Recovery Timeline
Following is a brief timeline of important events regarding recovery from double jaw surgery. If you only had a single jaw operated on, your recovery will be much quicker than this.
Keep in mind that every person recovers at a different pace, and also that every surgeon has their own agenda during the recovery process. This is simply the sequence of important events that took place during my personal recovery.
Day 0 (Surgery)
- You’ll be eating/drinking through a syringe
- You’ll be unable to sleep very much
- You may be freezing all night long due to the ice packs wrapped around your face
- You’ll feel extremely weak
- You won’t be able to talk
- You will drool constantly (but you’ll have the suction tube in the hospital to take care of that)
- Lots of blood will be churning up inside your nose, mouth and throat
- Your jaw will randomly spasm (and it will be painful)
Day 1
- Swelling will begin
Day 3
- Swelling will peak
- Your bowels will start working again around this time
Day 5
- Feeling will begin to return to parts of your face
- Swelling will start to decrease
Day 7 (1 week)
- You’ll be able to move your mouth a bit easier, so your talking will become more understandable
- At your 1-week appointment, you’ll be able to brush your teeth, both inside and out (and it will feel amazing)
Day 10
- Drooling won’t be as rampant any longer
- You’ll regain slight control over your lips
Day 14 (2 weeks)
- Most of the swelling will be gone
- You’ll be able to start drinking from a cup (although it may be messy at first)
- You can probably remove a few of the elastics clamping your teeth together, so talking will become infinitely more simple
- Sleeping through the night should no longer be a problem
Day 15
- Your elastics will start snapping daily, due to your rapid increase in speaking
Day 18
- Your breath will become bearable again, due to the fact that you’ve been eating different foods and brushing more often
Day 21 (3 weeks)
- Your energy will start to come back. Take advantage of it! Go for walks and take your bike out for a spin.
Day 22
- You’ll be receiving substantial feeling back in your upper lip and cheeks. Your nose, lower lip and chin, however, will remain completely numb.
Day 28 (4 weeks)
- Talking will hardly be an issue any longer. If you have a splint/bite plate in, you’ll sound ridiculous, but people will be able to understand you.
- Your desire to be social and spend time with people will return in full force. Make sure you take advantage of it, and remember that your friends are not judging you.
Day 29
- Feeling will begin to return to your lower lip and chin. That feeling will come in the form of pins and needles, but you’ll appreciate it regardless. If no feeling has returned to these parts yet, don’t worry. Surgeons say that it make take up to 90 days for feeling to begin coming back.
Day 31 (1 month)
- If your elastics are off, you’ll be able to speak quite well by now
- You won’t drool or spill any longer while eating
Day 32
- You’ll have most of your normal energy back by now
- You’ll begin to feel like you’re ready to take life on again. Be warned though: you’re not quite there yet. Give it another month before you go crazy.
Day 38
- More patches of feeling will return to your chin and lower lip
- You should no longer have to wear elastics during the day
Day 42 (6 weeks)
- You should be able to drink through a straw quite easily by now
Day 45
- Most of your stitches should have dissolved by now
Day 49 (7 weeks)
- If you had a splint in, it should definitely be removed by now
- Be prepared to readjust back into the world of orthodontics
Day 56 (8 weeks)
- You should be able to eat with a small spoon or fork again
- Licking your lips should be no problem at this point
Day 58
- You’ll most likely be allowed to blow your nose again. Be gentle, though, because you don’t want to pop a blood vessel.
Day 70 (10 weeks)
- If you haven’t been able to eat solid food yet, start now. Even if the task of eating involves mashing soft food up against the roof of your mouth, do it anyway. You’ll never gain your strength back on liquid alone.
Day 84 (12 weeks)
- You should enjoy the freedom of eating just about anything you want by now
- Consider practising whistling in order to break up the scar tissue that’s sure to be keeping your upper lip from enjoying its full range of motion
Day 90 (3 months)
- Your three months have finally come to an end! Enjoy eating, breathing and smiling to their full effect.
- Changes will be fairly slow from this point forward. The results you find yourself with at the 6-month mark will most likely be the results you’ll live with for the rest of your life.
October 12, 2012 at 10:56 am
Athra, thanks for posting! It’s nice to hear from someone with the same problem — although I am obviously sorry you also have a blocked nostril. No fun! I just made an appointment with an ENT, too. Let me know how your visit goes, and I will do likewise.
