Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryanna
gnawgnaw,
That was a long time to go with an infection in the jaw bone. Were you in pain that whole time?
There is no way to know if or how completely the muscles will heal. There are many factors that contribute to how well this heals. The longevity of the infection and the spread of the infection have something to do with what exactly was involved with this oral surgery and how deeply the muscles were cut. Also the amount of scar tissue that forms may or may not be concern. The oral surgeon had to re-contour the muscle fibers and connect them the best that he could considering what he had to work with. So he is correct in that if you are having no signs or symptoms of infection then a wait and see approach is usually taken at this point. Did he suggest any facial exercises or any sort of massage therapy? If not, that may be something to ask him about..... don't just take it upon yourself to do that without consulting with him first because you don't want to assume it would be a good thing without his consent.
Bryanna
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The infection was kind of come and go, it was persistent, but never very intense. I wasn't bothered by it most of the time, but I did take two courses of antibiotics in the duration.
He did not mention any scar tissues, and actually mentioned no severing of muscles for the operation. He told me that the stiffness after the operation is from the swelling. That's why I'm worried that that particular kind of mobility doesn't seem to be improving faster, given that the swelling has been gone for a week, and other ranges of movements have all been basically fully recovered.
I'll be seeing him again next week in my next follow-up. There's still a pretty sizable lump, though. Would you say that this is normal even with a successful operation?
Sorry for all this, I just can't get myself to not worry when it comes to dental stuff..