Your jaws form the foundation on which the teeth rest. Sometimes jaws that are too short or long, wide or narrow affect a person’s appearance as well as cause improper bite, abnormal tooth wear, gum disease or possible join pain. Orthognatic Surgery also referred to as Corrective Jaw Surgery is done to correct congenital dental and skeletal defects and asymmetries. It includes a variety of procedures that are performed to bring the teeth, jaws and other hard and soft tissues of the mouth and face in perfect harmony.
Problems Corrected by Orthognathic Surgery
Patients who undergo orthognathic surgery havesevere facial and dental deformities such as
- Protrusive upper or lower jaw i.e. one that sticks out too far.
- Retrusive upper or lower jaw i.e. one that rests inside
- Severe Malocclusions
- Anterior/Posterior open bite
- Gummy Smile
- Inability to achieve lip contact or lips don’t come together at relaxed position
- Retruding (one that is set far back) /prominent chin
- Dry Mouth
- Nasal/ Facial Asymmetry
- Elongated Facial Appearance or Long Face Syndrome
- Breathing Difficulties or breathing through mouth
- TMJ pain and headaches
- Lack of cheekbones
- Cleft palate (in young children)
Procedure
Usually crooked teeth or bad bites are corrected by orthodontists. But jaw formation problems and skeletal problems require the services of an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. Corrective Jaw Surgery is usually performed by an oral surgeon and an orthodontist in unison. Depending on your condition, a treatment plan is designed. Prior to orthognathic surgery, the teeth are to be moved to their best possible positions by using braces on the upper and lower jaw. This is known as orthodontic decomposition process. Orthognathic surgery is then performed to correct the upper or lower jaw or both. After surgical repositioning of the jaws the orthodontist aligns the teeth and corrects the bite. In addition, procedures like genioplasty, rhinoplasty, cheek augmentation, placement of dental implant and the like may be performed in order to correct facial deformities.
All these procedures are performed after full skeletal maturity of the patient, the reason being if there is still growth, then the jaws will grow again after surgery resulting in protrusive jaws again.
Benefits
The long term benefits from the procedure are dramatic. Some of them are listed below
- When orthodontic treatment alone cannot provide satisfactory results such as in congenital abnormalities, trauma resulting in movement of jaw positions etc.
- To increase long term orthodontic result.
- Pleasing Facial Appearance.
- Improves breathing and speech.
- Improves TMJ discomfort and associated headaches and jaw pain.
To know more about the procedure and if orthognatic surgery is the right option for you, get diagnosed by our experts who would suggest the best possible treatment options for you. Fix an appointment today and get improved smile along with improved functionality.