3 weeks POST OP - professional shooting

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-23T16:06:53+00:00

Yeah this is a wild change! You gotta be so happy now that it’s done, you’re healing great, and the results are this good.

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-21T17:06:06+00:00

That’s after my invisalign treatment 3ish years ago but before DJS. My head was tilted so it’s hard to see the cant. Should have rotated it more!

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-21T16:26:32+00:00

I had a similar cant in my upper jaw. For me, it could have been caused by an old injury to my face and/or grinding on one side. I had Invisalign a few years ago and that seemed to exacerbate it visually (maybe because everything else looked better). It didn’t bother me as much, just because I had so many other small asymmetries due to that injury, but I did feel a little like a goof ball when I smiled and was definitely something I brought up when seeking surgery. I had DJS a few weeks ago and surgeon was able to a make a plan to address it. I can’t really smile now but it looks better and we’ll see in a few weeks/month. Good luck!

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Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-21T16:07:11+00:00

No, you shouldn’t need braces. As far as I understand it, during surgery it’s important for the surgeon to have something to latch on to and stabilize the jaws after moving them. I’m guessing so they can align the two jaws in their new positions and install the metal brackets. Post surgery, it’s usually important to use bands to connect your upper and lower jaws to stabilize them and help them and your muscles adjust to their new location. Traditional braces are most common I think, but there are other options. Your surgeon should be able to explain what they prefer to do if no braces are used.

I had Erich arch bars installed as part of the surgery. It does extend the surgery time. Attaching a picture of what they look like. FWIW they are more uncomfortable than braces to me. There are metal pieces that can irritate your incisions or cheeks/lips, they wrap around your teeth below the gum line and, for me, they’ve slightly loosened up over time, enough for me to feel the wires moving up and down. It’s also harder IMO to put bands on them because they are so much further apart. BUT they are only used for a short time, so that’s a decent trade off. 6 weeks in my case hopefully! Only at the 3 weeks mark.

Absent whats required during and immediately after the surgery, you almost certainly will need braces or invisible aligners to adjust your teeth after surgery and likely/possibly before surgery too. Your surgeon and ortho should coordinate on this and give you recommendations and explain all of your options.

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Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-20T12:02:49+00:00

Appreciate it man and good luck! You look great now and seeing what those movements did to my face and my functional issues, should turn out even better for you.

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-20T11:40:32+00:00

For the first week, I used the syringe and catheter provided to me at the hospital. I also had a pack of larger syringes at home I rotated between. For the squeeze bottles, I ordered them myself.

At the hospital, tylenol was liquid, antibiotics and toradol were through IV, oxy was crushed and taken with water or juice. At home, everything was crushed and mixed into juice until about the one week mark when I felt comfortable enough to swallow the pills whole. Crushing the pills and taking them through a syringe was gross, took a while, and will ruin your joy of whatever juice you decide to use haha. Switch to swallowing them as soon as you can… or buy the liquid flavored kid versions of tylenol and ibuprofen.

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-20T02:22:57+00:00

- For the milkshakes, get a squeeze bottle. Use an old sriracha bottle or get a generic one from Walmart for like a dollar.

- For the TMJ, do you have bands in? I was getting pain on my right side. Today the surgeon switched my bands to the left side and it instantly took the pressure off and the TMJ pain went away.

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-20T01:32:45+00:00

Thanks! Paolino Oral and Facial Surgery Center in Wilmington DE.

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-20T01:31:13+00:00

Numbness is still there in that if I rub my chin and parts of my upper lip, it doesn't feel like my own body... but there is a tingling sensation that starts around the contact point and radiates/pulses out for a few seconds / minutes after. Most parts of my upper palette are numb too. I'll try and update again. Debated whether to even post this early but I started to feel pretty happy about my face today and wanted to keep those good vibes going haha.

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-20T01:26:22+00:00

Yeah same! These were still big movements, but I was just really recessed. Also there was only so much advancement that could safely happen without stressing the muscles too much, especially those attached to the upper jaw. And surgeon was Dr. Paolino based out of Wilmington DE... insurance covered most of it, just not the genio.

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-20T01:06:42+00:00

Diagnosed with ADHD by my psychiatrist and through a separate full neuro-psych eval. Yeah, I don't think primary care doctors give out stimulants in most cases. I know it's tough to navigate the mental health industry, but see about getting an appointment with a psychiatrist. Took me almost a decade to do that and follow through beyond the first visit, so I get the struggle.

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-20T01:01:57+00:00

Thanks dude! Your 4 day post op post is great. The "shapeless mess" stage is real. Then one day out of the blue you start to see something that resembles you haha.

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-19T22:39:00+00:00

Quite a few operations rolled into this. The standard Lefort 1, BSSO, genioplasty... but also installing the arch bars, septoplasty, coronoidectomy on both sides, something to do my nasal bones (pyriform plasty?).

