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.

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1740 Comments

  1. Hello!

    I will be getting upper and lower jaw surgery in about a year and a half and I’m freaking out about it.

    I’m very worried that I won’t get all the feeling back in my face (I’ve been told that happens) I’ve been told the younger you get the surgery, the less of a chance that will happen, is that true?. I’m also worried that I won’t like the way my face looks after. And I’m worried about the pain.

    Does anyone have any tips or comments for me?

  2. Hi Graham,
    I am now 7 weeks and 3 days post op.
    I was just wondering if you had a slight pain above your cheek, under your eye? I’ve had it for a few weeks, it only hurts when I touch it / scratch or, etc. Any idea on what this might be??
    Thanks!

  3. Im about two months post op I havent had anything bad happen to me I had double jaw surgery and just started to eat normal foods agian but yesterday my little brother while takin out the trash accidently kind of upper cutted my nose with his arm he was saying he was trying to look at the stars or something my jaw didnt pop and it doesnt feel like anything is off but I am worried cause it did swell a little near the nose should I see the doctor

  4. Hello, my name’s Kealan, I’m a dude, and I live in the wonderful Edmonton Alberta. (You didn’t happen to go to kingsway oral surgery, Graham? Dr. Dobs? :P)

    So, I’m about 2 days past 5 weeks since surgery, double jaw and chin, unlike most of you it would seem that mine was more for an aesthetic choice. I got my bottom and top jaw pulled forward as well as a sliding genioplasty on mah chin.

    I got the surgery because I HATED my profile, like, I had no jawline to speak of, my face pretty much went into my neck, and people made comments about it A LOT, and I had noticed it forever. So, finally sick and tired of not looking “normal” and being unhappy with my face I went to a plastic surgeon, who referred me to an oral surgeon here in Edmonton.

    After I went for my consultation, I found out that I actually had a pretty nasty crossbite that caused a bunch of my teeth to not connect and my whole bite was shifted about one tooth over. I was like “waaaaat” and apparently I also had a narrow airway, so as it turns out I wanted the surgery for purely aesthetic reasons, but discovered I would need it for functionality issues as well.

    Thus began the long journey through orthodontics, braces, and eventually after 2 years and a few months, surgery.

    Now I’m going to skip past the events since surgery to now, but just skim it and say: “liquid diet, never had any numbness in my face nose or anything, just inside my mouth, chin and bottom lip, swelling wasn’t horrible pretty much gone now, liquid diet made me lose a good 20 lbs (went from 170 – 150, which is fine since I’m just shy of 6 ft.) and I’ve been drinking with a straw for weeks.

    So, now 5 weeks and 2 days since surgery I’m JUST starting to get tingles and the itching and burning feeling in my bottom lip, it’s been going on straight for a few days (how long does it take this to turn into normal feeling? lol).

    And now that pretty much all my swelling is gone, I’m extremely disappointed with how the surgery turned out. I mean sure, my crossbite’s fixed, and I won’t have sleep apnea when I’m older but I can’t eat food that I have to chew yet because I still can’t feel most of my teeth, and inside my mouth, so I lose the food inside my mouth and bite my cheeks without noticing. It seems like feeling is going to take forever to return, and worst of all: the MAIN reason I got the surgery, has not been fixed, in my opinion. I asked repeatedly for 2 years if this was going to make a big difference in my profile and give me the defined jawline I wanted, I brought pictures showing what I wanted it to look like, drew diagrams, and I was assured “we wouldn’t be doing the surgery if you wouldn’t get exactly what you want”… Well, sorry to say but since the swelling is practically gone, and the surgery’s over and done with I can say that I definitely did NOT get exactly what I wanted… it maybe changed my profile a little bit, a tad, and mostly just in the chin department, not nearly enough to warrant all the pain, lack of sleep, inability to eat, total numbness, inability to open my mouth, and just annoying complications that came with the first bit of post surgery BS. As well as the ortho stuff, which caused many cavities because brushing and flossing with braces just wasn’t as effective as it used to be. I still don’t have a defined jawline, and I feel like it’s all been a huge waste of time and money (since I went for aesthetic reasons, even though there were medical reasons I needed the surgery we were still charged out of pocket, so there goes like 12 grand, but we are indeed going to fight to get that back as a medical expense, seeing as that’s all that was fixed by the surgery anyway). I’m just extremely unhappy with how the surgery turned out, I didn’t get what I was promised repeatedly, and now I have to live with all this metal in my face and the possibility of permanent numbness in areas for what I consider no reason.

