Dental Forum

After the surgery i was EXTREMELY swollen from the cheek/neck area. I have been told that i have about 16 screws inside of my mouth. Since the surgery I have regained all feeling in my nose and cheeks...HOWEVER...I am rapidly approaching 6 months after my surgery and I still have numbness in the lower left portion of my gums, lip, and chin. I have full felling in the left upper gums and lip. And i have full feeling from the middle to the right portion of my lip and chin...it is only the LEFT BOTTOM portion of lip and gums that still has little to no feeling.

ABOUT THE NUMBNESS: it is a tingling associated with pain. I cannot chew too many things on the left side of my mouth because i get a shooting pain in the middle of my bottom lip. The weird thing is that i can feel temperature (hot and cold) inside of my lip like when i am drinking something as well s on the surface of my chin..BUT i canot feel placement...I cannot feel when i am scratching my face or when i glide my finger across my face. All i feel is tingling within my chin and lip. I know that i am touching it because of the tingling..but i can not actually FEEL where my finger is on my face.

Also, i feel a slight pain in the back of my gum on the left side my mouth. FOr a while they thought they were going to have to cut scar tissue to help my mouth open up wider, but slowly i was able to open up my mouth more i can now eat a burger with no problems

MY LAST CONCERN...They widened my palatte during surgery instead of using a crank so gradually open it while i was wearing my braces. Now that my palette is fully closed in, i still have an ANNOYING pressure and pain on my pallette. Portions of my palette are still numb as well.

I just want to get some advice...is all this permanent..i am approaching six months...Does it seem possible that this is all going to heal with time? I am very scared. Please help!!

I will be having lower jaw surgery at the end of this month. I am 33 and known that I should have had this done (to correct my overbite) since I was a kid. My parents never made me wear braces or have the surgery done back then. I wish they did as it would be all done and would have saved $$$ lol. I had braces on for 2 years now and I hoping to get them off a few months after the surgery.

My oral surgeon told me I should take 2 weeks off of work for recovery. Unfortunately I don�t have that much time available. So with the weekend I will have 4 days off and hope to get back to work on Monday.

I know everyone heals differently but for the most part is that feasible? I sit in front of a computer all day. I guess I�m most concerned about is the swelling and bruising.

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Originally posted by Silvia:
I am a 26 year old female and I had jaw surgery 2 months ago. I had my lower moved back and my upper moved forward. My mouth was wired for 10 days, I had a splint inbetween my teeth and a series of stitches in my mouth. I was in the hospital for two days and I threw up twice, mainly blood from the surgery that was sitting in my stomach. The pain I experienced was very minimal, but I was very uncomfortable. The diet was the worst part of the experience. I lost 8 pounds in those ten days and I drank mostly broth and protein drinks (there are these great protein drinks made by Bolthouse Farms, the Vanilla Chai Tea with Soy is my favorite, and they are much easier to suck through your teeth when your mouth is wired because they are not as thick as the traditional protein drinks). Once the wires were off, it took a while to get used to eating regular food again, I started off with very soft foods, like mashed potatoes. Also it takes a while for you to fully open your mouth again. I would listen to my favorite music at home and sing along to exercise my mouth, even though I could barely sing, I really think this helped because now I can fully open my mouth. My lower lip and part of my chin are still numb, but they are tingling everyday. I would say I have about 60% of my feeling back. Today I feel really good about my experience and the results. I love my new smile and my profile is great. I do recommend this surgery, especially if you have the opportunity to do this when you are younger (say 18 to 30 years old) because your body and bones are young, it seems to heal much faster. I've spoken to a couple of people who had this procedure that were over the age of 40 and they experienced a much harder time healing then I did. Make sure you have a huge last meal and have your have sippy cup read!

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Originally posted by ADP1:
I am glad I have found this site.

I will be having lower jaw surgery at the end of this month. I am 33 and known that I should have had this done (to correct my overbite) since I was a kid. My parents never made me wear braces or have the surgery done back then. I wish they did as it would be all done and would have saved $$$ lol. I had braces on for 2 years now and I hoping to get them off a few months after the surgery.

My oral surgeon told me I should take 2 weeks off of work for recovery. Unfortunately I don�t have that much time available. So with the weekend I will have 4 days off and hope to get back to work on Monday.

I know everyone heals differently but for the most part is that feasible? I sit in front of a computer all day. I guess I�m most concerned about is the swelling and bruising.

Thanks

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Hello! 4 days off will NOT be enough time, much less 2 weeks! You should be entitled to received 6 weeks off with partial pay (short term disability covers 60% of your current salary) through FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act). Also check with HR representative and inquire if your company pays a portion of your salary while you are out. I had upper and lower jaw surgery and took the full 6 weeks off while receiving 67% of my salary. I think you have already had the surgery by now, however you should still look into this and take all the time you need to fully recover. Good luck!

For me the worst part after the surgery was the sore throat from the breathing tube they put through your nose. I have some discomfort from my jaw muscles but no real pain. I do have a problem with cold and hot drinks as it hurts the back of my throat. I do still have numbness on my lower lip and a small part on my chin.

I guess it comes down to how well you are mentally prepared you are and how you believe your outlook will be. Also having a great oral surgeon helps. And having your family and love one�s support is a must.