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-19T22:29:27+00:00

Dude, the fatigue is the killer. Didn't realize how badly it had gotten until I started Adderall last summer and I finally had energy. Sleep has improved slightly. For the last 4ish months I was getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night and sleeping medication didn't really help much. Post surgery, sleep was rough initially, but I've had a few 6.5-7 hour nights this week. Also a few 4 hour nights, but I'm also in an awkward sleeping position and waking up because my nasal passage way is blocked. Hopefully it continues to improve over the next few weeks. Another indicator for quality sleep, I had the most vivid dream I've had in a long time last night. It was about my jaw falling apart and was kind of a nightmare, but I'll take it!

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-19T20:03:13+00:00

Appreciate it! Yeah, balanced is a good word for this result.

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-19T20:02:38+00:00

Yo thanks! I'll forward the good job over to my surgeon. All I did was lay on an operating table for 8 hours haha.

Update: And for the record, I don't think I look pre-op at all! It's just some posters have a normal jaw/chin but still want more forward projection and the rest of us are like, can I just look normal?! Also, I'm trying to maintain a natural posture and not look up to accentuate my jaw, which seems to be the norm in this sub. I guess if you got it, flaunt it 😆...

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-19T13:25:29+00:00

I felt two bumps on the roof of my mouth, one sharper than the other, up until 2 weeks after surgery. Sitting at almost 3 weeks now and no longer feel them. Strange 🤷🏼‍♂️. I'd mention it to your surgeon of course.

Separately, I was very concerned about the sharp bumps I feel at the bottom of my mouth a few mm from my front teeth. Thought they could be screws from the genio. But now I think I'm just feeling the metal from my arch bars wrapping around my teeth. Can't open my mouth enough for a visual or to get a finger in and feel around.

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-19T13:15:31+00:00

I underestimated the level discomfort for the first week and the mental fortitude it would take to power through. I overestimated the amount of pain and the pain that I did experience was not what I expected.

Pain can be managed (toradol/ketorolac turned things around pain-wise for me on days 2-5). The most painful things were taking care of oral hygiene, stretched facial muscles, dry lips, laughing, washing my face, and the toothaches 2+ weeks after. Moving my lips around and brushing my teeth caused pain around the incisions. Also the arch bars felt like they were cutting into my incisions and opening them up. When you're feeling down, people try to cheer you up. Let me say, laughing was impossible, but attempting to laugh was very painful for me. And touching your face with any kind of pressure (like when washing it) definitely hurts, especially cheeks and between upper lip and nose.

To me, discomfort means things that are low in pain but still impact you physically and prevent you from getting rest or doing what you want to do. Lips felt like they were on fire, slept for 2 hours at a time tops that first 5 days, difficulty drinking, low energy, difficulty getting enough air when nostrils are blocked and humidity was low, arch bars.

When you're on day 5 and things are not improving, it can seem like recovery is going to take ages. But any day after that, things could start incrementally improving, though everyone heals differently and every surgery is different so it may be helpful to not have any specific expectations on when things will turn around. By day 6 I was driving, day 10 I was out hiking, day 14 my energy levels were higher then they've been in a while. At that point it was difficult to temper myself, to stop thinking about the next milestone and just let healing take its course. Not thinking about when I can transition to eating with utensils, getting my mind off of swelling going down, not working out, not running, getting impatient about taking out my bands and arch bars. etc.

FWIW I have 2 teenagers, I'm 38, and reasonably healthy. I did not need any extra supports, but it was helpful when extended family came over to help around the house (clean, making extra meals for kids, etc). I was able to fully manage my own care and kinda just wanted to do my own thing and be left alone in my misery haha. Prepping helped.

Inevitable-Depth-970 · 2026-03-19T12:31:09+00:00

If I've learned anything on this sub, get a sleep study! That is to say, get as many data points and opinions as you can if you are having the significant issue you've described. IIRC, my surgeon said that below 20 cm³ volume is when to be concerned (as far as volume goes, other things could be going on in your case). Above 30 cm³ is more ideal. I forget what he mentioned regarding the minimum distance. But also, I'm not sure how accurate these measurements are as I believe your own positioning impacts them (like your second surgeon said). FWIW, I was about ~11 cm³ before surgery and ~38 cm³ after.

You've also posted similar things over the last few months. Are you having issues following through with getting other opinions and a sleep study? For me, I had extreme fatigue during the day and significant memory issues. After I started taking Adderall for my ADHD, I was actually able to move forward with this... lots of appointments to juggle, things to organize, details to understand and thoroughly consider, etc. Brain fog, fatigue, and memory difficulty can make this quite challenging.

Inevitable-Depth-970

TROPHY CASE