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.
April 2, 2014 at 4:45 pm
Kellee, I know your comment wasn’t to me, but since there’s a huge pollen count in Boston now and I can barely breathe through my nose as it is, my mom has quarantined me inside. And it’s easier to just follow what she says than complain, since talking isn’t fantastic right now. I would 100% agree with you that this operation is more mental than physical. I’ve had numerous surgeries in the past for bone tumors (all on my extremities) and I have to say that those, in retrospect, seem like a piece of cake. I’d rather wheel around in a wheelchair, hobble on crutches, or use a walker for a recovery period than this. Even though the build-up to the surgery is annoying- I had braces for 10-11 months (not to mention previous orthodontic treatment in the past- I’m 25)- it does give you time to really accept what’s happening. I think I would be much worse off if this was sort of an emergency thing. I think one of the keys though is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a long tunnel right now, but definitely there. Obviously my procedure was a bit different than yours (upper jaw, wisdom teeth, a bunch of nose stuff) but I’m only a couple days behind you in recovery time. Feel free to contact me if you want.
April 2, 2014 at 2:46 pm
Hi Graham,
I had double jaw surgery and genioplasty 10 days ago, I left hospital on day 4, before I left they put a couple elastics on to guide my teeth into my splint, after day 7 I was managing soft foods such as mash potato and porridge, not very exciting but 100% better than the liquid drinks, I had my check up with the surgeon today and he has fixed my jaws together with elastics into the splint for a week to get my bite perfect, I find that with these elastics I struggle to breathe comfortably and obviously I’m back on the liquid drinks, it feels as if a step back and I’m feeling down and sorry for myself, I know it’s only for a week but I was starting to feel myself again, were your jaws fixed together and if so how did you cope? I Also find this operation more mentally challenging than physically, got to be strong minded.
April 3, 2014 at 9:38 am
Kellee, it sounds like Maria offered some reassurance for you. When my teeth were banded together, I simply tried my best to enjoy the downtime by watching movies I’ve wanted to see in a while, reading, and appreciating the smoothies and blended soups I could still drink. I know it’s frustrating, especially when it feels like backward progress, but remember what Maria said: there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you’ll be back to your usual, chipper self soon! =)
April 2, 2014 at 1:21 pm
Just reread what I wrote and realized I got slightly off track. So the point of bringing up previous surgeries I’ve had was that I get nausea with anesthesia and typically get sick afterwards. This was the first time they’ve used the right meds so I haven’t gotten sick.
April 2, 2014 at 1:04 pm
Hi Graham,
Just wanted to say a quick thank you for this blog. I had surgery on Friday (March 28th). Mine was a bit easier than yours. I had my upper jaw moved forward and tilted a bit, wisdom teeth out, septoplasty, and turbinectomy. I knew when I went for my initial consult with the surgeon that I’d need the jaw and wisdom teeth. When I went back to go over what he wanted to do as a plan, he threw on the other two. My problem list was a LOT longer than I thought! But, it made sense, since he even pointed out times when my breathing was altered just when we were sitting there, and that the two other procedures would help that. Anyway, I was very comfortable with the surgeon from the beginning. He was who my orthodontist always uses, and a friend of mine had double jaw surgery and wisdom teeth out by him about 10 years ago and said she would absolutely do it again.
So my surgery (after about 11 months of braces) was scheduled for March 28th at 2 pm. It didn’t actually start until around 2:30, and the surgeon said it would be a 3-4 hour procedure. I was in recovery by 5:30, then in a regular room around 7.
One thing my surgeon was very good at was making sure I had plenty of anti-nausea medication, including a patch behind my ear before I went in for surgery. I’ve had multiple bone surgeries before (the reason I didn’t have this done when I was a bit younger- it wasn’t an absolute certainty that I’d have difficulty with function/pain, so we tried to avoid it- didn’t work though!). Anyway, my surgeon had stressed that getting out of the hospital was basically linked to how much fluid I was in-taking, so once I got up to the room I started drinking water from a cup. The nurse later gave me a medicine cup to drink from that made it even easier. I was lucky in that I didn’t need a splint, just had some elastics in. My oral surgeon also decided to move my jaw forward a little bit more to give my ortho more room to work when I can eventually go back to him. I look like I had buckteeth right now, but it did help in letting me fit a spoon between my teeth for jello and soup.
