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.
June 30, 2015 at 3:30 am
I had double jaw surgery a year ago. Upper jaw and lower jaw were both moved forward. I wanted to encourage anyone who is in the recovery process to just be patient. Jaw surgery recovery is a long process and I can remember constantly searching the Internet for months after surgery for answers because I just looked so weird after surgery! I truly thought I’d never look normal again. My lips were extremely swollen initially and then they became invisible, as though I had no lips at all. I was worried it was permanent because it lasted a good 5 to 6 months, luckily everything turned out great. I honestly looked like a who from Dr suess’s whoville for so long, I was devistated. Recovery is the hardest part, give it at least 6 months to a year and trust me you will look great! My nose also looked huge for quite a while, along with my cheeks and whole face really lol. But it all was swelling that seems to last forever and I vividly remember being devistated that I would never look okay again. I want to reassure anyone who is going through jaw surgery that you will look perfectly normal and likely be happy that you had the surgery once the long recovery process is finally over 6 months to a year. Just be patient and try not to stress 🙂
April 28, 2016 at 7:59 am
Omg this is EXACTLY what I am feeling!! I am so thankful you posted this reply!!
February 12, 2017 at 2:28 pm
Hi. My daughter had upper jaw surgery (lefort 1), 5 weeks ago. The swelling is still there and her nostrils seem to havevlateger openings and whoville like u mentioned. Do the nostril openings get any smaller with time?
Thanks!
June 11, 2015 at 1:29 pm
My son just got through his first week of double jaw surgery and even as a surgical ICU nurse I was not fully prepared for this very difficult week. That said I think his tremendous mental strength was very helpful during this time. Being mentally prepared was so important since the first week is difficult. Nose clogged with dried blood,swollen face, getting use to limited breathing, trying to get nutrition in all have been challenging. I think the pain was the least problem if that helps. One thing I really want to pass on and a tool provided by my sons doctor was a Jaw bra and cooling system by BREG called polar care cube. This single tool was so,so effective in keeping the swelling down I would suggest purchasing it even if not provided by the doctor. I went through 3 bags of ice a day but it was constant cool water helping keep the swelling down. I can say after looking at many of the pictures on You Tube I expected the worst swelling but this has been a god sent. Doctor suggested cold for the first week and then warm(not hot) in the polar cube for the next week to promote circulation and healing. If I could only give you one word of wisdom it is this tool is exceptional and that is big praise from a nurse of 35 years. He could keep it on continuously unlike ice packs and it was extremely effective. The next words of wisdom I would say is keep a count on the calories, protein and fluids intake. I tried to get in 2000 cal a day but in the beginning we fell short. I used a Whey protein powder with 280 cal. plus a powdered nutritional supplement all from GNC. I added 1/2 cup liquid egg whites pasturized of course with 1 cup rice milk. Total about 600 cal per 15 oz. This was a great started drink to supply nutrients and calores for the first week when swelling is at its worst. I learned the second day the milk based products caused to much mucous. They were better introduced the second week once swelling is much less. Another tool to invest into is a water pic. It is a must for oral care and hygiene. He was able to use a baby tooth brush with baby toothpaste the second day and even the doctor could not believe the hygiene. He used Saline nose spray before he used his nasal decongested sprays and it helped rid his nose of clots and helped with the breathing. I also had him use neosporine on a Q tip and swab his nose this cuts down on the chance of a staph infection getting in through the nose. He uses the water pick after every shake and then brushes his teeth. For your information his surgery was extensive. My son had his upper jaw moved forward in 3 pieces his pallet was separated and help up with a splint. His bottom jaw moved back, his chin moved forward and all 4 wisdom teeth removed during his 8 hour surgery then wired shut. One week post op he is only slightly swollen taking nutrients and making them himself. He is talking moving his lips and coming along. I can say even as a nurse we had some rough times. The first week this surgery requires someone to be with them constantly. Hope these words of wisdom help for anyone who has gone through this surgery knows it can be difficult.
June 11, 2015 at 6:07 am
First of all, after reading through a lot of these comments, I am amazed at the strength all of you had have! I am not the one going through the surgery, but my sister is going in as I write this. I am going to be there with her around the 10 day mark. I was wondering what was some of the more helpful things people did around you and what were some of the more annoying things. Things I should definitely avoid! I know there is nothing I can do to make it go faster or with less pain, but any insights would be great! Thank you!
June 10, 2015 at 1:01 pm
Hi Miriam,
Thanks very much for getting back to me. Are you happy with the result then? That’s great, good luck with everything, hopefully everything will go well for me
June 9, 2015 at 10:39 pm
Nina
It’s been 3 months since my surgery and I feel pretty much perfect. I went back to college a month after my surgery. A
t the beginning I was still In a little pain, but it decreased over time. Follow your doctor after surgery instructions and you should have a good recovery.
June 8, 2015 at 2:54 am
Hello
After seven very long years of orthodontic appointments, braces and disappointment I have finally been given my surgery date. 24th July and I am absolutely terrified.
