Jaw Surgery
Orthognathic, or corrective jaw, surgery is done by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon to correct an array of minor and major dental and skeletal disorders, which include the misalignment of teeth and jaws. Surgery may improve breathing, chewing and speaking. While the patient’s looks might be significantly improved due to their surgery, orthognathic surgery is done to correct functional issues.
Jaw surgery might help to
- Make chewing and biting less difficult and improve chewing in general
- Decrease breakdown and wear of the teeth over years of use
- Correct crossbites, improving the look of deficient chins, facial imbalance, overbites and underbites
- Restore balance to lower and middle facial features
- Improve “gummy” smiles , in which the lips do not completely close or even pull upward and display huge parts of the gums
- Improve “toothless” smiles , in which the teeth are all covered by the lips
- Decrease the risk of temporomandibular joint condition and other jaw disorders
- Correct and repair abnormalities, post-traumatic facial injury and deformities
- Offer relief for sleep apnea
