Corrective Jaw Surgery
Corrective jaw or orthognathic surgery is performed by an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon to correct a wide range of minor and major skeletal and dental irregularities, including the misalignment of jaws and teeth. Surgery can improve chewing, speaking, and breathing. While the patient’s appearance may be dramatically enhanced as a result of their surgery, orthognathic surgery is performed to correct functional problems.
Click here for detailed Corrective Jaw Surgery published by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Following are some of the conditions that may indicate the need for corrective jaw surgery:
- Difficulty chewing or biting food
- Difficulty swallowing
- Chronic jaw or jaw joint (TMJ) pain and headache
- Excessive wear of the teeth
- Open bite (space between the upper and lower teeth when the mouth is closed)
- Unbalanced facial appearance from the front, or side
- Facial injury
- Birth defects
- Receding lower jaw and chin
- Protruding jaw
- Inability to make the lips meet without straining
- Chronic mouth breathing
- Sleep apnea (breathing problems when sleeping, including snoring)
Your dentist, orthodontist, and our oral surgeons will work together to determine whether you are a candidate for corrective jaw or orthognathic surgery. It is important to understand that your treatment, which will probably include orthodontics before and after surgery, may take several years to complete.