A little late, but I had this surgery (lower jaw only) to correct an underbite when I was about her age. Jaws were just rubber-banded together, not wired, even 20 years ago. I wasn’t allowed to chew for six weeks – ate a lot of mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, and milkshakes and still lost some weight. I got a velcro elastic band thing to hold ice packs on my face which was great for the early stages…took awhile for the swelling to go down. I also had a baby spoon to eat with, since tiny bites with my mouth barely open was all I could manage.
I was really happy with the results, although as warned I still have some weird numb sensations on my lower lip/chin once in awhile (mostly noticed when shaving) because they have to expose and handle the big nerve in your lower jaw during the surgery. Was easy to accidentally drool at first due to numbness, but that went away. Dental X-rays show the titanium screws on each side of my jaw, which usually makes the dentist a little surprised if I haven’t been to that office before!
Funny note, I was a vegetarian for a couple of years before the surgery and during my recovery, but due to being restricted on food so much for six weeks, on the day I was finally allowed to chew again, I had a powerful caveman urge for a cheeseburger and headed to Wendy’s. Ate it and never looked back – I’ve been eating meat again ever since.