The surgeon consultant told me not Google but I couldnt help it and as a result found your blog. Honestly not sure if I feel slightly more reassured or even more terrified than before!
Anyway thanks for posting, the end result for you looks amazing and I’m sure you are over the moon and all of this is just a memory now.
I am moving from Northern Ireland to go to university in Scotland on the 4th September, bearing in mind my surgery is the 24th and I suppose I would like to know how you felt and whether or not you were feeling sociable and energetic around that time of your recovery.
Anyway thanks for writing this, if anything I feel less alone looking at all the comments etcetera
Nina
June 7, 2015 at 11:48 pm
Kasey ,I wouldn’t worry about the nose bleeds unless it’s excessive .I bled from my nose quite often for like 7-10 days .If you’re still experiencing it after that id ask your surgeon .
June 6, 2015 at 10:22 pm
It’s been a little over a year since I had the first of my surgeries to correct my under bite. It’s been a heck of a struggle, but it was definitely worth it. I really mean that it though, I don’t regret it one bit.
I got my first surgery last year around mid February. This surgery was to correct the underbite that I had. My gap was about 13mm, which apparently is really big because every doctor who saw me was surprised. It was a pretty long surgery since they had to break my bottom jaw and move it back, and move my top jaw forward. I found out that, apart from having an underbite, my top jaw didn’t have much bone, so the doctors struggled to piece the top jaw back to my face. They got it done somehow and the surgery was a success. When I woke up, boy was I in pain. I had no energy to move, much less walk around, which was something the nurses kept insisting I do. Eventually I did, because I kinda got tired of laying in that bed for 4 days straight. I didn’t realize how different I looked until my parents brought my brother in and he didn’t recognize me. In fact, he wouldn’t believe my parents when they said it was me. But had it not been for my family and that magic morphine button, I don’t know how I would’ve turned out. I also had the misfortune of running out of morphine one night while I was asleep and the nurses took really long to go and refill it. Definitely one of the worst moments. Before I was let out after 4 days, the doctors showed me the pictures of the surgery and it was awesome. I guess that was just me though, I wanted to see what it is that they did. I was wired shut, so I went home and was on a liquid diet for about 2.5 months, drinking through a syringe. After about a week, I weighed myself. I had lost 25 lbs in that time, so the doctors were telling me to drink more Boost when I was drinking like 6 a day from how hungry I was. I wasn’t really comfortable with going out in public because I was really swollen, but I had to go back to college. I knew I didn’t have much energy, but it really hit me when I had to wake up for a 9:30 class and drive. The recovery was going pretty well, but I hit a snag towards the end. The doctor had me get a cat-scan and it turns out my top jaw didn’t bond and I had to go into surgery to fix that. Right after my semester had finished, I was back in the O.R.
The second surgery was focused on getting the center of my top jaw to bond to the sides. They took some bone from my hip and used that to fix the problem. The surgery was extremely long, the doctors had to cycle out of the room to get something to eat because the surgery had lasted about 12 hours. When I woke up, I was back to where I was a couple months back. Morphine was still my best friend during my stay, but walking was worse this time around because of them using my hip bone as the source. I could barely nudge my leg to the side for the first 2 days, but I managed to walk by pretty much just upper body strength. I wasn’t able to walk for a couple days after going home, so that was a struggle. The scar looked hideous, and still does now. Things were about the same in terms of time. Still wired shut for another 2.5 months, still drinking through a syringe. I think the second surgery was a little easier because I was still used to a liquid diet, but my no means was it easy. I still struggled through frustration every day. I was an athlete and I was pretty active before the first surgery, so not being able to do anything for almost 8 months really hit me hard. It was really frustrating to realize that I was in such a bad condition that I had to drink through a syringe. People in school didn’t recognize me, getting the energy to do schoolwork was tough, I had trouble speaking. It was definitely the toughest period of my life so far. I never really knew the value of chewing until those surgeries.
I knew I still had a couple of surgeries to go, so last week I got one out of the way. I had to get a tooth implant because I was missing a tooth that had to be pulled out. Before getting that implant, I had get a bone graft on the site because there wasn’t enough bone. Here I am now, with two more weeks left on a liquid diet. But I’m getting through it, especially since it’s nowhere near as painful as the other surgeries.
That’s my story so far guys. Anyone who’s had the surgery, congrats. And anyone who’s planning on getting it, be prepared for a struggle. Everyone’s situation will be different, so hopefully you don’t have to go through the things some of us did. Just know that there’s always someone out there for support, and we’ve been through it so it’s possible.
June 6, 2015 at 2:58 am
I am currently on the third day of this surgery and I have been experiencing a lot of bleeding, such as nose bleeds and th fee inside of my mouth. Has anyone else had this problem? Something to worry about or?
May 4, 2015 at 1:10 pm
hi Graham I recently had my double jaw surgery about 7 weeks ago and still have little to no feeling in my chin. I am worried because I have prom on June 25th if I will be able to smile or not??
