Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi everyone, I am a 17 year old girl who just underwent orthognathic surgery... I cant say it was exactly fun, but I survived. My surgeon, right off the bat, told me that he would refer to my orthodontist (she is also a surgeon) and the first thing that she instructed me to do was not to chew or open my mouth, as the bone could not heal properly. Well, I listened and followed her instructions to the letter. Now I just went back to her for my 9 week visit, and she told me that I might not ever get my full range of motion back, as I have not been stretching my jaw.... This is the FIRST TIME anyone ever said anything about stretching the jaw post op. Well I am currently panicking, and have been trying to stretch it as much as possible this week, but nevertheless I can not even fit two fingers in my mouth.

Does anyone think I might get my full range of motion back? If not, would I have to undergo this surgery again? Is there any experience with this problem? To be totally honest, this experience was quite miserable and I dont know when I will have the time to take off a few weeks for recovery, as I will be in college next year. PLEASE HELP ME!!!!

So sorry to hear about this. Have you asked about physical therapy? I would be surprised to learn that simply not moving your jaw post surgery actually leads to a permanent limitation of your range of motion.

That would be very misleading if your surgeon told you not to do anything and then now saying that you have lost full range of motion...

Just stretch your jaw, a little bit everyday. look into physical therapy, acupuncture and massage! I understand you are in panic mode right now but do as much research as you can and know there are answers to your situation! I also rec hopping on fb and joining the we need jaw surgery group maybe someone there can be of more help!

Did you have surgery on both jaws or just one? I'm eight weeks post-op after double surgery and was banded tight shut for three weeks then had another three weeks with a splint which massively impedes chewing. I'm back to a normal brace now but despite a fortnight of gentle chewing and stretching can still only open my mouth one and a half finger widths. So I think your current range of motion sounds normal and you shouldn't panic, but you probably would benefit from exercising the muscles a bit. The bone and stitches will be healed by now so I'm sure you won't do any damage by giving it a go.

I am in a similar position to keeponsmiling, I had both jaws operated on and I was banded tight shut for three weeks followed by another 3-4 with bands which meant that I could not open my mouth very wide at all for this whole period. After that I was given exercises to do several times a day to stretch out the muscles and enable me to open my jaw properly again. I have made quite a bit of improvement but I have still lost probably over a 1/3 of the range of movement that I had before the operation. I am hoping that when I see the ortho again she will be able to suggest some further exercises or an intervention that will increase it further. Anyway, I wouldn't despair just yet I think you will be able to improve on your current situation with the exercises, but it takes time and patience. If anything elses is suggested to help me I will pass it on to you...