After orthognathic or maxillofacial surgery, mouth opening drops sharply, then recovers over weeks. The practice tracks that recovery with numbers: millimetres, validated scores, and a one-page report your surgeon can actually use.
The literature describes an initial loss of 60 to 70% of maximal mouth opening after orthognathic surgery (Ko et al., 2015). Rehabilitation accompanies the recovery: the practice's usual pattern, adjusted to the surgeon's advice, starts around day 30 with about ten weekly sessions and four measurement points: opening in millimetres, deviation, lateral movements and protrusion, the four directions used in a 2025 randomised trial in the British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, plus OMES (Felício & Ferreira, 2008) and JFLS-8 (DC/TMD framework) scores.
Baseline at the first session, ideally before surgery. Weekly sessions combining manual therapy, guided mobilisation and a daily home programme. Four measurement points across the protocol produce an evolution curve that is yours, not a population average.
The calendar always follows your surgical team's instructions.
Ideally before surgery: published recovery data are expressed as a percentage of pre-operative values.
Rehabilitation starts after initial healing, per your surgeon's instructions. About ten weekly sessions.
Opening, deviation, lateral movements, protrusion, plus OMES and JFLS-8 scores across the protocol.
A one-page summary with your curve and scores, to your surgeon with your consent.
A pre-operative assessment serves two purposes: it establishes your baseline in numbers, and it screens for dysfunctions (atypical swallowing, mouth breathing, low tongue posture) that the literature associates with relapse of the deformity if left uncorrected.
Patients typically arrive after surgery at Saint-Luc, Erasme, CHU Brugmann or the Chirec hospitals. A medical prescription is required and sessions are reimbursed under standard Belgian physiotherapy conditions.
The practice's usual pattern, always adjusted to your surgeon's instructions, starts around thirty days after surgery: about ten weekly sessions, with four measurement points across the protocol.
The literature describes an initial loss of 60 to 70% of maximal opening, recovering progressively over weeks to months. This is an expected part of recovery, not a complication.
Yes, with your consent: a one-page summary with initial and current measurements, evolution curve, OMES and JFLS-8 scores, readable in thirty seconds.
Ideally yes. A baseline measured before surgery lets your recovery be tracked against your own numbers rather than an average.