I absolutely agree that walking as soon as you can is good for you. Yes, I got nosebleeds and would walk around my hospital room and hallway clutching my box of tissues, but when my surgeon came in to do his rounds at 6AM on the 29th, he saw me yanking the IV pole plug out of the wall so I could walk to the bathroom. I think that was one of the major things too that made him decide I could go home later that day- that I was up and active.
Swelling was tough and very uncomfortable the first few days. Now it’s subsided to more my upper lip and cheeks, my head isn’t quite the size of a basketball anymore. Maybe a football now! (English football or American football-either way still kind of odd-shaped!).
Talking is tough. I kind of mumble, the more I try to enunciate I can feel a bit of a strain.
Brushing is tough, and I have no idea how the holes where my wisdom teeth were are faring. I’m hoping the rinses I do handle that adequately.
I also absolutely agree about staying with somebody for a little bit. Initially I was only planning on staying at my parents until Monday, Tuesday at the latest. Today’s Wednesday and I’m still here. I go for my first follow-up on Friday (I get seen 1x/week for the first month), and if he says everything is healing well then I may go back to my condo after that. But you will be weaker and lazier when you get out of the hospital, and it just helps having somebody to help you with things. There are so many things I though of and read on here that I realized I needed when I got home, and otherwise wouldn’t have had any way to get them. Also, my parents have two dogs, whose first reaction to me is always to go to the cookie jar and not stare at my face wondering what happened. So it can be good for self esteem too. 😉
So much more than I intended to write. Thanks for sharing your story- definitely makes recovery and the whole process a bit easier! 🙂
April 3, 2014 at 10:16 am
Hi Maria,
I think you’ve succeeded in writing the longest comment to date! It sounds like you were eager to get out of the hospital, what with taking your IV for walks. I had a friend in the hospital once who was talking about his new girlfriend, “Ivy,” and it took me a moment to catch the joke.
It’s good to hear that nausea didn’t plague you this time around. Hopefully any surgeons you work with in the future will listen when you tell them which type of medication has worked for you in the past.
Stay positive and you’ll be back in action soon!
April 1, 2014 at 6:46 pm
Thank you for your earlier response I am now curious how long should it take before I am able to fully open my mouth wide again? I had two surgeries (3 weeks ago from this weekend). I had to have the second one because it restricted the amount I could open my mouth so they took out a screw and it aloud me to open it a bit more and I thought it must be good now but, almost 3 weeks later from the second surgery I am still only able to open mouth the same amount. I feel all my facial muscles healing slowly but surely and I chew light food and am always talking but I still can’t open my mouth any wider than the day I left the hospital. I feel as if the screw is restricting me from being able to open my mouth any wider and won’t change. I will see my surgeon tomorrow but if it turns out I need a third surgery should I reconsider surgeons? Also would it be bad to undergo anesthesia 3 times within such a short period.
April 2, 2014 at 9:47 am
Jesse, I’ll humbly admit that I can’t really provide answers for any of your questions at this point. I never underwent a second surgery myself, but I would guess you should be able to open your mouth at the same rate as the initial operation (ie. it’ll take a few months to get back to normal). As for anesthesia, you’ll have to ask your surgeon or a family doctor about that one. As a note, I haven’t met anyone who required a third surgery, so if that turns out to be the case, you may want to ask your surgeon if they’ve had to perform this many operations on anyone before. It sounds like you’ve had a bit of bad luck with this surgery, which is unfortunate to hear, but I think you’ll still heal up just as well as the rest of us once all is said and done. =)
March 31, 2014 at 9:14 am
Is it normal to feel the screw from the surgery? I feel a screw almost slightly poking out from underneath my ear . Is this normal?
