JAW SURGERY RECOVERY – WHAT FOODS CAN I EAT?

Well, you’ve just had your jaw implants put in or other jaw surgery completed and you’ve headed home from the hospital. You’re doing your facial muscle exercises and watching television, all is well. Wait, you’re hungry? Uh oh. What can one possibly eat during jaw surgery recovery? Well, it’s going to depend on many things, including length of time since the procedure and how you are feeling. Whether you’ve had jaw reduction surgery or enhancement for a bigger profile added, the conundrum surrounding eating during jaw surgery recovery affects anyone who’s had surgery on this very much used body part.

It’s likely that the first day or even two days after your procedure you won’t feel like eating a whole lot. That is not a big deal and is to be expected. During this time, you will probably do a lot of drinking however, as you should, but it’s best to avoid anything that’s at either extreme on the temperature spectrum as anything too hot or too cold will likely cause discomfort. Remember not to use straws during jaw surgery recovery if any teeth have been removed as the suction can be detrimental to what’s going on inside your mouth. Stick to beverages that contain vitamins and minerals or power packed products like Ensure to “ensure” that your body isn’t being completely depleted of nutrients that it needs to recover more quickly.

After a day or two of straight liquids you might be feeling up to soft foods like pudding and mashed potatoes. Eat these when you’re feeling up to it, there’s no set day or time during jaw surgery recovery that you’re required to eat mashed potatoes, although the hunger pains probably won’t subside on Ensure and Gatorade alone. In the second and third weeks of your orthognathic surgery recovery, you will likely begin to add “harder” soft foods like pasta and cooked vegetables and even cereal.

You can expect a recovery time of around 6 weeks for most jaw surgeries, and will not be eating snickers bars or crunchy crackers until closer to the end of that recovery period. However, if you feel that your mending period is taking far longer than you think is reasonable, or that your discomfort level is keeping you from adding foods back into your diet at a practical rate, see your health care provider to make certain that you are healing properly.