Update

Progress has definitely slowed in terms of being able to open my mouth further, I've gained maybe a mm or 2 since my last post.  It's not something that's bothering me though as I can eat pretty much everything except maybe a big subway sandwich or something.  I'll likely keep up the exercises another couple of weeks or so and then stop if I fail to see progress.

I recently read an article comparing mouth opening of patients with bilateral condylar fractures who were treated either surgically or closed.  The study found no difference between the two groups, and the only significant factor they found was age of the patient.  Patients with bilateral fractures who were under 30 were significantly more likely to regain normal functioning (defined as 40mm opening or greater) than patients over 30.  From other things I've read, I believe the difference is due to the fact that age limits the amount of condylar remodeling that is possible. The ability of the facial muscles to stretch and compensate likely also decreases with age. This was a small study (as most of the studies I've found have been), and I wish they would have listed descriptive statistics (gender, mean and sd of age) as well as mean and sd of actual mouth opening.  There's a huge difference functionally between being able to open 35mm and 20mm. Sample size likely limited their ability to analyze the data with age and mouth opening as linear variables, or perhaps they didn't record exact measurements on mouth opening. An interesting study to me though as it only included patients with fractures like mine.

I recently went to the dentist and got all of the nasty plaque scraped off my teeth and had my chipped tooth filled.  It's so nice not to feel rough spots on my teeth.  I also went for an ortho consult and have two more scheduled.  I'll be in braces for around 2 years and may have some extractions.  I am going for a "compromise" treatment though as there's no way in hell that I'm going to have jaw surgery to get a perfect result.  There are limits as to how much I'm willing to put myself through :)  Hoping to get a better idea of how much improvement I can expect from the next consult.