Orthognathic Surgery

Activity & Expectations

  • Maintain a pureed diet as recommended by the hospital nutritionist
  • Avoid biting into foods with any force
  • Rinse your mouth with saline rinses every 3 hours when awake
  • Rinse with Peridex twice daily
  • You may brush your teeth lightly with a small (pediatric) tooth brush
  • Keep your elastics in place until re-evaluated
  • If an elastic breaks or falls off, do not worry.  Simply continue as nothing happened
  • Your sutures are resorbable and will dissolve in 1-2 weeks
  • You can expect facial bruising which usually appears 2-5 days following surgery
  • Your swelling should peak 3-4 days following surgery.  This usually coincides with comparable discomfort
  •  Use ice for the first 24 hours.   Following this, begin moist heat compresses for another 48 hours
  • It is usual to have nasal/sinus congestion.   It is also not unusual to experience a bloody post-nasal drip or light bloody nose.  Use Sudafed, one 60mg tablet every 6 hours daily for 10 days and Afirin     nasal spray (two puffs each nostril) for 3 days only
  • Keep your nose moist with Vaseline and Oceanspray nasal spray as needed
  •  Apply sinus precautions (no nose blowing or drinking heavy liquids from a straw) for 10 days
  •  Your activity should be limited to non-stress, non-contact
  • It is best to sleep with your head elevated as well
  • Bruising of the lip and cheek is a common side effect of your surgery.  It can begin days after your surgery as a purple discoloration that will turn yellow and fade away over a week to ten days.
  • If you have an expander, begin turning two days after your surgery.  The expander should be turned once in the morning and once in the evening.  Engage the key into the slot in the middle of the expander and push from front to back until you see the next slot arise.  You will notice a space open between your front teeth; this is a normal result of your expansion.