Metal Mouth Message Board

I'm 11 days post-op now and feeling GREAT!! My swelling is mostly down (90% or so) and my bruising is getting better every day. It is mostly on my chest. My entire lower lip is totally numb as is my chin. It is highly irritating because I talk funny and I can't tell what type of crazy faces I'm making, and I can't tell if I've spilled on my chin!

Here's a brief description of my surgery...in case anyone is interested!

I arrived at the hospital a 6am and they called me back into the pre-op area. The nurse asked me if I was wearing cotton underwear (something they could maybe have mentioned before I got there hee hee) I said no so they gave me this horrible pair of mesh underwear! Anyway, they started my I.V. and asked me a whole bunch of questions and the anesthesiologist came in and talked to me and then my Dr. came to say hi. They gave me a shot of something into my I.V. and I don't remember a thing after that. My husband says I kept asking if I would be able to take a shower after my surgery...and I kept pointing at him and laughing

Anyhoo, I woke up and my nurse was sitting next to me and I told her I was nauseous. They gave me something and I was still nauseous so they gave me something else and put some kind of patch behind my ear. When I woke up I remember I was upset that I didn't have a clicker in my hand for pain medicine. I thought I would have one when I woke up. They gave me one after a few minutes and I was allowed to push it every 6 minutes as needed. I wasn't in too much pain really though.

They wheeled me to my room. I had some kind of mesh thing around my head with big balls of guaze on my cheeks and chin (to keep the swelling down I was told) and an Ice pack around my head on top of that. I had no splint, but I was tightly banded. I slept a lot after that and at some point I had some broth. After my awesome nurse's shift ended I didn't see a nurse for 6 hours!! and my husband had already gone home. That was upsetting. I had to go to the bathroom by myself and then I wheeled myself down to the nurse's station to find out where my nurse was (no one answered when I pushed the button) I peeked at myself in the bathroom and I looked hilarious!! My lower face was about three times the size of my upper face!!

Anyway, my Dr. came to see me in the morning and said everything went GREAT and I could go home! So I'm on liquid only so far (I go see my surgeon on Tues, and he said he might start letting me chew a little yay!!) I have lost about 7 pounds so far.

So... there's my story, and I'm very very pleased with my new profile (they moved my lower jaw forward) and my chin is just slightly more narrow from the front which is great too. I didn't even have to have genio!!
I went back to work last Thursday, but I only work two days a week so it wasn't too much because I can rest the rest of the time!
Anyway, thanks for reading!

Twinkie,

Thanks for your story! I'm glad it went so well and you're getting back to normal. I should be having lower jaw surgery next month, but not an advancement. I hope my surgery goes as well as yours.

Did you take any nutritional supplements beforehand and is the numbness in your lip and chin going away yet?

Lo

wow!
your doing amazingly, im very impressed!
hope it keeps going as smoothly as it has been

Thanks guys!!

I did not take any supplements before the surgery and the numbness is not going away yet, BUT sometimes my whole lip kind of burns (but kind of on the inside...hard to describe) and my lip and chin tingle a lot. I still can't feel anything at all when I touch them though. Soon I will....I hope.

Ok I can now feel my bottom front teeth! Still no feeling in my lip or chin, but my bottom teeth hurt now and now I'm trying to find a comfortable biting position. My mouth is all wierded out about my new bite....my jaw doesn't know where to go. The strange thing is this wasn't a problem until last night. Go figure...

Also, how long until your stitches were dissolved? I made the mistake of looking inside my mouth with a flashlight and my stitches along the sides are really long and disgusting (they look like spider-legs)

And finally...one more question...They took my upper wisdom teeth out during my surgery and I wonder if it has been long enough that I can use a straw? The Dr. or nurses never said anything about not using one, but I just thought a dry-socket is not something I need right now!!

Thanks everyone!!

Twinkie,

How long did you have to wear braces before surgery, and how long will you wear them after surgery? Did you have a bad bite to begin with? I have a reasonable good bite, but my oral surgeon said that my lower jaw would have to be advanced in addition to my chin to have a normal profile. My chin is almost 15mm recessed.

Twinkie, just wanted to say congrats on your surgery and its success, and good for you for having a great attitude and sense of humor about it. I really think that goes a long way as far as recovery. Hope you're still doing well!

Btw, I had SARPE and all 4 wisdom teeth removed May 2nd, I was able to drink through a straw 14 days post-op, I probably could have sooner but didn't want the dreaded "dry socket"!

OneGuy...I had my braces put on around 18 months before my surgery. My ortho says that I will have them anywhere from 4-8 months after. As far as my bite, I had a very deep bite and a large overjet. However, I had braces before in high school so as far as alignment my teeth were relatively straight already. I had some minor spacing and my teeth needed some leveling. I keep forgetting to ask my surgeon how far they advanced my jaw.

Good luck!!

Monarch...Thanks for the advice on the straw...today is day 14, but I had a big smoothie from Planet Smoothie yesterday with a straw! Yay!! And Congrats on making it through your surgery too!!

Oh, and BTW...I GET TO EAT SOFT FOODS!! Hooray!! So, last night I had some chinese noodles. It was very odd trying to chew. And yesterday I was trying to sing along with the radio in my car, and I kept biting my tongue. I think my mouth is confused!!

This morning I ate rice krispies quite easily. I'm not sure if that qualifies as soft food, but I'm eating it!! Tonight I'll be having grilled salmon!!