I’m sorry to hear about what happened to you. It sounds like a rough time. It’s good to hear that you’ll be getting the arch bars off soon. In my case, the oral surgeon left the arch bars on until he was satisfied that my mouth was opening normally, which was a little over nine weeks post surgery. I don’t recall it being so much painful as uncomfortable, though.

Thanks for sharing your story, and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Adam

About a month ago I was attacked and mugged, getting my jaw broken in the process. I had a couple of fractures (1 at the condyle and another at the sympahsis) so ended up getting ORIF at the symphasis and MMF to treat the condylar fracture. 2 1/2 weeks with the archbar/wire combo and now on elastics with another week and a half to go before arch bar removal.

Im pretty excited about the prospect of not having all the metal in my gums anymore. I find, as you did, that pain on chewing is coming from the wires holding the arch bars in place rather than the jaw itself. Even chewing the softest things at the moment seems painful.

I just wanted to thankyou for writing this blog. A lot of the experiences that you went through ring true with my own treatment (although thankfully I dont have to worry about the bailiffs turning up just yet thanks to the NHS) and it was really helpful to read about them.

Many thanks, and I hope your recovery continues.

James