Metal Mouth Message Board

Tomorrow is the day I've been waiting for with bated (and probably slightly gross) breath! I'll be seeing my OMFS to get this funky splint out and then going directly to my ortho for new wires and surgical hook removal. My upper was cut in segments, so I'm guessing that one new, continuous wire is going leave me slightly uncomfortable. I'm also assuming that spending that much time with my mouth open wide while they work is going to also contribute some discomfort. My pain tolerance is pretty high compared to your average person.

Normally, I'd shrug it off and not worry about the potential for pain but tomorrow is also my wedding anniversary and I'm planning on going to dinner (and then having some dessert ). Bad plan? Thoughts? Should I ask for anything for pain or just pop a couple ibuprofen?

I would check with your surgeon about chewing (unless that's already been addressed), but as far as the orthodontist goes, you should be fine. I doubt it will be any different than a regular adjustment. I know that when I had my surgical hooks removed, they were very careful not to have me open my mouth too wide or hold it open for very long.

I don't think you'll be doing much eating after your splint is out. Not sure how far post op you are, but usually you're not doing much chewing then even if your surgeon clears you for it. More than likely you'll be cleared for soft chew. I'm surprised they are going for a wire swap for you so soon as well. I could have done it, but my ortho did not want to make me open my mouth for anything like that at that point and he waited until 6 weeks post op (I got my splint out 3.5 weeks post op).

LyraM45 wrote:I don't think you'll be doing much eating after your splint is out. Not sure how far post op you are, but usually you're not doing much chewing then even if your surgeon clears you for it. More than likely you'll be cleared for soft chew. I'm surprised they are going for a wire swap for you so soon as well. I could have done it, but my ortho did not want to make me open my mouth for anything like that at that point and he waited until 6 weeks post op (I got my splint out 3.5 weeks post op).

I'll be 6 weeks on the nose this Friday. My splint would have come out on the 25th but my ortho is out of town that week so my surgeon said 5 weeks and 3 days was close enough. They will have to put me in a new wire since my upper wire was cut during surgery so they could segment me. Once the splint is out I will need the something to keep all my ducks in a row! I can open *almost* 3 fingers wide already, without any pain or hard stretching or joint weirdness, so I'm crossing my fingers that my back to back dr visits don't screw that up for me.

I'm still going to be either no or light chewing for a while I'm guessing, but I'm hopeful that I won't be trying to grin through pain at dinner. I'm just going to have a crabcake and soup, so I can hork that down without chewing like the boa constrictor I am, lol

Nice! Yeah, 6 weeks you should be a little in business, especially if you've been able to stretch and get open that much already. I forgot to ask, were you banded shut that whole time? I was assuming so, but I am guessing if you are at 3 fingers, then you've probably been getting to open a bit. I got up to pretty much normal opening really fast after my first surgery, but revision has been a little slower. I am between 2-3 fingers now, but I've been stretching for it every day the last few weeks!

Crab cakes and soup should do you good! Just take it easy, because the whole chew muscles aren't firing right yet, and it might feel weird/robotic to chew. Small bites are good, and take your time. Happy anniversary!

WHOOOWEE! The splint is out! What a great feeling!!!

I wasn't banded shut long, only 10 days. They put me in light elastics, one on each side afterward. Since my bite hasn't had any issue sliding right into the splint the whole time I guess they took it easy on me? Whatever the case, I'm really loving the way teeth on teeth feel for the first time in my life!

Hi! I was reading through topics where someone got their splint out and wanted to see how everything is going since you are a few months past that. I recently had a 3 piece lefort done on my upper jaw. I was supposed to have my splint removed at 4 weeks, but my orthodontist is on vacation the entire week of July 4th, so it's been postponed until the next week (5 weeks post-op). I'm somewhat nervous as I'm about 2 weeks and 4 days post-op, but I'm sure that by 5 weeks I should feel somewhat better. I still have a runny nose, no blood though, just runny. Numb on one side of my nose and the same side of the face, partially. No bruising anymore and I can open my mouth about 2.5 fingers wide...not sure how big I could open before.

They also cut my wire into 3 segments to where it seems like the teeth on the sides sit a little higher than my front teeth now. I'm wearing light elastics on the very front teeth to train the lower jaw where to come to a resting position.

My question is, were you nervous when you got your splint off? I know that I'm supposed to go straight to my orthodontist afterward for a new wire, I'm just not sure of what the pain factor will be like. Will it be similar to just getting a new wire? (which was how it went at every adjustment prior to my surgery, up until the square stainless wire) Are you eating/chewing foods now that you are several months post-op?

tylerjwilson wrote:Hi! I was reading through topics where someone got their splint out and wanted to see how everything is going since you are a few months past that. I recently had a 3 piece lefort done on my upper jaw. I was supposed to have my splint removed at 4 weeks, but my orthodontist is on vacation the entire week of July 4th, so it's been postponed until the next week (5 weeks post-op). I'm somewhat nervous as I'm about 2 weeks and 4 days post-op, but I'm sure that by 5 weeks I should feel somewhat better. I still have a runny nose, no blood though, just runny. Numb on one side of my nose and the same side of the face, partially. No bruising anymore and I can open my mouth about 2.5 fingers wide...not sure how big I could open before.

They also cut my wire into 3 segments to where it seems like the teeth on the sides sit a little higher than my front teeth now. I'm wearing light elastics on the very front teeth to train the lower jaw where to come to a resting position.

My question is, were you nervous when you got your splint off? I know that I'm supposed to go straight to my orthodontist afterward for a new wire, I'm just not sure of what the pain factor will be like. Will it be similar to just getting a new wire? (which was how it went at every adjustment prior to my surgery, up until the square stainless wire) Are you eating/chewing foods now that you are several months post-op?

I was nervous, but not for fear of pain so much as I was fearful of losing the feeling of safety that my splint gave me. I could rest my anxieties with the splint in place because I could easily reassure myself that all the little pieces were in their correct places just by closing my teeth into the splint. Removal was painless and I don't recall any discomfort at the ortho afterwards. Outside of some issues with the plates in my mandible recovery is pretty much a non-issue for me now. I eat what I want, I feel my mastication muscles regaining strength daily, and I'm looking at being debraced in August/September. Prepare for some pain when/if you start using elastics to fine tune your bite. Those suckers HURT me. But, as with all things jaw surgery related, I've found that if you just muster up as much patience as possible you'll find yourself past the rough patches before you know it. Hang in there!!!

You hit it on the nail about the comfort that the splint provides, knowing everything is being held in place where it should be. I think my main concern is that since I had a 3-piece lefort, my front 4 teeth are in a lower position than my other 2 side sections, which means that the new wire is going to make things uncomfortable for a bit. They had to cut the wire at each segment and I visibly can see that I have a couple brackets that came off as well, but are attached via wire-ties still to the wire. I'm hoping having a new wire put in will give me some peace of mind and stability!