October 11, 2012 at 8:58 pm
I think it was jamie that wrote the right nostril was blocked i have the same problem with my right nostril u can even notice it wen i breathe and its been nearly 5 months from my double jaw surgery. I have an appt with a nose specialst dr nxt month.
October 11, 2012 at 8:29 am
Hello! I am trying to reach Krista who wrote on your board back in 2010. Her symptoms back then are exactly what mine where and I ended up getting trigeminal neuralgia from this surgery and very much would like to see if she experienced the same. it has drastically changed my life and I’m seeking help! Please contact me Krista or write back on the blog if you still get these emails updates. Thanks, Maureen
October 10, 2012 at 8:03 am
Just wondering… Did anyone notice that their teeth felt lose after the doctors removed the arch bars? Weirdest thing, my molars and bottom front teeth feel that they will come out if I put too much pressure on them.
October 10, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Thomas, I recall my teeth feeling slightly loose around my splint was removed, but they tightened up after approximately one week. If you’re careful with what you eat and you chew slowly, you’ll be okay. =)
October 10, 2012 at 12:54 am
Hello,
I’m planning on having my surgery in 2 weeks. Depending on my surgeons schedule. I have a class 3 underbite,crossbite, and open bite. But I was wondering. . Did people notice you afterwards, like people you don’t normally hang out with. What was people reaction after your surgery when they noticed you with a new jaw ?
October 10, 2012 at 3:56 am
Shay, only people who knew me well—my family and close friends—noticed that my jaw was shaped a little differently. Acquaintances will think you look the same. (My situation was also unique because I maintained this blog, so my entire city knew I had tackled this operation.) The big thing people noticed was that I now smile a lot more.
October 9, 2012 at 9:19 am
Thanks Graham. I forgot to mention that your website helped me a lot and that it is a great resource for jaw surgery patients. I really appreciate your humorous and positive approach to the healing process. I know you have been traveling the world and already made it to DC but if you ever come back this CouchSurfer would love to host you. I will also be in China (Beijing, Tian, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macau) for most of January let me know if our paths cross by chance.
October 10, 2012 at 3:48 am
Hmmmm, perhaps I will have to take a flight over to Hong Kong to say hello. I’ll certainly be in that part of the world come January.
October 8, 2012 at 9:18 pm
I had surgery almost 4 weeks ago – I go back to work next Monday. I am a 24 year old male by way of reference. My surgery went well and my doctor told me that all my nerves were intact – but it worries me that I am still unable to feel my chin and bottom lip. I can feel everywhere else on my face except my upper right lip which right now just feels tingly when I touch it. This is a good sign though. I had the same surgery as Graham and have been healing surprisingly quickly. Unfortunately about a week and 4 days after my surgery I fainted while walking to my bathroom and land on my head with a pretty bad cut. The doctor told me to visit him at his office (on a Sunday) and he stitched me up (two stitches) and checked the jaw. The jaw was fine but unfortunately I now have a pretty bad scar above my right eye.
I only wore rubber bands for my first week and could immediately drink out of a cup albeit I was extremely messy. My doctor took out the bands and said to leave them off for about a week. The next week my bite shifted so he asked me to put a band back on but it was only one. We have been doing this for the past couple of weeks leaving them on and off. Unfortunately it keeps shifting. I am able to open my jaw pretty wide and the doctor gave me exercises to start stretching out my jaw. I can almost fit three fingers between my upper and lower jaws.
At 2 wks and 5 days my doctor told me to start eating soft foods, this totally surprised me because my splint was still attached to my upper jaw. But to say the least I was ecstatic. I start eating quinoa, rice, salmon, soft noodles, over cooked veggies it felt so good to get on to solids. I also looked up recipes online for soft foods for jaw surgery patients and surprisingly there were a lot of resources. My favorite recipe so far is a crustless quiche. Basically spinach, eggs, and some seasonings. It is soft and yummy. Unfortunately food gets stuck in my splint and braces pretty easily and it is extremely annoying to rinse and get the food out. I try to limit my solid food intake but chewing is actually helping me heal even faster. I went to the Cheesecake Factory last night and had an entire meal – fried chicken fingers (cut up to tiny pieces and put blue cheese and hot sauce to make it softer), avocado egg rolls (cut up and put the sauce on top), and the miso salmon – rice and salmon were soft enough to eat. My first full meal in almost four weeks and it was incredible! I felt full for the first time since the surgery. I was so happy. (This is all happening while my splint is happily attached to my upper jaw.)
