sneeze the first few weeks since clenching my jaw could lead to relapse.
-Sleep sort of upright that way the blood doesn’t settle in your face and make you feel super swollen.
-I was wired shut for 4 weeks and on elastics for 2 weeks after. This all depends on your surgeon and type of surgery. If you have elastics you should naturally have more muscle spasms since your jaw and muscles can still slightly move . If you are wired shut…you can’t move anything and I wouldn’t try moving your jaw at all.
Sorry this isn’t in chronological order but probably the best advice I can give is ask for help and surround yourself with positive people and environment. I had planned to take care of myself and prepared physically and mentally and had all my books videos and “TO DO LIST” all ready to go…but boy was I wrong. I thought being in the medical field and understanding everything pre and post operation would be a huge advantage to my healing but when the time came I was sooooo weak and depressed that I couldn’t do much myself. It is very hard for me to just sit down and watch tv for hours at a time so this probably had something to do with my emotions while everybody was out having fun on vacations. haha. In the end….well for me (6 weeks since surgery) I feel really good. Went back to the gym and started with light weights . Tomorrow I will have the splint removed and should be eating pastas and raviolis and maybe ground beef. Stay positive and there are videos online as well of patients healing process that give you a mental boost. Good site lad.
May 19, 2011 at 8:26 am
Hi Mintcee,
Braces are almost a given if you’re opting to have the surgery performed. I had braces for just over 2 years prior to the operation and then another 9 months following it.
The reasons for this is that they need to create gaps between your teeth so the surgeon has space to cut up into the bone for surgery. Afterwards, you must remain in braces for up to a year to close those gaps back up.
Braces are only temporary though. In a little while, they’ll be all over and done with and you’ll be able to live with your beautiful smile for the rest of your days. 🙂
May 18, 2011 at 4:07 pm
Hi there! I’m having a slight issue here, I have a small open bite and when I went to go see the orthodontist a week ago, they told me my options were to have surgery, extracting teeth along with some braces or just braces. I really wanted to do surgery, but when I went today, they told me if i wanted surgery I’d have to have braces after. Do I really need to have braces after if I choose to get surgery? I don’t know what to do now :S.
May 17, 2011 at 10:25 am
Haha nice to meet you too:) lucky bum…i want ribs ;( haha ya me too just no wakeboarding yet:( so sad but ssall good it’ll be worth it^_^ thanks again so much and enjoy the nice weather – doesn’t last long…
Thanks!
May 17, 2011 at 9:02 am
Hey Carli! It’s good to meet a fellow Edmontonian (or whatever we’re called)!
I remember going for ribs as soon as my braces came on. My orthodontist removed them and then said, “Make sure you don’t eat ribs right away because your teeth might be sensitive.” I went straight to Tony Roma’s and ate 5 plates worth. 🙂
To answer your question:
1) Your mouth will be numb for a month or two. It’s just something you have to put up with.
2) Nose bleeds are inconvenient but not unexpected. Try to be as gentle with your nose as possible. They moved it around during surgery so there are certain blood clots in there that you cannot break off until they heal up. Don’t blow your nose or anything like that.
3) I couldn’t chew gum for about 3 months. Gum is actually a lot of work for your jaw, so you may have to forego that addiction until the end of summer.
4) I switched to heating pads as soon as I got home from the hospital (on day 4, I believe).
Hope you still get to enjoy your summer! Take care!
May 16, 2011 at 1:23 pm
k one more question: when should i switch from ice packs to heating pads? last question i promiss 🙂 Thanks!
May 16, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Hi Graham,
I’m 16 and from edmonton but it’s nice out – no lovely blizzards anymore;) I had my surgery exactly like yours a week ago.
Thanks for all your awesome tips, you made this past week completely pain free!!! well, you and the amazing drugs;-)I’m really happy about the pain it’s just sad i can’t eat… so excited for my first plate of ribs – it’s been 3 years cause of braces:(
Anyway, I know it’s now been like 2yrs since your surgery but do you remember having the roof of your mouth numb? it’s the only thing that’s still numb and it’s annoying… Another thing is i have had on and off nose-bleeds for 3 days – is that normal? last question, and most important: when could you start chewing gum again? Sorry for so many questions but your tips are so helpful! 🙂
Thanks!
May 15, 2011 at 9:43 am
Jamie, if you have over a month off from work, you should be fine. You’ll still look a little bit swollen after after 4-5 weeks, but you’ll be able to communicate and live a relatively normal life.
As for looking “normal” again, that will probably happen about a month after you return to work (at the two-month mark in your recovery).
You should feel pretty good by June 20th, though. 🙂
May 15, 2011 at 8:02 am
Hi Graham! I see you’ve been answering questions for a while now on this site, im 23 years old from South Africa and had mt surgery on Tuesday afternoon. Wow it takes alot of will power to get through thats for sure! The worst part for me is not being able to eat what my body craves. I cannot wait to just eat a slice of choc cake when all this is done lol. My face is swelled up a bit but not major, i have to go back to work on 20/06 so im hoping it will be alright by then. So my question is how long did it take for your major swelling to go down (just so that it at least looked normal?) Thanks for all the tips.
May 14, 2011 at 6:58 pm
It definitely gets better. =) You’re already past the worst part of the recovery too, so it’s all uphill from here.
Soon you’ll be speaking semi-normally again and that will make a big difference because you’ll feel like you can hang out with people again.
Hang in there, Sarah!