Ask Bella: Talking after unwiring

Q: I just had jaw surgery 3 1/2 weeks ago and I'm going to get the wires out next week. I'm pretty concerned with my speech 'cause I'm still in school and I have to practice on my public speaking skills. I know you can't exactly talk perfectly right away or open your mouth but I want to know how long did it take you to start talking normal and be able to open your mouth?

A: I didn't find that the surgery affected my speech at all. Once I was unwired, I could only open my mouth a little bit, but it was enough to speak clearly - more clearly than I could with my jaw wired shut, that's for sure!

I could open my mouth wide enough to get a small toothbrush as well as a spoon in there right away, so that's what really mattered to me. Food and clean teeth! More information on how long it took me to get my mouth opening back to normal can be found on my blog under the category "range of motion."

However, I will mention my jaw was only advanced 4 mm. I have heard of some people who had major advancements (more than 7 mm) and found it affected their speech enough that they had to go to speech therapy. So, it depends on how much of an advancement you got (I'm assuming you had the same lower jaw surgery I did.)

In any event, you will be fine. It might be great right away or it might take a little work, but you'll know for sure in a few days, right?

Best wishes, and please let me know how it goes.


*To ask Bella a question about her jaw surgery, email her at smilingbella at gmail dot com or leave a comment on this post. Go ahead: ask away!!