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Jaw Surgery Forums » Post-Surgery and Recovery Questions

1. 

   jennamoran
   Member

   I was just wondering about how long it is before you can munch into anything you want with no worries :) I heard that once you start on soft foods, it really depends on the strength of your jaw, and the doctor doesn't really say when you can move up from the soft foods. I feel like I'll be too nervous about wrecking my jaw if I ever eat something crunchy again. lol
   I'll be starting soft foods in 2-3 weeks I think! Though my doctor said something about maybe this week?! That would be wonderful. So any soft food dos and don'ts would be helpful (I'm not exactly sure HOW soft/hard it's allowed to be).

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. 

   champ
   Member

   I could barely eat a chip after week 8.

   I'd say I felt comfortable eating just about anything after week 14 unfortunately. But it's not too bad, just not steaks or walnuts :P

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. 

   xdianao
   Member

   I'm about 8 weeks post op and I'm eating most things (as long as they aren't chewy). I don't eat meat, so I can't say weather or not I would be able to eat steak or anything. But I'm eating pizza and some bread items. My doc told me no bagels or things I have to rip apart to eat.

   My problem is not being able to fit things into my mouth since I still can't open that much.

   When I was allowed to start eating soft foods, my doc said nothing harder than scrambled eggs. So I ate eggs, soft pasta dishes, mash potatoes, etc.

   It's definitely weird to start eating, but it gets better. It just hurts sometimes, so you might need to take a break. Try taking Advil or Aleve before meals just to help with the achy feeling.

   Posted 1 year ago #
4. 

   jennamoran
   Member

   Thanks for the responses! I just got the rubber bands on yesterday! I'm not allowed any chewing yet, but he said I can start eating swallowable things with a spoon (but I can't fit a spoon in my mouth yet!) Everything feels really uncomfortable and weird right now. :( Should I be trying to get my mouth to open more or will that come naturally?

   Posted 1 year ago #
5. 

   xdianao
   Member

   I couldn't fit a spoon or fork in my mouth at first either, so I kinda just forced food in or slurped it up. Not the most appealing part of the recovery process. I definitely ate alone for a while haha.

   The first few times I was able to eat, I had panic attacks it felt so weird, but that feeling goes away once you start using your muscles.

   You should just open your mouth to what you are physically able to do. Don't start doing exercises or forcing your mouth open until your doctor tells you to. The movement will come naturally over time. Don't get stressed about it, just enjoy being able to eat some non liquids!!

   Posted 1 year ago #
6. 

   jennamoran
   Member

   Thanks so much!
   I just slurped up my first bowl of soup, definitely not appealing, indeed. XD

   Posted 1 year ago #
7. 

   MikeJW
   Member

   I had upper jaw surgery ~5 weeks ago and my doctor said I could start eating soft foods like pasta, rice, soft chicken, soft cakes/muffins, and soft bread (no hard bagels) the first week after surgery. He also said chewing was ok after the first week provided I was moving my mouth 'up-and-down' and not 'side-to-side'. Even slightly harder foods like apple slices (not whole apples) or very well cooked vegetables were ok too provided I didn't make side to side jaw motions while chewing.

   A week later he noticed a gap was starting to develop between the back molars on both sides and had me wear rubber bands there. He said developing such a gap was normal and the rubber bands would close it up by guiding the jaw into it's correct place.

   Maybe I am paranoid, but I thought this might be from the chewing / applying too much pressure on the jaw only 7 days after surgery, so I immediately cut back on chewing. It's been another 3 weeks since then and the gaps are gone, so I think I have nothing to worry about anymore though, but I have a followup in 3 days as well.

   With some slight creativity, my diet has been quite wide reaching. I have been adding water to otherwise dry foods (like chicken pasta), cutting it into tiny pieces, and then mostly swallowing it hole with some minimal chewing. Any food I can essentially swallow is great too, like chilli, baked beans, canned vegetables, sushi, etc. I've actually probably increased the variety of foods I stock at home since I've had to look around for softer foods and wanted to get some variety as well. I also recommend having a glass of water nearby in case you start gagging, which happened to me a few times at first.

   I have even been eating foods like burritos from Taco Del Mar / Chipotle and soft pizza (no hard crusts) by cutting it up into tiny pieces and placing it into a bowl with a small amount of water to make the food softer. I just swallow the food after cutting it into tiny pieces, but it tastes just as if I were to chew it with my teeth.

   I guess you could blend the foods too, but blending made the foods too mushy for my tastes. It takes a bit of time, but slicing the food into the pieces you would normally chew them and swallowing has been working great for me. It's not like eating normally but it's really not that bad either given I have been able to eat almost anything except hard apples, bagels, hard candy, etc.

   Of course, I would go with whatever your doctor says but it probably doesn't hurt to err on the side of less chewing / softer foods if you want to be on the safe side. The bone is still healing so probably not a good idea to stress it.

   Good luck!

   Posted 1 year ago #
8. 

   jennamoran
   Member

   Thank you for all the info!

   Posted 1 year ago #
9. 

   MikeJW
   Member

   Just a quick followup: I'm at 6 weeks now and my surgeon just gave the ok to resume eating hard foods (bagels, apples, etc), cautioning that I might be sore by doing so but I couldn't harm anything.

   I think everyone's healing timeframe is different though so I would follow your doctor's advice.

   Posted 12 months ago #
10. 

    alwayssmilling
    Member

    i have had uper and lower jaw surgery, im at 2 and a half weeks after op. I AM SOOO HUNGRY! my swelling has gone down and im nearly back to normal. i had the stiches out on monday and have elastics in that wont alow me to move my jaw and today (wensday) im going back to the orthodontist. when will the removable elastics be put in so i can finaly go on to my mushy food diet? i have been very posetive but i have had enough of pain and no eating.

    Posted 10 months ago #

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