An injury to your face from a car accident, industrial or sports mishap, or even a physical attack can result in a break in your lower jaw bone, also known as the mandible. Symptoms include bleeding from the mouth, bruising and swelling, jaw tightness, loose or broken teeth, abnormal bumps on the cheek or jaw, numbness of the face (especially the bottom lip) and difficulty in moving the jaw. A broken jaw requires immediate medical care, but a family member or friend can take steps to help care for your jaw until you can get professional help. And when you are recovering at home, you can follow a special diet and dental-care routine until your jaw functions normally again.
Instructions
1. Apply ice to the jaw to ease pain and swelling.
2. Wrap a bandage around your jaw and across the top of your head to hold the jaw in place. The bandage should be easy to remove in case you need to take it off quickly to vomit. Or, cradle the jaw in place with your hands while someone takes you to get medical attention. Take a container to catch spit, blood or vomit.
3. Wait for your doctor to determine whether you have a minor fracture or one that is more severe. Minor injuries may require pain medicine and a soft or liquid diet. For more serious injuries, surgery is usually required. After surgery, the jaw will be wired shut to keep it stabilized.
4. Maintain a liquid or soft diet, as recommended by your doctor. If your injury requires the jaw to be wired shut, the healing process during this time of stabilization may take two to six weeks. A special diet recommended by Stanford University for jaw surgery patients suggests thin or clear fluids, such as water, juice, milk and diluted soups, for the first several days. Eventually, you can drink thicker liquids, including meal replacement shakes, to increase your nutrient intake.
5. Begin to increase your protein and vitamin C consumption after the first week, recommends Stanford experts' diet. Use your blender to liquefy foods such as bananas and peanut butter and add them to your beverages. You should also begin to eat pureed soups and stews, baby foods, oatmeal and other soft, nutritious foods. To increase calories, you can add ice cream to drinks and shakes.
6. Brush your teeth and rinse your mouth after drinking anything other than plain water, according to Stanford's recommendations. A baby-sized toothbrush will make the job more comfortable.
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