Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey guys! Not sure how many of us so far post-op are still looking at this forum (I try to come in every once in a while, but it's harder to remember that I even had a jaw surgery sometimes!), but I was wondering if any "veterans" could tell me how long it took them to stop having joint po...

So I'm 4 months post-op and no complications or anything, but this morning I woke up and the right salivary gland under my jaw was kind of swollen, and I had pain on that side under my tongue. I also felt like a pimple in the center under my tongue, so I went to check in the mirror and saw what look...

Oh and by the way, I don't think warm or cool makes a huge difference. The steam mask they gave me at the hospital was cold, and my surgeon said either is fine. I just wanted a warm one because I had my surgery in winter and didn't want to be cold, but it was actually hard to find a warm one... And ...

I bought a warm one and I didn't use it on the first few nights because I didn't really have that much trouble breathing. The first night I turned it on, I noticed a big difference. My mouth wasn't as dry, I could breathe better (I guess I hadn't realized I wasn't breathing THAT well) and overall sl...

My hooks were fused to the wire. My orthodontist's office made it themselves; they took measurements on the previous visit and marked where each hook should go (in-between the brackets) with a marker. http://imgur.com/a/lypEs Honestly, they weren't as bad as I thought. I didn't get any actual sores ...

snapdresser wrote:Keep in mind that a lot of people (even younger people) complain that they look older post-op. Especially in cases where they present with a gummy smile and end up getting their maxilla impacted.

Wait really? Is there a reason for this?

Thanks for the tips/reassurance guys! I actually ended up emailing my surgeon yesterday night because I was paranoid (as always), and this morning he told me that it means I need to back off and let my jaw heal for a few days. Ugh. I don't know if he's just being extremely conservative to be safe or...

I'm almost 3 months post-op, and I've challenged myself a bit more with chewing these past two weeks (bread, chicken, thin-slice veggie pizza, etc.), and my jaw feels sore at the end of the day. I'm just wondering if I'm pushing myself too far, or if it's normal to have some soreness because I'm exe...

I'm almost 3 months post-op and I'm JUST starting to like my face, so patience is definitely key :) I looked "normal" enough to go out without people staring at me at about week 2, but as far as actually "liking" my face, it's taking quite a while. After living for so long with y...

I had jaw surgery to correct a bunch of stuff, but I also had long face syndrome and my surgeon reduced some (but not all) of the vertical maxillary excess. You can see the before and after pictures here (2-month mark): http://jawbreak.blogspot.com/p/photos.html I used to show a LOT of gum, especial...

Thank you! Every tiny little change definitely feels HUGE to us because we're so used to our pre-surgery face. You should expect to think it looks terrible after surgery, but I think for most of us, it gets better as you get used to it. I'm 2 months post-op and I'm still struggling with loving my ne...

Those exercises sound TERRIFYING for someone 24h out of surgery :O Holy crap. I wasn't even allowed to open my mouth for like 3 weeks. Also, I started doing these exercises after about 4 weeks and when I casually told my surgeon, he was mad at me and told me to stop immediately. It probably depends ...

Do you still have rubber bands holding your teeth together? I know I had a pretty significant lisp when I had my rubber bands on, but now that I'm allowed to take them off during the day, it's MUCH better. I still have a very slight lisp but nobody hears it but me apparently. Also, is the gum/palate...

I had a lefort 1, but I had the opposite problem as you (I was showing a whole LOT of gum when smiling pre-surgery and lots of teeth at rest). In my case, the surgeon had to rotate the upper jaw forward, advance it a few mm and cut it down a bit in length. I don't know how much of a difference it'll...

Thanks for your reply! I definitely should have asked for a CBC panel when I asked for the iron test; I wasn't really thinking T_T He still hasn't gotten back to me so I emailed him again to ask for a CBC. We'll see what my hemoglobin levels are. I definitely think that your lack of energy is at lea...