April 28, 2015 at 9:10 pm
Hang in there Rebecca. I had double jaw surgery in January, and it took awhile for my swelling to completely subside also. Some days would be better than others. I’m about 90 days post surgery now and pretty much look normal now as far as swelling. Sounds like you’re doing really well, glad you found this site, it was helpful to me too! I kept reading daily almost after my surgery, to know if what I had experienced was “normal”. I had mouth ulcers about 2 weeks out, which made things more uncomfortable but they didn’t last too long, thank goodness.
April 28, 2015 at 4:31 pm
HI! So i am 26 days into my recovery.. Just trawling the internet and wanted to ask some advice as i dont know anyone who has had this surgery until i came across this blog.. So i read that most of the swelling should subside by two weeks after surgery but my right side-top and bottom-is still visibly swollen compared to my left side and i have had a red ulcer like lump inside my mouth on the top right which causes some discomfort and doesnt seem to br going. otherwise i have recovered quite well and just wondered if anybody else found their swelling lasted longer than expected?and if it did go down eventually?My surgeon said he was happy when i saw him 2 weeks after surgery but im worried as im thinking allsorts..he didnt take another xray and i keep thinking a plate or something may have moved and i would never know.. Somedays i feel quite anxious about it. X
April 5, 2015 at 1:14 pm
Hi Vanessa, yes, it is normal to still be numb. You should start getting feeling back between 3-6 months. I still had numbness in my cheek before doing the second surgery, the feeling is back now, but the chin still has the in between feeling of numbness and feeling. Don’t stress yourself to much about it, before you know it the feeling will be back and you won’t even know when it actually returned.
Hi Devin, sounds like you are going through a horrible time, horrible being for the lack of a better word. Sounds like you have nerve damage, but to be certain, you should speak to your surgeon about this. Unfortunately this cannot be picked up on x-Rays. But have it checked out, cause that is not normal.
April 5, 2015 at 12:11 am
Its been almost 2 years since my double jaw surgery. Ever since getting it done my bottom lip feels kik its on fire all the time and I cant stand the feeling. It also gets chapped I went to see the doctor and he told me that I have to get the bone plate taken out so I wouldn’t be as tight. I had that done but its still the same or even a bit worse. I cant speak as well and I don’t think I can even pucker my bottom lip. Does anyone know what may be the problem
April 4, 2015 at 4:44 pm
Hi! I just found this blog and I’m hoping everyone on here can give me some advice. I broke my lower jaw & had wiredwires in for 3.5 weeks. I got them out 4 days ago and the surgeon told me to wear bands for 23 hours a day. Being anxious to eat something other than soups and just out of ease, I’ve only been wearing them a few hours a day and all night. My question I have is that the inside of my cheek on the side i had surgery is still numb, is this normal? And will it go away? I have to be careful eating anything as I have bitten my cheek already (just one bite) and I cant really feel if I have food particles between my cheek and my gums. Its only been 4 weeks since my surgery so I was wondering if this numbness will go away? Should I keep exercising my jaw muscles? any advice is greatly appreciated since getting a hold of the surgeon feels impossible unless I have an appointment. Thanks!
March 22, 2015 at 1:48 pm
Okay, so I have had the second surgery done on Friday 20th. The pain is excruciating as all the feeling is there. It would have been heaven if everything went numb like the first surgery. My face has tripled in size again and I have wires sticking out the top and bottom of my gums. Monday I go back to see my surgeon as he will be wiring my mouth shut for 8 weeks. I have been told no jaw movement is allowed as the bone needs to grow back 100% before any movement can take place. This is to prevent the complication I had from coming back. Because the shift was so large, my jaw started growing into my cheeks causing an open bite after the first surgery, now everything is back in place. Back on liquids again. Back to square 1 in the recovery process. The first surgery is a piece of cake compared to the second one. I really hope the time flies by on this one!
February 26, 2015 at 3:05 pm
Hi Chloe – I had my surgery 4 days after you on October 21st. I had upper and lower jaw surgery. I am wondering if you have any numbness in your upper lip / gums. I have tingling sensations on one side and it hasn’t fully come back yet. I thought I would ask you since your Op date was so close to mine. Thanks!! -Jeff
February 26, 2015 at 6:35 am
Hi All, I have past my 3 month mark on Feb 12 after having lower jaw surgery, well to think the recovery was almost over, sadly that is not true. Seen my surgeon today, and now I have to have the surgery done all over again, this time double jaw surgery. This is very depressing 🙁
February 24, 2015 at 2:53 pm
How long before you can go back to work?
January 24, 2015 at 4:17 pm
Hey,
Thank you so much for this blog. I had operation one on Monday and then they didn’t got it all done so I got second one next day morning. It has been now almost a week. I feel good. Can talk a bit, eat yogurt and drink from cup. The problem what I h is that I don’t feel well my thong and any tastes. Is anyone have experience it? My doctors said it’s not so normal actually.