March 31, 2014 at 10:52 am
Jesse, I’ve encountered a few people who said they could feel one of their screws, though I never experienced this myself. If it alters your appearance or causes you pain, you may want to ask your surgeon about it. However, if it doesn’t bother you in terms of appearance or pain, it’s likely nothing to worry about. =)
March 31, 2014 at 12:46 am
Thanks for the quick reply Graham!
Yes, I have informed my teachers about my absence and they are going to send me any work I miss, I was just interested in how long you thought I would be off.
Another, stupid, yet important question, how long is your talking limited for? Is it painful to start speaking? How long was it until you could fully, talk ‘normally’ again? Thanks for all the help 🙂
March 31, 2014 at 10:47 am
Jemima, that’s not a “stupid” question at all—quite important! I returned to work after two weeks but wasn’t able to speak at all. My speech was back in broken fashion by the end of the first month and I was speaking clearly after a full two months. In other words, you’ll be able to communicate when you return to school after four weeks, but your speech won’t be perfectly clear for another month following that. Hope this helps!
March 29, 2014 at 10:09 pm
I’m almost onto week 4. I’m sitting here watching tv and below my bottom lip was like twitching like normal like it does every now n then. Then out of nowhere feel like pins and needles no pain but my right side below my lip on my chin is now numb. Is this normal. Am I getting feeling back? I haven’t felt numb for about a week or so.
March 30, 2014 at 9:30 pm
Jon, this is perfectly normal as your nerves being to wake up. You’ll likely experience quite a bit of random twitching and pins and needles over the next few weeks, so no need to worry about it. =)
March 29, 2014 at 9:17 pm
Hi Graham,
In two weeks i will undergo double jaw surgery to correct my underbite. My surgeon tells me I will be out of action for at least a good 3 weeks, and my orthodontist says 4-5. I am currently doing my final year of school, any ideas on how long I will be out of action, and do you think ill be up to going to school?
Loving this blog, it’s calming lots of my nerves about the surgery! Thanks! 🙂
March 30, 2014 at 9:22 pm
Jemima, if you’re in school, I would give yourself 4 weeks before returning. After 3 weeks, you will still be extremely swollen and unable to speak clearly. Is it possible to have your parents gather your homework during your time off so you can catch up while recovering at home?
March 28, 2014 at 9:04 am
Has anyone experienced being dizzy. Ever since the surgery I get dizzy when looking up or laying back in the ortho chair etc. I think it may have to do with my ears because they are close to joint and surgery area. Thoughts?
March 28, 2014 at 9:36 am
Terri, I cannot relate myself, but your theory regarding your ears sounds plausible. I can’t remember how long it’s been since your surgery. If you’re still in the first 6 weeks, I wouldn’t worry too much about it, but if you’re past that, you might want to call and ask your surgeon if they have any thoughts on the matter.
March 28, 2014 at 9:00 am
Hi
This goes back to Heather. I had this upper jaw surgery done 20 years ago and I had swelling in the checkbone area I think close to a year, but I had to have my metal plates removed because they thought they were causing my eye infection but what really happened was they broke my tear duct canel. Back to the point my swelling probably lasted a year because of other surgeries. Now that this is my second time having this surgery and I am at 14 weeks I am not surprised that I still have puffiness. I all along have anticipated 6 months. I think you will notice it is worse when you wake up. Hang in there.
March 27, 2014 at 11:26 am
Graham, it’s awesome that you’re still responding to posts. Great to see the positive feedback to all. I’m just beginning my process, just started with braces, so I have a ways to go. I’m curious how you’re doing now, if you still experience any numbness or any other side effects at all from your surgery?
March 28, 2014 at 9:33 am
Donna, I’ve been left with a few small permanently numb patch in my lower lip and chin, but they don’t bother me even in the slightest. The only time I really notice is when people ask about them, to be honest. All things considered, I’m extremely happy I had this operation.
