Hi all! I’m a teacher and pursuing double jaw surgery. The original plan was for me to have it done over the summer, but my teeth are moving too slowly with orthodontics so that’s no longer possible. The next school break that’s long enough for me to think about the surgery is in December. I’ll have a little over two weeks, but then I’ll have to be back at work and talking pretty much nonstop.

My job has been very resistant to anyone taking more than a few days of sick time at once as we’re severely understaffed, so my options are pretty limited.

Do you think it’s reasonable to expect to be able to talk for hours per day after that amount of time? Or should I ask my surgical team if I can just wait until 2024?