Eating after jaw surgery

In Australia we don't get wired shut (thankfully!) and they don't keep the splint in after the surgery.

So it does make eating progression a bit easier.

Here's roughly how it went:

Week 1 - 4: liquid/puree diet.

For the first couple of days I was on liquids only. Then I was I able to eat anything I could blend (so anything that I could put into my mouth and swallow without chewing.)

TIP: get these condiment bottles to squirt water/liquids into your mouth - so much easier than using a syringe. Also get a free standing mirror and take it to the hospital with you. You can't feel your face so this really helps to have in front of you to eat while keep your hands free to hold the spoon/plate.

Hospital food

Mirror & condiment bottle - you want these!

This is one of the tastier blended meals I had - crockpot roast with gravy. The beef was well seasoned and the blended potatoes were so good and fulling. As a general rule anything you can blend that has spice/seasoning will taste better.

Blended beans with sour cream - surprisingly good!

Blended roast with gravy - so good!

Week 4 - 6: soft chew diet

At 4 weeks I got cleared for a soft chew diet. I ate ALOT of pasta. And ALOT of these desserts...

Week 6: resume to "normal" diet

At 6 weeks I was cleared to eat what I like. Takes a bit to get the knack of chewing again but because I was able to open my mouth almost 3 fingers wide at this point it didn't take long to get back into the swing of things.