This is to Jamie who had his surgery 8 wks and 6 days ago. I have a similar experience with yours in regards to issue #1. At 4 weeks I am still unable to feel my bottom lip and my entire chin. What is worst is that I am kind of looking like a stroke patient because the right side of my face is extremely weak, meaning that my lips on the right side will not close and I can’t even force close it went I try. The muscles simply do not work. My doctor said to not worry that that kind of thing comes back almost randomly over night. I am trying to practice whistling based on what Graham advised and doing what your doctor suggested and stretching out my bottom lip. Because I am unable to close the right side of my bottom lip and there is an opening I am still unable to use a straw as I cannot create suction. In addition to that because I am unable to feel my bottom lip and get my right side of my lip around a cup I am always spilling. It is getting very frustrating. I hope my muscle control comes back soon.
I think I made it out of the surgery pretty well and have been fortunate. I am just ready to be completely healed and have all of my feeling and muscle control back.
October 9, 2012 at 6:51 am
David, you’re lucky that you were able to drink from a cup right away and bypassed the entire syringe party. Thanks for sharing your story and I truly hope you receive all of your feeling back. I know it can be stressful to be thinking about the possibility of being permanently numb. Cheers to a solid recovery, my friend!
October 8, 2012 at 6:59 pm
Thanks Jamie for the feedback. I am planning to go back to work this coming Thursday after I see the surgeon in the morning. I am getting my energy back and I am also getting off the pain killers. Today is the first day I haven’t taken them. Lots of different feelings, tingling and pin like needles going through my face. I have been told that is normal and the nerve endings are repairing itself. If I had to do it all over again, I would be on the fence but seeing so far what the surgeon has done with my jaws, I would probably do it. I can somewhat smile as the stitches seem to be easing up. Thank god I have my two little dogs to help me go from day to day. Those of you who live alone, good idea to have a friend or family member either stay with you to help you out or stay with someone. I stayed with my siste for one week and that really helped me out. Cheers
October 7, 2012 at 7:50 am
I also forgot to mention that I also had issues with the anesthesia.
October 7, 2012 at 7:38 am
I would like to share a few of my experiences with my surgery. I had very severe sleep apnea that it was necessary to have surgery so that when I get older and the sleep apnea comes back, the CPAP will work.
I don’t remember 3 weeks post op because I had complications after surgery. My nasal intibation tubes could not be removed for 6 days I therefore became ventilator dependent. While on the ventilator, my left lung had collapsed and I got a severe case of pneumonia. It was necessary for the surgeons to perform a tracheotomy in order to remove the tubes after the collapsed lung correct itself.
I was in the intensive care unit for 12 days afterward and pumped full of so many drugs that I started to hallucinate. At one point I thought my doctor was an alien.
When I was able to return home I had a sever bloody nose that necessitated a trip to the emergency room where massive blood cots came out of my sinuses. Once the nose bleed was controlled, I was re-admitted to the hospital for observation. When I returned home again I needed to see my doctor again due to an abscess from a stitch.
The liquid (blenderized) diet in addition to the opioid drugs caused abdominal issues. I had to stop taking the drugs and needed to eat solid foods sooner than I was supposed to. It hurt, but it was necessary.
I am now approaching my 8th week post op, my trach is almost completely healed over, swelling is almost gone, and the feeling in my lower lip is slowly coming back. My energy levels are better, but not what they used to be pre-surgery (but with all the complications I experienced I am not surprised).
This is a major surgery and the decision to have it done should not be made without much deliberation. There are risks of major complications. Most people come out of this surgery without many problems, but others like myself will have some serious issues. Should I have been a smoker and not had very attentive doctors, I would have died. If there are other options to solve your problems other than surgery, please consider those prior to choosing the surgical solution.
I am doing good at the moment, it is likely that I will recover fully, and I no longer have sleep apnea. While I experienced major complications, the surgery was a success.
October 7, 2012 at 12:25 pm
My goodness, Thomas, you’ve been through quite the experience! I’m glad you pulled through and that your body is finally healing up appropriately. Embrace your newfound sleep—you deserve it!
