When you need surgery involving your jaw, there may be several reasons for it, which may cause you to feel anxious or nervous. When you have an idea of how things may happen, you may be able to remain relaxed. During your complimentary examination with Stormberg Orthodontics, you will be provided with the most up-to-date information concerning jaw surgery as well as providing you with some great tips concerning your recovery from jaw surgery, such as the five tips below.
1. Make Your Meals Drinkable
Following jaw surgery, you should be able to enjoy your meals, just in a modified way. Your nutrition is a big issue when it comes to jaw surgery because you need to know what food is best to eat and how it should be prepared. To be super careful, you may find comfort in making your meals drinkable/liquified or very soft, so that there is not much use in your jaw and you experience less discomfort. Your teeth will have small, rubber bands immediately after surgery to stabilize and aid in recovery. Your liquified diet with your teeth together will last about two weeks, then larger rubber bands will be placed by your oral surgeon and soft foods can then be consumed.
2. We Will Advise You of Solid Food
As soon as your oral surgeon permits you to eat solid food, you should include food that is easy to chew, nutritious and protein as a good part of your diet. Of course, your personal dietary needs are of the utmost importance. A few food items that can be chewed easily involve:
- Soft chicken
- Ground meat
- Scrambled eggs
- Yogurt
- Mashed potatoes and/or beans
- Soft bread
- Applesauce and/or any fruit pureed or mashed
- Soft cooked and/r fresh veggies
- Peanut butter and/or any nut butter
Regardless of what type of soft food you eat, you always need to take care while chewing. When you begin to add more solid food, the muscles in your jaw will begin to strengthen and restore their flexibility. Use your seasonings and flavorings to make your meals tasty. Many recipes are on our Stormberg Pinterest or online, a liquid diet can get boring. Creativity and nutrition are the key factors to recovery!
3. Maintain Pain Control
This will be managed by your oral surgeon with prescribed pain medication and/or over the counter medication.
Ice immediately after surgery, per oral surgeon’s recommendation, is beneficial to reducing bruising and swelling, usually about 3-4 days. You can also use Montana Arnica lotion to apply immediately after surgery to help reduce swelling and bruising, follow directions on the container. Do not put on any surgical incisions.
4. Maintain Moist Lips
Following your jaw surgery, your lips may begin to chap. When this chapping occurs, you need to keep your lips moistened with lip balm. You should also drink plenty of fluids so that you remain hydrated.
5. Allow Yourself the Needed Time for Recovery
For your jaw surgery recovery to be successful, you need to give yourself the needed time for recovery. The exact amount of recovery time will vary on the type of jaw surgery you undergo. However, you should have at least a week to six weeks rest before returning to work depending on your job requirements and your oral surgeon’s recommendations.
As you are recovering, you need to slowly return to your normal daily activities, to regain your strength and mobility. When you contact your San Diego orthodontist today at Stormberg Orthodontics, we’ll explain how much recovery time your specific jaw surgery will require.
