Jaw Surgery Q&A

Hello all,

I can't remember the last time I logged in here. I've been wanting to post a Q&A of some of the questions I get often just so it is easier for anyone to find the answers as sometimes when people try to contact me it gets lost in translation. I've changed over so many social media accounts that I don't think I even have access to all my old emails.



1. Who was your surgeon and where are they located?

I had my jaw surgery in Toronto, Canada. My surgeon was recommended by my orthodontist but I had already known about him through my own research and was interested in meeting with him for a consultation. I highly recommend meeting with him if you live in Ontario and are looking for a surgeon. I have met a few of his previous patients and their final results were functional and aesthetically pleasing. I couldn't imagine having had a better surgeon.

Here is a link to my surgeons bio and the website for the clinic he works through:
My surgeon

I am not sure if they take patients from out of the country, but my best advice is to do your research and find out as much as you can about surgeons in your area and also try to get in contact with their previous patients.

2. How much did your jaw surgery cost?

The cost of my jaw surgery is a good representation of what Canadians living in Ontario will pay through OHIP, but will probably not be much help if you are from a different province or if you are from a different country.

The jaw surgery itself and my time spent in hospital was all covered by OHIP, Ontario's health insurance plan as although my face changed, it was not done for aesthetic purposes but for functionality. I had many associated costs that were not covered.

Braces: $7,000
Consultation: $200
Planning fees: $3,500
Wisdom teeth: Somewhere in the range of $500-$1000 (It's hard to remember all these years later).

Braces are required for surgery but as they are considered cosmetic, it is highly unlikely to have them covered unless your private dental plan includes some sort of coverage. I had pretty straight teeth but I needed to have my jaw decompensated (teeth moved to align with the bone structure) since I had braces previously. They are also required for holding the jaws in place and shut after surgery.

If you are having lower jaw surgery then it is likely you will require wisdom teeth removal as they tend to cut the jaw below where the wisdom teeth are.

Planning fees were fees paid to my surgeon through his clinic for preparation and planning for my in hospital surgery. As his clinic is private, these types of fees are not covered. I had sliding genioplasty as my chin have grow in angle backwards as part of my convex profile so planning for that was also included in the fees.

The best bet of what it will cost you is to check with your insurance company and try to get in contact with other people in your area who have had the surgery.

3. Do you have permanent numbness? How do you deal with it?

This is a question I get often and it is something people are terrified of. I have permanent numbness, which is a risk but it is more likely you won't have it than you will. My chin and lower lip are pretty much numb and the best way I can describe it is sort of like rubber.

After four years it is safe to say the feeling is gone. At first your entire face is numb and the feeling slowly comes back over the course of weeks or months. I did have little pins and needle feelings here and there in that area but the feeling sort of came back outwards in and then stopped.

It has been four years and I can confidently say that the numbness does not have an impact in my day to day life in any way. I actually go months without it even crossing my mind. I tend not to drool when eating, and I can speak perfectly fine. It really is not a big deal at all.

The only time I think I really thought about it was when I last had dental work. It was strange having areas of my mouth numb, but nice at the same time that I had less sensitivity than another person might.

4. How long is the recovery? When can I go back to work or school?

My surgeon told me I would be good to return to university after two weeks. I would strongly suggest against this if you are having double jaw surgery and genioplasty. For one, I still looked mangled, very swollen, and had very little mobility in my face, or energy to get through the day. Also, I found that I still hadn't recovered enough to return to normal activities. I still had bad days with a lot of pain, and was still learning to sleep without putting any pressure on my face.

5. Does jaw surgery hurt? 

Surprisingly, no. At least it didn't for me. I found it was more annoying than anything. I had no pain post op. I was completely numb in the face for a long while. the worst part is throwing up post op, which is common, since your stomach will likely be filled with old blood. I also found it really hard dealing with feeling returning to my face because it was constantly twitching and tingling. I had some joint pain as I continued to recover, but most of my pain was manageable with medication. I was on some pretty heavy painkillers that first week, and actually ended up needing a sedative to sleep. I was very uncomfortable.

6. How long does the swelling last? 

I want to be honest and say that the residual swelling takes about 6 months to a year to go away. The first 6 weeks are the worst. My face looked very uneven during that time. After that I could get away with going out in public and not looking like my face was a rubber mask. That was the first time I took a photo of myself and felt somewhat normal. This will vary for everyone. Overall though it is a long road.

Leave any further questions in the comments and I will answer them. Also, I'm going to try to save the most frequently asked questions I get and make a youtube video.

Terra

Permanent Numbness

Hey readers,

I notice that I get a lot of questions about permanent numbness and about numbness in general resulting from jaw surgery. I will post a video about permanent numbness soon.