October 6, 2012 at 5:51 pm
P.S. Hi Jamie L. Nice to “meet” you. I also had a bit of a post-surgery infection that left me feeling like crud longer than I expected. Although even without the infection, I’m pretty sure I’d have felt like crud longer than expected. I thought I’d be back in the office after two weeks, and do some work from home after just one week. Turns out I didn’t really start doing more than answer email until about a month after the surgery. My job isn’t physically demanding, and doesn’t involve a lot of talking, but I do have to be mentally present. The drugs, lack of sleep, and discomfort made it very hard to concentrate. Last week (Week 6) was my first full week spent in the office.
October 6, 2012 at 5:41 pm
Thanks, Graham, for the kind words as I try to be patient. 🙂 And, actually, just as I read your post my right nostril opened up a little. I’ll be back as things resolve.
Good luck, Lea-Anne. I can’t imagine many people do this for cosmetic reasons — that’s just a nice side benefit. Given I can’t yet really use my improved bite, I’m not yet sure whether the surgery was worth it, and I certainly would do a lot to avoid doing it a second time. But it seems like just about everyone eventually decides the surgery was worth it, and I assume I will, too, in another month or two…
October 6, 2012 at 2:16 pm
hi everyone im awaiting surgery for both upper and lower jaw ive recently had wisdom teeth out and was in alot of pain so decided to research jaw surgery to see what im letting myself in for and i must say im absolutly terrified now i hate pain and not being able to sleep so this sounds terrible please everyone answer me one question if you had to do it all again would you? this may make me think its all worth while.
p.s im not getting it done through cosmetic reasons its due to my biting im getting it done
October 6, 2012 at 11:53 pm
Lea-anne, if I found myself a few years ago before I had the operation, I would definitely go through with it again. The benefits far outweigh the consequences in my opinion. And while the recovery is frustrating, it’s only 3 months long. The benefits will last for the rest of your life. =)
October 5, 2012 at 3:24 pm
(Lots of Jamies on right now. I’m the Jamie who had surgery on 8/21/12, so I’m now 6 weeks and 3 days out.)
It’s been very useful for me to read about other people’s slightly-unusual issues on here, so I thought I’d note my slightly-unusual issues, too. I’d love to hear from others who have experienced either problem, and will come back later to share how things turn out.
Issue #1. My lips don’t close. Instead, my upper lip stops right above my top brackets and my lower lip stops at the bottom of my upper teeth. If I really try, I can make them touch, but I can’t close my mouth well enough to keep mouthwash in my mouth when I swish it around or to create enough suction to drink from a straw. Additionally, some letters (e.g., “B”) are hard for me to say. My surgeon tells me to be patient and to stretch my upper lip to keep scar tissue from forming, but I’m starting to worry now at 6.5 weeks. I’ve been stretching from the beginning and find the lip is very flexible and mobile — it just doesn’t reach down far enough. I’ll wait until 12 weeks before following up, but really hope the problem goes away or lessens before then. My lips didn’t close before the surgery, and I could certaily live with it if they don’t ever close completely, but I eventually need to be able to at least keep my mouth closed while I chew, use a straw, and be able to swish mouthwash.
Issue #2. I can’t breathe through my right nostril. The passage is not completely blocked, but 90% of the day I use only my left nostril. I know they first tried to intubate me through my right nostril, but couldn’t — so the right passage is probably smaller than my left passage, and the remaining swelling could be causing the current blockage. But I worry something got a little damaged when they tried to intubate me and will need to be fixed. I am scheduling an appointment to meet with an ENT in about a month, and I’ll cancel it if the problem goes away before then.
As a note: The upper jaw portion of my surgery was fairly complicated, and involved breaking my upper jaw into four pieces. So I may still have more swelling to my upper lip and around my nose than typical — which could, in turn, aggrevate the above problems.
On the plus side, just about everything else seems to be going well. I’m particularly excited that I ate Thai food last night and a tuna melt today for lunch, and that my mouth now opens two-fingers wide. Looks like I eventually will re-learn how to use my mouth!
October 6, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Hi Jamie,
Not being able to bring your lips together would indeed be frustrating. I can’t speak to that issue, but hopefully it’s related to either swelling or muscle flexibility. Try to whistle throughout the day to keep scar tissue from forming, and let me know if the issue resolves itself by the 3-month mark.