    Sorry for the novel, lol, but I appreciate anyone taking the time to read this, it may seem sort of shallow getting this surgery and complaining for aesthetic reasons, but it’s been psychologically damaging, and has made me super insecure about how I look… It’s pretty much gotten to the point where I point out good jawlines on other guys and I just see them everywhere, and I ask “why don’t I have that”. It really doesn’t help my confidence either.

    lol, again thanks for listening to my experience, and if I have one question it would be, when does the tingling and burning and itching annoyingness turn into actual normal feeling? It’s been 3 days and I’m going mad from how annoying it feels on my lip, lol. Like an itch you can’t scratch all day for multiple days. Thanks! And to everyone else goign through the surgery, hang in there, it’ll probably be worth it for you, even though it wasn’t for me!

  5. i am 15 years old and i just got my surgery date for jaw surgery (august 7) the orthodontist’s have been telling me that i need this surgery since is was 8 years old. im really excited but also very nervous because i feel like the healing process will be different since im so young. this blog has helped me alot since they have hardly told me anything about recovery. thank you!

    • Cassidy, it sounds like your orthodontist is confident that the surgery will help you, so consider this a privilege. You’ll do great and we’ll be here to answer any questions you have during your recovery. =)

  6. Hm… Your timeline is really different from what I underwent even though I got a double jaw surgery for my underbite as well. I’m only at my 2nd week but already I feel like I’m a lot farther? I was able to drink from a cup the 2nd day, while in the hospital since my doc told me to try and so I did and I was able to.

    It’s kind of weird… I feel completely normal (full energy and everything) besides the fact that my teeth are still bound together. Yawning and laughing are still a pain but I can talk pretty normally. My face hasn’t been numb for at least a week now yet I feel no pain. I am still slightly swollen and have bruising on my jaw (which kind of spread to my neck).

    It’s just a bit odd for me to see that my recovery is so different from your timeline (and a few others that I’ve read about).

    I wrote a bit about my liquids-only diet if you or other readers would like to take a look: http://bit.ly/1iWwbgl We can all sympathize… and for those of you who haven’t undergone the surgery, here are some food ideas that don’t involve powders.

    • Jocelyn, over the past few years, I’ve learned that my recovery was certainly on the slow side. I’m not entirely sure why, but I suppose it’s more encouraging to see that you’re recovering more rapidly than me instead of more slowly, right? Thanks for the link to your blog as well! =)

  7. Hi, I had double jaw surgery in December and I’m doing fine. I’m healed. I have a small problem that I didn’t tell anyone about cause I thought it was normal. I think my left cheek is still a bit numb. Like on the outside it’s fine, but if I bite down a little on my cheek it’s a bit tingly. I don’t know if this makes sense. My right cheek is fine , but the left cheek feels a bit numb. I know it could still be healing , but I just want to make sure. If you could tell me if this is normal, or if I should tell my doctor, that would be great.

    Thank you

    • Stephanie, most feeling has usually returned at 6-7 months out from surgery. If parts of your cheek are still numb, it’s possible your nerves in those areas are permanently damaged. That being said, I’ve also spoke with people who have had feeling return up to 2 years later, so it’s difficult to draw any conclusions. I’m currently at 4 years post-op and still have numb areas in parts of my lips and chin, but I actually don’t even notice them anymore. If you’d like a professional opinion on the matter, I would bring it up with your doctor/surgeon next time you see them. =)

  8. Rabeena Bashir

    July 2, 2014 at 8:56 am

    Hi Graham

    First of all what an amazing thing you are doing here. I am day 12 of lower jaw surgery and everything has been going as planned. The only nightmare I am having is this constant pain in my chin. Its like someone is stabbing me 247. Ive looked it up on the internet and ive learned its due to nerve damage. My lower lip and chin are numb and I get fluffy, tingling sensation at times which don’t bother me as much as this stabbing pain. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if it does go away.

