Sliding genioplasty - how long to smile?

[redblondefox]

Hello,

I posted another message a couple of weeks ago about my sliding genioplasty due on Sept 14th. I have a holiday to Croatia booked October 8th and was told I should be okay for that nearly 4 weeks post-op. I just wondered another thing - how long until I'll be able to smile properly? I've heard people don't regain full lip function for a while!?

Thanks!

Redblondefox

[bitgraphics]

I had a sliding genioplasty about 5 weeks ago.

Closed-lip smiling returned after about 1 1/2 - 2 weeks, and toothy smiling followed at about 3 1/2 weeks. It still looks a bit off, and my lower lip is kind of stiff, but no one really notices.

[tdptex]

Hi. I just got a sliding genioplasty done 4 days ago. I was wondering how long it was before you got your smile back? Did the procedure change your smile at all?

[anonymouth]

I *painfully* smiled in the first week because my husband was making me laugh. It was weird because the lower half of my face felt artificial and numb, and the only muscles that I could tell were moving were my cheeks. It was probably not a good idea that I was outright doing an open smile at that point.

After 2-3 weeks, it's starting to feel "normal" when I smile and laugh. Although in the second week, if I moved my mouth too widely, I think I tugged at my stitches. So instead I washed and disinfected the area, and sat down to watch something serious/depressing.