Regarding your nostril, I imagine that’s due to swelling. The only reason I can think of that a nostril would be blocked is if it’s caved in, but that would be immediately noticeable when you look in the mirror. I’d give the swelling another month or so and I think your nostril will open right back up.
I’m happy to hear you’re able to enjoy different types of food again. Your mention of Thai food has instilled a craving in me!
April 2, 2016 at 6:06 pm
Hello Jamie, I have read all of your comments and it seems that even though things were rough, you have been able to push through everything to where you are now. I have a question for you regarding your lips being unable to close. I am having the same problem, and it has been 3 weeks today since my double jaw surgery. When were you able to rest your lips back together? I have been whistling and moving my lips around, using a heating pad, and rubbing my face muscles in an attempt to make it easier to rest them together, but there is nothing to show for my efforts. It is the only thing that has been bothering me since the procedure. I have had minimal pain, swelling, and I am not too worried about my numbness, but going in public with my lips hanging wide open is terribly uncomfortable. I understand that everyone heals differently, but I’m hoping to learn the time frame in which I can expect to keep my mouth closed like a normal person again;3
Thank you for any help you can give me ~~~
October 3, 2012 at 4:51 am
Well it’s been 2 weeks and 5 days and the new drugs treating my infection are kicking in. I have noticed that the puss has been reduced significantly and I am starting to feel a bit better. I am still numb on the lower lip, chin and parts of the inner mouth. I know this is normal and do realize that this will take time. I feel that the infection put me back a bit but now that the drugs are working I am happy. This has been quite the experience. For most of you out there, when did you start going back to work? I am hoping that I can return next week….at least for most part of the days.
October 3, 2012 at 12:40 pm
Jamie, I returned to work after only 2 weeks, but I was unable to speak and barely had the energy to make it through the day. My general recommendation for returning to work is one month. It really depends on your job, though. If you need to talk to customers, you’ll need to make sure you’re confident in your speech before you dive back into the working world. However, people tend to be quite sympathetic when you say, “I apologize for my speech. I just had DOUBLE-FREAKING-JAW SURGERY.” =)
October 2, 2012 at 11:52 am
This morning I was officially released from my surgeon’s care, 6 weeks after an involved double jaw surgery. No more visits with the surgeon until my braces come off! I can do what I like and eat what I like, with no restrictions. Unfortunately, I still can’t talk, sleep, eat solid food, open my mouth more than finger’s width, or breathe through my right nostril, and I still am numb, swollen, and prone to drooling. Seems my bones are healed, but the rest of me has to catch up…
October 3, 2012 at 4:13 am
That’s good to hear, Jamie! Your recovery is only half over, so your speech and flexibility will come back over the next couple of months.
September 30, 2012 at 9:57 am
Not by my doctors, since my orthodontist won’t let me chew gum with my braces. But I have heard other people say they chewed gum as well. Might be worth talking to your doctor about if it interests you.
September 30, 2012 at 5:35 am
Thank you for that Jamie. One more question, I know Graham mentioned in one of his posts that he was chewing gum to help his chewing improve but is this recommended by doctors?
September 30, 2012 at 12:59 pm
Sam, I’ll admit that chewing gum is not a doctor-prescribed treatment (and, as Jamie mentioned, is against the code of orthodontists), but it’s a surefire way to rebuild the strength in your jaw as quickly as possible. Orthodontists also tell you not to eat popcorn, but honestly, who can go 2–3 years without eating popcorn? =)
September 29, 2012 at 9:19 pm
Hey Sam — I’m 5 weeks and 5 days post surgery, and have been given the ok by my surgeon to start lifting again. I am going to start with low weights and high reps, and was told to be careful not to clench my jaw. I’ve also been biking for a few weeks, which has been a lovely way to get back into being active. * Jamie (Different Jamie from the one who had surgery on 9/14 🙂
September 29, 2012 at 11:17 am
Hey Graham
I’m currently almost 3 months post surgery. I haven’t been to the gym since the surgery and am dying to get back. Just wanted to ask if you think there would be any problems going back to pushing weights.
Thanks
September 30, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Sam, I went back to the gym at about 5 weeks post-op. You can start lifting weights as soon as you have the energy to do so, but make sure you lift light for the first few weeks. Heavy weight puts a lot of stress on your jaw (believe it or not), and you certainly don’t want to pop anything out of place. Good luck!