Recovering after a Jaw Surgery
Intake of nutrients is very essential in the process of recovering from the surgery. However, the problem is that you may not be able to eat the food items which you normally eat. So, to overcome this problem, your doctor might suggest you to drink some nutritious fluids for fast and proper healing of body post surgery. While drinking fluids, especially the juices, you should make sure that they are dilute and not acidic in nature. After a few days have passed, you might be asked to start eating food, but these food products will be very soft to avoid giving any sort of tension or stretching to the jaw. You could be allowed to eat soft vegetables, eggs and spaghetti which would not cause you any harm. You will be advised to continue eating soft food for around four weeks post surgery. For a few days, until your gums heal completely, you will have to avoid the intake of any kind of milk-made foods.
You should remember that the wounds due to the surgery should be kept clean and for this, you should be completely aware of the ways of maintaining good oral hygiene. The main task before such patients is to prevent the occurrence of any sort of infections which can aggravate this condition. You should use a good quality toothbrush to clean your teeth. Do not forget to rinse your mouth regularly to maintain the required cleanliness. The water used for rinsing your mouth should be ideally lukewarm and contain salt. Another question which people who have undergone lower jaw surgery frequently ask is-will they be able to talk properly and how long will it take for the situation to get back to normal. The answer to this question is that in the initial stages, you will face some difficulty while talking. This is because you may not be able to open your mouth fully. This will result into an unclear way of speaking. However, you should note that this will be a passing phase and you would be able to get back to your normal ways of speaking by working under the guidance of a language therapist.
In many cases, the time required for complete recovery from jaw surgery is around three to three and a half months. However, it has been found that patients are able to come to terms to their normal life in around six weeks after the surgery is complete. You will also be advised by your doctor to strictly avoid any sort of heavy physical activity such as sports which can bring a lot of stress and affect your jaw. Another suggestion to avoid breathing is to make use of a humidifier and a wash cloth which is wet.
Recovering from a jaw surgery will not be difficult if you follow all the instructions and suggestions of your surgeons. You should have patience, as it takes time for body to recover from any type of surgery which has been recently performed.
