To anybody who's already had jaw surgery...

[Marisama]

Why do you think one will end up lopsided if TMJ is present?

[beowulf68]

Peskywabbit makes an interesting point....I think I had mild TMJ issues on the left side (never any pain but it would pop every now and then when I would be eating) prior to me having double jaw surgery. However, now even though my jaw surgery was a success (cured my sleep apnea), both of my TMJs are pretty severely dislocated and I have to go in for another surgery to correct the dislocations. I wonder if my docs would have paid a little more attention to the imaging studies prior to my surgery maybe they could have prevented the dislocations???

However.....I'm not lopsided (THANK THE GODS). My TMJs dislocated bilaterally!!

[sraemeyer]

My daughter had extensive upper and lower jaw surgery. The biggest obstacle we faced was her breathing. Nose sprays did not work for her and she was to the point of begging us...through writing on a white board.....cut the wires!!!!!!
In our frenzy of trying to help her, we thought of inserting straws in between her cheek and gum. This turned out to be a life saver!! It actually worked!!
So my suggestion would be to have straws!!
My husband and I are on a quest to help others that face this type of situation.
We have a patent pending on a special mouth piece that goes between the cheek and gum.

[Zoology Dragon]

I wish I'd known how depressed I'd feel in the weeks and monthss afterwards but rest eassured that this is completely normal and WILL eventually pass. Getting used to your new face and teeth is quite a shock but it will be worth it. I only wish I'd done it sooner.