Guest guest Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 I have my surgery planned for later on this year and I was wondering what the average recovery time is? I'm definately having my lower jaw moved and possibly my upper jaw also. How soon after the surgery can one talk normally, eat normally? Thanks. -nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 I have my surgery planned for later on this year and I was wondering what the average recovery time is? I'm definately having my lower jaw moved and possibly my upper jaw also. How soon after the surgery can one talk normally, eat normally? Thanks. -nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 , Recovery time really depends on the person. I mean I only took 2 weeks off after upper, lower and genio. and i wish i would have taken another week off...because i still felt kinda crappy. but i didn't really have a choice because my fall semester was starting up. from what i've read on here...most people take 3-4 weeks off. And as for the whole eating and talking thing...a lot of it depends on how your surgeon stabilizes your jaw after surgery. if you are wired shut...it will be at least 4 weeks of drinking nothing but liquids...and you won't be able to talk during that time. however, most surgeons now use rigid fixation with titanium plates and screws...that allows the jaw to be immobilized for a much shorter amount of time. my surgeon used rigid fixation when i had my surgery. i was banded shut for a week...couldn't eat anything but liquids during that time...and couldn't talk at all. but after that...my OS took the really strong bands off and just had me wear the guide bands and i could open my mouth a tiny bit...just enough so i could get stuff like cream of wheat and things like that in my mouth. also, if you have a splint wired to your braces to stabilize your jaw...that definitely inhibits the whole talking/eating process. my splint was in for 4 weeks. some people have splints that are removable...so they can take them out just to brush their teeth and eat....just depends on the surgeon. everything gets caught in the splint though...takes forever to clean it out. i definitely wish mine was removable. and at first it seems like you won't be able to talk at all with it in...but you learn kinda how to speak so people can at least sorta understand what you're saying. and one more thing...your jaw muscles will take some to stretch and adjust to the new position in which they are working. so it feels like you're stretching your jaw muscles as far as they can go...and your mouth is only open 10 mm. but over time your jaw muscles will stretch out and become stronger. so i mean it's really hard to say how long until you'll be able to speak clearly and eat normally. i'd say though after about a month...you'll definitely be at least seeing some progress. Tom > > I have my surgery planned for later on this year and I was wondering > what the average recovery time is? I'm definately having my lower > jaw moved and possibly my upper jaw also. How soon after the > surgery can one talk normally, eat normally? Thanks. > > -nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 , Recovery time really depends on the person. I mean I only took 2 weeks off after upper, lower and genio. and i wish i would have taken another week off...because i still felt kinda crappy. but i didn't really have a choice because my fall semester was starting up. from what i've read on here...most people take 3-4 weeks off. And as for the whole eating and talking thing...a lot of it depends on how your surgeon stabilizes your jaw after surgery. if you are wired shut...it will be at least 4 weeks of drinking nothing but liquids...and you won't be able to talk during that time. however, most surgeons now use rigid fixation with titanium plates and screws...that allows the jaw to be immobilized for a much shorter amount of time. my surgeon used rigid fixation when i had my surgery. i was banded shut for a week...couldn't eat anything but liquids during that time...and couldn't talk at all. but after that...my OS took the really strong bands off and just had me wear the guide bands and i could open my mouth a tiny bit...just enough so i could get stuff like cream of wheat and things like that in my mouth. also, if you have a splint wired to your braces to stabilize your jaw...that definitely inhibits the whole talking/eating process. my splint was in for 4 weeks. some people have splints that are removable...so they can take them out just to brush their teeth and eat....just depends on the surgeon. everything gets caught in the splint though...takes forever to clean it out. i definitely wish mine was removable. and at first it seems like you won't be able to talk at all with it in...but you learn kinda how to speak so people can at least sorta understand what you're saying. and one more thing...your jaw muscles will take some to stretch and adjust to the new position in which they are working. so it feels like you're stretching your jaw muscles as far as they can go...and your mouth is only open 10 mm. but over time your jaw muscles will stretch out and become stronger. so i mean it's really hard to say how long until you'll be able to speak clearly and eat normally. i'd say though after about a month...you'll definitely be at least seeing some progress. Tom > > I have my surgery planned for later on this year and I was wondering > what the average recovery time is? I'm definately having my lower > jaw moved and possibly my upper jaw also. How soon after the > surgery can one talk normally, eat normally? Thanks. > > -nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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