Hi Jacqui,
I’m glad your surgery is coming up soon. @Jules wrote a good post all about surgery:
If you scroll through the post till you get to the section called Recovery from Surgery
there is a lot of good information there including links to other posts on this forum.
You will be able to eat after surgery but many people experience a sore jaw for a few days to a week post op so a soft diet works best. In rare cases, swallowing can be challenging for a few days in which case a liquid diet works well. I wasn’t able to eat normally for awhile after my first surgery so my husband would cook a meal & my share would go into our blender along w/ broth, milk, water, or whatever seemed the best fit for the meal. Blending a full meal made it look awful, but it always tasted good & was definitely easier for me to consume. Premade protein drinks or homemade smoothies are also good for an easy meal.
Many of us have found steroids to be extremely helpful in reducing painful inflammation in the early days post op, but if they’ll be a problem for you, you can just make sure to be very diligent with your pain meds & ice. Also start taking a laxative & stool softener as soon as you start on Rx pain meds to prevent your “plumbing” from getting clogged.
Head elevation when sleeping after surgery is pretty important as it will also help reduce swelling in your throat & neck. Prior to surgery, do what you can to find some extra pillows you can use to help with that.
I was able to brush my teeth first day home & also use a mouthguard & was able to put it in the night I got home from surgery, but we’re each different. Bottom line is it won’t hurt for you to try to brush teeth & wear your nightguard.