Delayed Union?

[NoQuarter]

Hi guys, great forum been lurking for a while and found it very helpful and informative  


I am currently at week 10 of my recovery from double jaw surgery. Around week 6 I noticed slight movement in my front upper jaw when I applied pressure to it.

My Surgeon noticed this and said it was fairly common and should firm up soon. Its been about five weeks since my appointment and I can still see a little bit of movement. It seems to be just the front of my upper jaw and the sides are solid. It seems to be worse in the mornings after I wake up. Could I be clenching my jaws in my sleep and this is delaying the healing?

I have been on a no chew diet since my surgery and haven't tried to eat anything hard or challenging.

Has anyone gone through a similar experience and healed up eventually?

I'm very happy with my results and my recovery is going very well. I would hate to have to go through surgery again to fix this. I've been reading stuff on the internet about non unions and delayed unions and it seems to happen to be a complication that arises in older patients, I'm only 22 so shouldn't my bones be healed by now?

[stupidjaws]

hi wars, i'm sorry this is happening and i hope it's not as you think.

it maybe that you're just to worried and some movement is normal. I cannot help too much as i haven't had surgery yet, i'm sure somebody will be able to help you more.

Why don't you book another visit to the surgeon? i think it's the best thing to do!

[NoQuarter]

Thanks stupidjaws

I think I'll just wait it out and hope for the best. It doesn't really bother me as the movement is minimal but I think it could be a problem when I start chewing.

I've read somewhere that can take up to a year for bone to fully heal so hopefully it gets better soon.

[pichula]

did you need another surgery or something? or just needed time?

[Rico]

did you have postop infection ?
do you smoke ?
do you drink alcohol ?

nounion is sometimes caused by bad bone alignment..generally by many factors
perhaps lack of minerals ? do you eat product rich in calcium ?

i also probably have nounion in one point due to 1) bad alignment and 2) postop short infection - i will know in few days

in many cases to force fusion the bone must be slightly cut again and clean