I had my surgery close to two years ago. I knew that there was a risk of permanent numbness when I agreed to have double jaw surgery and genioplasty. I knew this was a risk.

I have permanent numbness in my lower face. It's mainly on the left side of my face, the chin, lower lip, and gums.

Was it worth it to have this numbness? Absolutely.

To be honest, after living with numbness in my face this long I can confidently say that it hasn't had any effect of my life. The whole overreacting about numbness that everyone who is pre op makes isn't even worth it. I thought permanent numbness would make it impossible to eat normally and I thought it was something that would constantly be on my mind. To be honest I have never had food on my face that I didn't know about. The motion in your face doesn't change. Unless you usually eat and get food all over yourself, the numbness won't cause you to suddenly have all your food fall onto your chin.

Do I notice it? No. The only time I notice that I have permanent numbness is if I purposely poke at my face or if the temperature changes suddenly. I don't think that saying it feels like when you go to the dentist is accurate. When you get your face numbed at the dentist you have a hard time moving your face and this hasn't been an issue at all with permanent numbness. I can move my mouth normally and I can smile normally.

Does it change the way kissing feels? At first it does, but at first jaw surgery altogether will change this.  You're learning all over again how to move your face so everything involving your mouth is going to feel weird until you've recovered.

Honestly, ignore the people who go on and on about permanent numbness but haven't even had surgery or haven't fully recovered. You adapt to it and you get to a point where it just feels normal.

Almost a year post op

Hey guys,

Hard to believe it's been almost a year since I broke my face. Weird isn't it?
Time really flies when you're enjoying your new face.
I will do a proper before and after update at the one year mark. I still have to do my before and after video. I need to get on that soon.

Once again I love my followers and blogger friends for being there throughout this very long and challenging journey. Thanks guys for all the support and advice.

Lots of love!!

Terra

Last damn orthodontist appointment I LOVE MY FACE

Sweet Jesus I hate going to my ortho.

I had to go for my 3 month appointment post braces removal. I actually cancelled the original and moved it. I knew the appointment would end badly considering I cracked my top retainer months ago but avoided hearing them blame it on me.

Anyway this stupid retainer wouldn't fit from the day I went to pick it up. It was torture getting it on and once it was on it was not coming off. I wore it every night as directly but the top came up to high and it wouldn't snap on.

Anyway it wasn't broken, just chipped from me constantly having to force it on. I went it and initially they said I'd have to pay $200 to replace it but then my ortho said to just do it for free and if it breaks again I have to pay the $200. I like my ortho even more now considering he didn't charge me $200 for a piece of plastic. They should just make doubles when people get braces and keep the backup in their office. Won't happen though, otherwise it would be too easy. I can only imagine how often kids go in there because they lost or broke their retainers. They must make a killing. I used to lose and break my retainers all the time in highschool. Once I forgot to put it in the case and my dog chewed it up. Probably the most expensive chew toy he has ever gotten.

Anyway they all went ohhh and awwwwwe when they saw my bite. It's a huge difference from before and I am sort of in love with all the changes. I feel pretty! I am almost a year post op and just the other day i noticed my jaw is more square. Weird, new changes all the time. It's awesome though. I'm loving it.

10 Months Post op

Hello readers!!

It's been a crazy summer and I've been slacking in the blogging and youtubing department.
I did do a youtube update not that long ago and I will do a retainer one soon.
My bite has been good and has pretty much stayed the same. I've been wearing my retainers nightly for the most part. The only time I didn't wear them consistently was when I was at the hospital overnight with my grandmother.

My last post was on the way back from Montreal and everything sort of got crazy after that. A couple days later my grandmother fell ill and was hospitalized in critical care. I was closer to my grandmother than most people are so when she's not well I don't leave her side. She was at the hospital for 9 days in which I pretty much was there all the time, around the clock. She started to improve on July 6th and we had a lot of hope that maybe she would someday be well enough to be moved to a different ward and eventually recover. The following day she went down hill really fast and that was the last day I got to spend with her. Planning the funeral that week was chaos with the amounts of flooding and the storms in Toronto. We had a power outage so I got very little sleep working around the clock to have everything sorted out. The funeral turned out to be beautiful and I think it honoured her life well.
I miss her every single day.

Some days everything that has happened these last few months just overwhelms me so most of the time I try not to think too much. My life has forever changed in so many ways that sometimes I don't recognize it at all.

At the same time I feel blessed to have the amazing people that I do have in my life. Hoping for lots of good from here on out. I really hope all your wonderful people are doing well. I miss your stories and I've going to try to catch up on everyones blog.

xoxo
Terra

1 Year in Pictures (My jaw surgery journey)

Hello all!

Okay I'm not feeling like typing out a storm but I wanted to share some flashbacks of the past year in pictures since I haven't done this. I'll try to find some good profile shots :)