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 20, 2011 at 7:52 am
Well I made it to day 3! And I have to say…its been ok so far. Am home from hospital today. The nurses in the hospital were great, but its good to be home to recover. Slowly adjusting to life with food through a syringe!
October 18, 2011 at 8:09 pm
Hey Graham,
Thanks for the reply. I am recovering quickly (thankfully), I don’t know what I would have done if I was on a full liquid diet for 7 weeks like you were! Haha I barely managed to get through my 3 weeks.
– Pete
October 18, 2011 at 7:08 pm
Hi Pete!
Speaking will absolutely be difficult at 3 weeks post-op. You’ll probably be able to speak clearly again at around the 6-week mark. Now that your rubber bands have been removed, your ability to talk properly will come back at a quicker rate than it has been, though.
As for opening my mouth wide again, that all depends on how much you’re talking and what kind of food you’re eating. I wasn’t able to open my mouth wide until around 3 months post-op, but I also had my bands on for quite a bit longer than you. I’d estimate you’ll be able to open your mouth fairly wide within a month from now.
Sounds like you’re recovering really quickly. Cheers!
October 18, 2011 at 6:53 pm
Hey Graham,
I’m 3 weeks post-op from double jaw surgery and just got rubber bands off. Is it normal for speaking to be kind of difficult at first? I feel like I’m trying to talk with retainers on. Also how long did it take you to rehabilitate your mouth to open wide? Thanks for the information, and your website is such a useful tool for prospective and current patients!
-Pete
October 17, 2011 at 3:40 pm
Hi Sammy! Surgery tomorrow, eh? You must be nervous! (And I can assure you that’s a completely normal feeling.)
Let us know how you’re doing as soon as you’re home from the hospital.
Cheers!
October 17, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Hi All
I’m having upper and lower jaw surgery tmw…arrgghhh, freaking out a little now. :s
Weird, I’ve been so calm about it until now! Anyway wanted to say that I’ve found this site so helpful, and will be refering to it daily when I’m out of hospital! Thank you to everyone who has shared their experience, and no doubt you’ll be hearing mine very soon x
October 10, 2011 at 8:38 pm
Your lips will absolutely close again! The reason everything feels disjointed and out of place at the moment is solely due to swelling. Once that subsides, your face will return to its beautiful, proportional state. =)
October 8, 2011 at 5:17 am
Thanks Graham,
They said i might need the op because i cant close my lips fully yet and my bite is still not right. So wareing elastics at the moment. Will my lips eventually close, is it because everything is still feels tight?
I’m really not keen on having another Op.
October 7, 2011 at 11:32 am
Hi EmJ!
It is very normal for you to still be drooling and lacking feeling at the 2-week mark. I had to wipe my mouth with a paper towel every time I took a drink at that point in time because I couldn’t actually tell if there was any liquid on my lips.
Think long and hard about a second surgery. Another operation will be higher risk than the first. Recover from this one first and then weigh out the pros and cons of a second operation over the course of a few months.
Hope your feeling returns soon!
October 7, 2011 at 10:48 am
Hi All,
I am now just over 2 weeks post double jaw surgery.
Started to get feeling back in my top lip etc but not my bottom lip & i’m still drooling & can’t close my lips together
Is this normal? The corner of my mouth feels really tight.
Also ther is a chance I might have to go back for surgery to move my top jaw forward again.
October 3, 2011 at 11:24 am
I experienced the exact same thing when I received the go-ahead to start eating soft foods again.
I had to start by simply mashing overcooked vegetables between my tongue and the roof of my mouth. I wasn’t able to chew anything when I first had the splint out.
It will probably take you about two weeks before you can actually chew enough to eat a meal again, but it will happen, I assure you!
October 3, 2011 at 9:41 am
Hi graham!
Sorry if I’m bothering… But I went to my surgeon today and she told me I will be able to remove my elastics so I can eat soft foods and brush properly.. Also, she ask me to excersize my mouth.. Somehow, I find it hard to talk, let alone open my mouth to eat.. I was so messy, and it gets frustating… I tried drinking with a spoon, and it was alright.. Do you have the same problem Graham?
October 2, 2011 at 8:59 pm
If you spend a considerable amount of time in conversation each day, you may find the muscles in your jaw becoming sore by the end of the day. I would give it a shot for a few days and see how you feel. You should be able to make it through the days, but it may be uncomfortable for another week or two.
As for exercises, the only thing I really did was chew gum as often as possible. It keeps your jaw in constant motion and reminds you how to actually chew again.
Best of luck at work this week!
October 2, 2011 at 8:37 pm
Thanks I am learning very fast that the recover can take up to a year from reading some peoples blogs. I have a question for you because next week I am supposed to head back to work this week but I am worried that not having full range of motion with my mouth it would cause issue. I work on a phone and am usually talking for 4-5 hours a day with my clients.
I am happy to say that I just ate mashed potatoes and chewed with my tongue and the top of my mouth. Did you do any exercises in order to help with opening the mouth more? Well I dont wont to be that guy but again thanks for your blog it gave me some hope and realization that I have a little longer to go.
October 2, 2011 at 8:21 pm
Howdy JD!
I can’t believe you lost 28 lbs! That’s a serious amount of weight.
Six weeks is the mere halfway point to your bone being completely healed, so you’ve still got a little ways to go. It sounds like you’re maintaing a clear head about it though, so you should have no trouble.
Enjoy brushing and flossing again soon!
October 2, 2011 at 8:11 pm
Thanks for your insight this will be my 6th week after having the surgery in late august. My chin and lips are tingly and I am eating soft food but I am still have a lot of issues opening my mouth all the way. I am able to stick in a baby fork and spoon but nothing more. I have read a good portion of your web page and I this has given me a little hope. I guess I thought by week 6 all would be good but it seems that it is going to take a little longer.
I cannot wait to actually be able to open my mouth to brush, floss and clean my teeth completely. I have actaully lost 28 lbs. and I have noticed I get full very quickly because of my weight loss.
September 27, 2011 at 8:38 am
Dear Lyn:
Thank you for the feedback… As graham says, everybody’s recovery will be different.. I honestly thought the tingly feeling qas because i might get feeling there soon.. Well, i guess it’s not.. But so far, i been drinking more and brushing, and i feel absolutely awesome… =))
September 25, 2011 at 6:45 pm
Surprisingly enough, I didn’t really notice it that much while kissing either. I was a bit afraid that might only be half as much fun with the numbness, but it turns out it’s not too bad!
Perhaps our body refuses to sacrifice the feeling when kissing, so our brain fakes it or something. Maybe…
September 25, 2011 at 10:45 am
Thanks Graham.
I have decided I reject the permanent numbness thing and will be getting feeling back in my teeth and palate.
I will, for sure, let you know when that happens.
I meant to comment on your statement that you only really notice your chin and lips numbness when you shave. What about the most important thing you do with your lips…kissing? I miss the full effect though I am only slightly tingly in the left lower half of my lips and chin. I have full feeling in the rest. So, for that I am thankful.
September 25, 2011 at 10:11 am
Lyn, I wish you all the best on the numbness front. It’s definitely frustrating at first, but I’m confident you’ll adapt to it and end up appreciating the surgery in the long run.
Let me know if and when your feeling returns. It’d be cool to know of another person whose body said, “Get out of my way, statistics. I’m going to feel whether you like it or not!”