March 26, 2014 at 6:01 pm
So for me it has been three months and a week or two. I feel great! 😀 Yet, my chin is very big compared to the rest of my face. I feel as if it has a lot of fat on it. Will this go away? I know you said it will take 6 months for possibly the full recovery, but I am still concerned. An answer would be very much appreciated :)Oh, also there are bones sticking out of the sides of my face. Will this recover too?
March 27, 2014 at 11:08 am
Powell, at this point in your recovery, you should be nearly back to normal with the exception of a bit of swelling. If your chin is uncomfortably large, I think that may be more related to you not being used to its new shape than the literal size of it. Try asking a few trusted friends if they think it’s disproportional to the rest of your face. I found, during my recovery, that I was my own worst critic and was exaggerating the size of my nose, cheeks, and chin when looking in the mirror. As for bones sticking out the side of your face, I cannot quite understand what you mean, but if you’re referring to your cheek bones, this could be the same thing. My only advice is to ask a few friends for their honest opinion. I’m sure you look much more proportional than you think you do. =)
March 21, 2014 at 10:22 pm
I asked my surgeon about my eyes and he said that this may be a side affect of nerve damage from the operations when he had to stretch the mussel tissue more. I just can’t find any other people who have encounter this problem. My left side of face is still all numb sense it’s only been a week sense the first surgery. When I try to close my left eye it automatically forces my right eye lid to shut because of how weak the left side of my face is still. Hopefully my eye site will be back to normal after my full facial features on left side come back. My Surgeon said he has seen cases where it has take up to 6 months but I’m sure this was just his way of trying to get me not to worry until half a year.
March 22, 2014 at 12:15 pm
Jesse, my surgeon also told me to be patient for a full 6 months before fretting about my open bite, and luckily enough, my bite closed within that time. It’s unfortunate to hear about the current damage to your sight, but as frustrating as this may be to hear, I would try to be patient with it and see if things return to normal. Nerves are sensitive things and sometimes it simply takes an uncomfortable amount of time for them to repair themselves. I’d be interested to hear if your sight returns to normal over the next few months. I’ll be sending positive thoughts your way. =)
March 21, 2014 at 8:47 am
Hi again Graham,
I read through your whole blog today and thought I’d say thank you for your insight! It’s really helped me look forward to the future. I’ve had braces for a little over 3 years and am hoping to not go through as much after work like you did, but i definitely feel your pain! Did you have any solutions for the inside of your mouth being destroyed by brace work and what not? I am 3 weeks post op and the inside of my mouth is terribly painful. If you have any solutions It’d be appreciated.
Thank you,
Jolynn
March 21, 2014 at 9:08 am
Jolynn, while having somewhat torn gums as a result of braces and surgery is frustrating, there’s not much you can do about it. Drinking cold or hot liquids may help sooth your mouth a little bit, but it’s really a waiting game. Make sure you’re gurgling/swishing warm salt water around each morning and night to keep your mouth as sterile as possible, as this will speed up the healing. In just a few more weeks, you will be in much better shape, I assure you! =)
March 20, 2014 at 9:04 am
Have anyone experienced severe eye sensitivity to light after jaw surgery? As soon as I come into contact with real light my eyes start to close automatically. I was actually pulled into this blog because of the title “double jaw surgery” because I actually had to have a second surgery the day after the original one because one of the screws they put in was too long. The only thing I can think f is that maybe the surgery lights damaged my eyes but obviously did not blind me. I just can’t drive without sun glasses at all during the day. Has anyone experienced this or something similar? If so how long did it take for your eyes to get back to normal?
March 20, 2014 at 10:24 am
Jesse, I haven’t yet encountered anyone who experienced sensitivity to light following the surgery. I can’t imagine hospitals would use operating room lights that could damage a patient’s eyes. I would definitely give your surgeon a call and ask if they’ve ever had anyone mention it before. My only other thought is that it could be a reaction to a medication you’re on as a result of the surgery. Let me know what you find out—I’m quite curious now!
