Definitely Worth It!
The surgery was definitely worth it. I can't imagine not doing it now. I was terrified before hand because it just sounds weird and invasive. They had to completely detach my upper jaw from my skull, break it in half, put bone grafting material in the roof of my mouth and reattach everything with four metal plates and 16 screws. The surgeons moved my bottom jaw back and straightened it; it is attached with 4 screws on each side. It all just really sounds gross!
Anyway, after I got over that and just let it happen and trust that my surgeon knew what he was doing, things got much better. I went back to work after only one week. I wore ice packs all day, but I was there. The best thing I did was keep a steady supply of Advil in my body. As soon as it started to wear off, I would notice the swelling starting again. I also took liquid vitamins, so that I would heal faster. Honestly, the worst part about the recovery wasn't the pain...it was having my mouth wired shut and not being able to eat, especially since it was during Christmas.
Before my surgery, my teeth were really crooked because my mouth was too small, now they are perfectly straight and I love it! I also would get migraines because of the tension in my bite because my teeth didn't line up and now as long as I wear my retainers at night, my headaches are pretty much gone. I went into the surgery expecting it to be horrific and luckily for me, it turned out better than expected. It wasn't a pleasant experience by any means, but I'm so happy that I went through with it and if I had it to do all over again I would. Good luck!!
Labels: oral surgery, orthognathic
posted by Emily & Daniel | 8:52 AM
4 Comments:
I appreciate your blog on this topic. I am getting ready to have the same surgery next week and while hoping for the best, I expect the worst (on the pain/discomfort side). Reading your experience with the surgery makes me a little nervous, but the fact that you feel it was totally worth it sets my mind at ease...a little :)
Justin, it was uncomfortable but not unbearable. The only things that made it worse than having my wisdom teeth out were the not being able to eat and not being able to brush my teeth. The splint was uncomfortable, but you get used to it. The pain starts going away after about a week and as long as you take plenty of Advil and keep ice on at all times to keep the swelling down, you'll heal fast. I went back to work in one week but still put ice packs on every couple of hours. It's only about a month's worth of pain for a a new fully functioning mouth. Worth it to me. Good luck!
Thank you very much for sharing. Its nice to see a reasonable account of the surgery and recovery. I have my upper lefort 1 jaw surgery in 5 days! I'm excited to complete the entire process as I have been in braces for three years. I also have a narrow palate and will have my upper jaw widened and moved forward. Thanks again for sharing, this was reassuring to me. Take care!
You will be mad at the world for about a week, but as long as you keep the swelling to a minimum (ice all the time and liquid advil) that will pass quickly. Good luck!
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