SkynyrdX (October 11, 2008 at 11:11 pm)

I'm getting my surgery october 27, and I'm really scared :/. They're supposed to remove my braces on november 17, do you think I'll have enough time to recover from the surgery ?

dnznqt44 (October 11, 2008 at 12:44 am)

my recovery was pretty bad...since i'm young they wired my jaw shut for two weeks and then opened it again and my lower jaw was shifting...so then i had a bunch of elastics for a month and i just got everything off 3 weeks ago......now i can open my mouth all the way...if u didnt have to get more procedures after the surgery unlike me, then ur recovery is really quick

afb3199 (October 7, 2008 at 2:17 am)

i think it wasn't until about two or three months after surgery before i could open my mouth wide again. don't rush it. your jaw needs to adjust slowly to its new position. the numbness should go away too. it took nearly six months for all of the feeling to come back to my chin.

afb3199 (October 7, 2008 at 2:13 am)

i thought i had straight teeth before and i felt the same way, but it is really better to get the braces before the surgery. this will ensure your teeth are all straight and lined up for when they move your jaw. after the surgery, it was like my teeth fit perfectly together. the time i had the braces on really sucked, but it really is worth it.

afb3199 (October 7, 2008 at 2:11 am)

most of the healing takes place in the three to four weeks following surgery. don't expect to be able to open your jaw very wide after that though. it will take months before you can regain all the movement in your jaw again. of course, results vary from person to person depending on how the jaw is corrected. the other thing is the swelling and numbness. it took a few months before all the swelling went away and all the feeling came back to parts of my face.

afb3199 (October 7, 2008 at 2:08 am)

thanks for the comment! it's great to hear success stories from others regarding their jaw surgery.

Mirage842 (October 6, 2008 at 9:04 pm)

Hi afb3199 and dnznqt44 i just have one question, i had surgery done this September and i want to ask you how long was it till you get your mouth open as wide as you can like a normal person can? I'm on my almost 4th week and im there halfway, im hoping by 6 weeks it'll be return to normal, im trying to eat solid foods now or regular diet as long as i can put something inside its ok per my sureon, i feel good, still numb on my lower lip and chin, thanks a lot for your response.

dnznqt44 (October 6, 2008 at 4:00 am)

Hey everyone! I had my surgery done this August and i am only a teen. the first two or three days are dreadful because you are very swollen and probably are upset with the way you look. but it gets better and better everyday. i used a cooling machine for the swelling and it helped ALOT! now its been a month and a half since the surgery and I LOVE the results! feel free to ask me more about my surgery

KeithF40 (September 26, 2008 at 10:13 am)

Jessica you are lucky that you are only 14. Go see a surgeon immediately, you might be able to get away without having surgery cause you are still growing. They will prevent your lower jaw from growing anymore so that they will hopefully even out. There are simple appliances you can wear at night that can help with this greatly, don't wait till your mid 20s like me.

mexprboy (September 24, 2008 at 5:13 pm)

I just wanted to konw how much is the actual healing process? I am getting that surgery done and I would like to know more about it