    Thanks in advance

    • Rebeena, I believe you are correct in diagnosing your “stabbing pains” as being related to nerves waking back up after being bruised during surgery. The only thing I found that calmed them down was to lay with a hot pack on my face 2–3 times each day. If you’re having trouble sleeping, a hot pack before bed can help with that as well. I hope your nerves calm down soon! =)

  9. Hey Graham,

    I stumbled across your blog about a month ago, and have just recently had lower jaw surgery on June 16, 2014. The original plan was to have a duel jaw surgery, including double upper/lower jaw surgery and a genioplasty, but I guess I lucked out! A week before surgery though, my surgeon gave me a lookover and opted that I would be able to choose having only lower jaw surgery.

    I haven’t had to struggle with quite the difficulties you’ve had. For instance, on day 2 I was able to start successfully drinking from a cup without even spilling! Obviously though, the biggest problem for me is food. I’ve been trying everything from pureeing spaghetti/mac n cheese, to fruit smoothies and the like. They all taste good, however I am tortured by the seemingly endless showcases of food in all things. I watch tv, and what do I see? FOOD! Walking down the street? More FOOD! I was just wondering how you kept yourself mentally sane, as I’m only 2 weeks post-op and I’m struggling with having a liquid diet that is probably going to last a couple more weeks.

    HELP! S.O.S

    Sincerely,
    Nick

    • Nick, consider this a lesson in both patience and filtering the media you take in, haha. As you mentioned, a huge number of advertisements and conversations are based around food, but if you can accept the fact that you will be eating normally again within the next month or so, you should be okay. Good luck and consider this a lesson in truly appreciating our easy access to delicious things. =)

  10. It has been 1 week since my jaw surgery. It was a 8 hour surgery with 4 surgeries such as la forte, BSSO, chin, and 2 wisdom teeth. I still feel tingling all over my cheeks and lips and still numb but not as numb. My elastics broke, what should I do? How long do you think it will take to regain feeling? I feel pressure like teething. I still get on and off temperature changes. How do I make this heal quicker? Any tips.

    • Leila, welcome to recovery! I would call your surgeon and ask for more elastics, since it is important for them to be holding your jaws in place at this point. As for regaining feeling, that can honestly happen anywhere between 2 weeks and 6 months, but you should begin to feel some sensation in your face within the next couple of weeks. The only way to speed up the recovery is to eat lots of healthy food, get outside for walks, and sleep an appropriate amount. Providing your body with energy and rest will do wonders for you. =)

  11. It’s been interesting reading everyone’s comments. I found this because I was searching to see how long the numbness in my gums would last, because like many others, I find that it feels so weird to chew, and I’m apprehensive to put any pressure on my gums and jaws. I attempted double jaw surgery in February. They started on the lower left jaw, and when they went to do the lower right jaw, it fractured/buckled. They had to put me back together and send me home to recover. It felt like a long time, and I couldn’t wait to go back to my normal diet. I finally had a successful double jaw surgery on May 19, six weeks ago today. There were many similarities but many differences between the two surgery experiences. As my surgeon said, even in the same person, the surgical experience can be very different. The first time around I was given the go-ahead to eat soft foods at two weeks. I’m being seen by the Navy, and the actual surgeon was the one who gave the green light. The second time, I’ve seen an assistant along with the actual surgeon, and the assistant told me all liquid for six weeks. When I mentioned that I was able to eat soft foods at two weeks the first time, he kind of agreed that I could do really soft foods.