Even though it�s only been a week and I am not fully healed I would do this again. Knowing that soon, I will be able to chew correctly and have a correct bite. I can wait till I order that pizza lol.

but thats something that will improve. ive been reading around and most people say that after 2/3 weeks, you can slowly start to chew soft foods. i cant wait!!!

another annoying thing is this tingly feeling you get around your chin and bottom lip. im pretty sure its not numb, just feels quite odd. but again, thats something that will go in time.

on the pain issue, i dont really experience much of it. the most i felt was uncomfortable and sometimes, if i talked or laughed too much, id feel a bit of pain around near my ears. but the paracetemol helps with that.

I am 18 years old and I just had lower and upper surgery on my jaw 2 and a half weeks ago and I am here to help.

I was in surgery for 8 hours and really the worst night was the first. The anesthiesia made me sick and I was puking up blood. I had a tube in my nose going to my stomach, which was probably the most uncomfortable thing. Makes your throat sore. Stayed in the hospital for two nights.

After I got home i felt much better, liquid diet is the worst thing for me. Pain wasnt bad at all, and the liq hydrocodone helps a lot. for the first week I stayed at home and only left the house to go for walks (which helps the swelling, as does rubbing your cheeks, and constantly drinking liquids). You really just have to keep yourself occupied. My friends stopped by constantly, reading helps, and watching movies.

But I will tell you the most important factor of the recovery is mental. You must stay in a positive frame of mind, or you will become depressed (with the swelling, numbness, and not really feeling like yourself). I stayed positive and now the swelling is practically gone, still numb in the lower lip and chin area, but it isnt to bad, and eating still is a problem, but it isnt that bad. I just had a bowl of spaghettios, mac and cheese, and some baked potato soup, with ice cream for dessert. So like i said, not to bad at all.

And i also like to party, being 18 and all and Im aboutt o go off to college. Drinking is not the best idea, but I have started going out again and starting to do the things i did before the surgery. I am very active and for those athletes out there I recommend swimming laps for exercise. I do about 40 a day and it does the trick. Havent started lifting or really playing sports, but ima start in the next week or so.

Day1 (Morning Surgery/Hospital Bed):
-Felt extremely groggy from the anesthesia all day. Slept most of the day and went for a short walk at night with the assistance of the nurse. Moving around is important to help wear off the anesthesia faster.
-My left side was more swollen than right...but the worst was yet to come
-Ate clear soup and juice in for dinner
-NUMB

Day 2 (Hospital Bed/Went home afternoon):
-Felt really stuffy, the oxygen mask really helps. Short periods of bloody nose often. Slept most of the day and went for a few walks down hospital lane. *You will be light headed so hold tight to railings and your ivey stand. But it is vital to move around for better circulation to wear off the anestesia
-Both cheeks were now really swollen, not much pain though, just discomfort. But my throat was extremely painful thanks to the tube that was down there during surgery
-JELLO
-still NUMB

Day3-5
-Reach max swelling day 3, subsiding and yellow bruising to follow
-Lack of energy, really stuffy, occasional nose bleed day 3..improved a lot by day 5
-Dry lips - **Lypsyl regular by far is the best to prevent dry lips and peeling

FOOD (Whole food craving was the worst part after surgery, especially after day 4: Pureed diet/juice/fruit shakes/baby food for the first few days, then I craved solid food...so for those who also do...I bought a bunch of soup broths (Creamy chicken, Tomato Basil, Sweet potato etc) and put diced whole food in them and made a variety of gumbos (finely minced options: carrots, rice, spinach, celery, cooked fish, cooked chicken breast, cooked steak, tomato, onions, basil..etc. SO DELICIOUS...you actually get the feeling that your eating solid food, without having to chew. Also, over cooked sweet potato or yams is like eating solid food, but it melts in your mouth without chewing.

SUPPLEMENTS (Vital for speedy recovery)
Wobenzyme, Arnica Montana & Bromelain (they all naturally relieve pain & naturally aids in the inflammation stage. **Don't take pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs!! Swelling is a natural part of healing as the blood cells need to expand (swell) to allow greater absorbtion of vital nutrients for faster healing. By taking the drugs you are working against your body. An anti-iflammatory drug will quickly/temporarily reduce swelling but overall recovery will be longer. SO GO WITH HOLISTIC HEALING. Also recommended: Vitamins C,D - helps with skin injury. The most important thing is eating a lot of quality food and water for quick recovery. Also take a full spectrum enzyme to aid digestion for better nutrient absorbtion.

Antibiotics: Although I'm so against taking antiboitics, I think it's necessary while the wounds are healing, it is exposed flesh and highly susceptible to infection, which would delay a quick recovery. Antibiotics (anti-life) are great for killing bad bacteria, but it also kills good bacteria in your digestive tract which is needed to control yeast, aid digestion and not make you feel ill. So after 1-hour of taking antibiotics, it is crucial to take a high potency Probiotic pill (Udos Probiotic) Eating probiotic yogurt or kefir is also good (Danone Activa yogurt)

Day6: Swelling going down by the day, feel great, got past post surgery blues with good regime. Got all feeling back except gum & chin (had a chin augmentation to balance the jaw surgery). I expect 75% of the swelling to go down by next visit with my surgeon on Day8

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Originally posted by alexangel:
Hi i'm supposed to get lower jaw surgery in june and i have been debating whether or not to go through with it. im 17 and i worry that if i dont have the surgery my jaw will get worse when im older. I have read what others have said about recovery and i dont think i can handle that. I also am not sure if its worth it because my overbite is only affecting the alignment of my teeth but not causing any pain or any problems in chewing talking or anything. The only people who ever noticed my jaw was my mom and orthodontists. On the other hand 3 orthodontists have recommended jaw surgery but i dont think it is worth the risk especially because i am quite comfortable with the way i look. Anyone have advice? Is the surgery really worth it?

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