March 18, 2014 at 10:44 am
Hi everyone I had double jaw surgery exactly 1 week and 1 day. I was wondering did anyone’s else nose get crooked not literally but mines is a little to the left side and it’s really concerning me. I still feel numb on the left side of my nose and eyelid is that weird? Also my surgeon didn’t wire my jaw shut or put rubber bands in should I be aware? I was also wondering if you guys had any recipes you can email me at maria.ulloa22@hotmail.com like meal recipes smoothies etc? Cause honestly I’m really clueless and I feel like I’m not getting enough protein etc. also how long did you guys last drooling? Btw this page is seriously amazing I’m so glad I found it!
March 19, 2014 at 8:24 am
Hi Maria,
Welcome to your second week of recovery! To answer your questions:
1) My nose looked crooked at first as well, but it was largely due to the swelling. Try not to pass any judgements on your appearance until at least 6 weeks have gone by.
2) Feeling numb anywhere on your face is perfectly normal for the first month or so.
3) If your jaws are not wired or banded shut, that’s okay. Just be careful not to open your mouth too wide until it is comfortable to do so.
4) The only smoothie I ever ate was a delicious peanut butter and honey one. You can find the recipe here.
5) You’ll likely be drooling for 2–3 weeks, but it should stop after that.
Stay strong and remember to get outside for a walk in the fresh air every single day! =)
March 17, 2014 at 9:02 pm
Hi Heather! I had my surgery on December 19th! I’m still swelling too and my doctor did say that it takes about 5-6 months for the swelling to go away completely.
March 17, 2014 at 9:47 am
Hello everyone. I had orthognathic surgery December 12th. I just hit the three month mark about a week ago and I still have swelling. Every time I talk to my oral surgeon he keepa telling me it’s normal. However before surgery he said swelling would peak five days after and then slowly decrease. After surgery was when he started mentioning months. He said the biggest changes would happen two months after and then be gone by the third month. The swelling I have left is to the sides of my nose and under my eyes. I’m really wanting it to just be gone and I’m so upset by him and everything that I’ve started seeing a counselor. Did anyone still have swelling at the start of your fourth month after surgery? I understand I’m feeling a bit sensitive on this issue, but if all you can offer me is “your body just needs to heal” please either rephrase or say something else constructive. I’ve long since worn out my patience for hearing this comment. Thank you for reading and I hope everyone’s recovery goes smoother than mine has been.
March 18, 2014 at 8:14 am
Hi Heather,
To reassure you a bit, I thought I would be back to normal at exactly 90 days as well, but I had friends continually tell me I still looked swollen. Looking back at photos, I realize my swelling didn’t completely dissipate until just after the fourth month, though it was barely noticeable for about a week before that.
Swelling can only be maintained if there is injury or infection present, so if you’re pain-free, then you have nothing to worry about. You should be back to your regular life at this point and the residual swelling, while frustrating, will make itself scarce during this next month.
As an exercise to help, try whistling several times each day for the next little while. This will break up the remaining scar tissue in your face and provide you with a bit more comfort.
All the best!
March 12, 2014 at 12:34 pm
Hi Graham,
I had double jaw surgery to correct my underbite exactly 2 weeks ago. I was wondering if you or anyone had recipes or ideas for soft foods for me to eat. I’ve ate tons of soup, jello and milkshakes but it gets a little tiring to have the same stuff day after day. Also I was wondering if anyone has experienced getting pimple like things around the edges of their lips. I’m not prone to acne and think it might be the lip stuff they prescribed me but I’m not sure. Thank you!
March 13, 2014 at 9:09 am
Jolynn, the only things I “ate” (but moreso drank) during the initial few weeks were smoothies, meal supplements, and light soups. If you’re able to open your mouth wide enough to drink from a cup, you can pretty much blend anything your heart desires. I found the Magic Bullet blender worked best for this. As long as you can stomach the texture, nothing is off limits. The moment you’re able to chew again, pasta will be your best friend. =)