    After the successful surgery, I expected my face to be numb, but amazingly, I had only the exact same numbness in the lower left jaw/chin/lip area that I had the first time. It was almost back to normal by the time the second surgery came around, so it was like starting all over again with that numbness. I’m hoping to regain full feeling. I’m still worried about my gums feeling normal again, but I guess it will happen. Just like Graham said, it does go by quickly, and you adjust. I felt like this six weeks went by so much faster than the first time around; however, I don’t really feel like I’m ready for a complete, full-chew diet quite yet, and I think that is because of the gums. I’ve also been worried about scar tissue, as I felt it made my face look lumpy and older. I’m 46, BTW. I’ve been working more on massaging this time, and I’ll be practicing the whistling! Maybe I’ll actually be able to whistle when I’m done, since it wasn’t something I was good at before! Oh, and I wanted to mention (since this really bothered me the first time) by the second time around, I had learned to use Vaseline to really help my lips with the peeling, cracking, and burning feeling. Hope this helps others who have suffered through this very annoying part of the surgery.

    Another thing that I wanted to point out that is important to the healing process is your diet. While I follow the paleo/primal diet, I know it’s not for everyone. This can make eating even more difficult since I have limited options, and it’s a heavy meat-based diet. I do wonder if it is what has helped me to recover so quickly though. Diet aside, everyone can benefit from a good bone broth. Look up how to make it, and try to get it into your diet. Add some good grass-fed gelatin to it too. The collagen in it is so helpful for healing! Also, limit sugar if you can. Hope this helps someone out there, and I appreciated being able to read what others have been experiencing.

    • Donna, I’ve often wondered how much a person’s diet impacts their rate of healing. I would imagine feeding your body a healthy amount of protein would speed up the recovery process simply because your body to repair nerves, muscle, and bone much more quickly with it. It sounds like you’re on a good path with regards to your recovery, so stay positive and enjoy your results. Also, thanks for sharing your tips!

  12. Hi Graham, I’m just echoing what everyone else has said but I truly appreciate you and this blog. I reference it almost everyday.

    I’m at day 28 post double jaw surgery and I’d have to say that it has been mostly a mental and emotional struggle for me. I love my solid foods and miss eating with my family (I’m a mom of a 5 year old and married). Its been so isolating and lonely. It’s so difficult to be an effective parent and spouse during this recovery period!!! You know how you say that your recovery is more worst case scenario? Well I just found out that I have to keep my splint in for 3 whole months! It was devastating to hear since everyone else seems to get it removed around 7 weeks. My surgeon has yet to un band me to clean the inside of my mouth. Any advice to keep me sane? Really need it right now. Thanks again.

    • Chet, you need your splint in for 3 entire months? Yikes! The good news is that your speech will still return over the next few weeks and your swelling will still go down accordingly, so it’s more of an inconvenience than a delayed recovery. I encourage you to start hanging out with friends and family again, especially once you can communicate in understandable fashion. You might find that the people in your life are much more forgiving than anticipated. Best of luck and I hope the time flies by! =)

  13. My daughter, 18 years old was advised to have double jaw surgery by her orthodontist. We are in the process of looking for an experienced Surgeon. Any suggestions in the NY, NJ area. She has under bite problem, maybe 1/8″. Do you think that lower jaw surgery is sufficient. When is it necessary to have double jaw surgery? Thank you in advance

    • Saul, it’s best to have a consultation with an actual oral surgeon to determine if the surgery is necessary. As for finding a surgeon in the NY/NJ area, does the orthodontist have any recommendations? I found my surgeon by way of my orthodontist. =)

  14. Hi I’m Kailyn and I’m fourteen years old. My jaw hasn’t grown as much as its supposed to leaving me with about an inch of an overbite(?). Usually the orthodontist would put on an appliance that will gradually move my jaw forward and take about three years. That’s what we were planning to do. However while looking at a mould of my teeth the orthodontist discovered I also have curved back teeth and if we did what we planned I wouldn’t be able to eat solid foods for three years. The problem is the insurance agency won’t pay for it and its twenty thousand dollars. If I don’t get the surgery then by the age of twenty it is estimated I won’t be able to eat or talk properly. Any ideas how to get the insurance agency to pay for it. (P.S. remember I’m fourteen I might have gotten bits of this information wrong)

    • Hi Kailyn,

      First off, props to you for researching all of this. That’s a good first step.

      By the sounds of your situation, I’m guessing you live in the US. Generally, insurance companies will only cover this surgery if you’re able to prove it is “medically necessary,” which more or less means it will be cheaper to fix the problem now versus requiring additional surgeries to fix it later in life. In other words, if you can get both your orthodontist and an oral surgeon to give you papers explaining what the future complications from not having the operation will be, you may be able to provide those documents to your insurance company and plead your case.

      I hope this helps you and your parents. Let me know what you find out! =)

  15. I just had lower jaw surgery June 4th. The first three days were really rough but it has gotten so much easier. I have splint but no bands. Still very hard to eat and I am so sick of soups and smoothies. I know this is a short term problem though so I try to remain positive. Starting to use a spoon which is unbelievably hard!! I agree taking walks and getting fresh air is really important for the whole healing process. I do believe that I am doing this well due to this website so I want to thank you so much Graham!! Four more weeks with the splint. My only concern is how hard it is to open my mouth wide, any suggestions or advice? Should I be worried?

    • Susan, props to you for recognizing that this discomfort is temporary. Your mouth may be tight for up to 3 months, so there’s no need to worry just yet. The movement in your jaws will return once you’re able to start eating solid food and speaking often again. Stay positive, my friend!

  16. Wow! Thank you all for the questions n responses. My 16 year old is scheduled for lower jaw surgery 6-18-14. I will make sure she read this very useful, Informational blog. I am somewhat nervous n I’m sure she is too – but she is trying to b brave. I’m sure we will b checkin n soon. Thanks again

    • Beverly, surgery in 3 days, fun! Let me know if any questions come up. Make sure she gets out for walks in the fresh air each day and try to keep her hydrated and fed so her body has enough energy to heal. Fruit smoothies, blended soups, yogurt, juice, and water are great foods during those initial few days. =)

  17. This information is great. I had both of my jaws done three days ago. Just one question? .. What did you do about your nose as the blood hardens in there?

    • Islandboii, as frustrating as it is to have dried blood in your nose, it’s best to simply leave it for the first few weeks. Try to breathe through your mouth as best you can. Whatever the case, do not blow your nose as it can shift your jaw around unnecessarily.

  18. caroline darcy

    June 5, 2014 at 8:25 pm

    Have an overbite.and gummy smile so grtting double jaw surgery. My surgeon said the nose may become wider,will i need further surgery to correct thid?i have asked another surgeon who ssid he doesnt see it being an issue…so confused

    • Caroline, when the surgeon moves your jaw around, they sometimes must shave your septum to make sure your nose still fits on your face properly. You shouldn’t need any follow-up operations. Despite the shape of your nose being minutely different, it should not even be noticeable to anyone but yourself, and you will get used to it as you recover. So no need to worry. =)

  19. Hey Graham. I went to see the surgeon yesterday, he gave me antibiotics incase I might have an infection and he did not want to take any chances, he also gave me the clearance to travel so I am really happy about that!!! Thanks once again for answering to the posts!

  20. Hey Graham, Thank you for taking your time to respond to this blog, it is much appreciated!, That makes me feel a lot better, The swelling sort of went down since yesterday but I still look like Quagmire from Family Guy. Sorry to disturb you with more questions but I plan on traveling to Europe at the end of June and I had my surgery on May 26th, do you think I will be able to? and do you have any suggestions or tips to help reduce the swelling?. Thank you once again for taking the time to respond Graham!

    • Raj, I can’t really speak to boarding an airplane at one month post-op. I think you’ll be okay, but you should confirm with your surgeon that the pressure on the aircraft will not upset your jaw, since the bone will not yet be fully healed. If they give you the go-ahead, you should be good to go. =)

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