Corrective Jaw Surgery: Do You Need It Soon?
Posted on: 7 July 2022
If your upper jaw is out of line with your lower jaw, you may find it difficult to chew food, speak, or even close your mouth at times. You may even struggle to breathe at night because of your jaw problems. You can repair the problems with your jaw through corrective surgery. Learn more below about jaw problems and how corrective surgery can repair your jaw.
What's Wrong With Your Upper and Lower Jaw?
Your upper and lower jaw bones should be even or almost even when you close and open your mouth. The teeth in your upper jaw must also make contact with the teeth in your lower jaw. The contact prevents food and liquid from escaping your mouth when you eat or talk.
Properly aligned upper and lower jaw bones also allow you to keep your mouth closed at night when you sleep. If your jaw bones don't meet together properly, it causes your mouth to remain open during the night. You may breathe through your mouth instead of through your nose.
A number of problems may misalign your upper and lower jaw bones, including facial trauma and congenital birth defects. Traumatic injuries to the face may cause the upper and lower jaw bones to move out of place in the face. Some types of congenital birth defects can also hinder the growth of your upper and/or lower jaw bones.
Many dentists offer corrective orthognathic surgery to patients who have misaligned jaw bones. If you feel surgery is right for you, consult a dentist today.
How Can You Correct Your Jaw Problems?
A dentist will need to evaluate the positions of your upper and lower jaw bones before they schedule you for surgery. The evaluation determines the condition of the bones in your face, including your cheekbones, chin, lower jaw bone, and upper jaw bone. After a dentist completes their evaluation of your facial bones, they'll select the best corrective jaw surgery for your situation.
If the evaluation only reveals problems in your upper jaw, a dentist may correct the issues with maxillary osteotomy. Maxillary osteotomy allows a dentist to surgically remove some of the bone from your upper jaw. After a dentist removes portions of your upper jaw, they reposition it over your lower jaw. Your upper and lower jaw bones will meet properly after surgery.
If the evaluation also reveals problems in your lower jaw bone, a dentist may need to correct both of your jaws with bimaxillary osteotomy surgery. A dentist will need to manually reposition or pull the lower jaw into its correct place in your face. The surgery generally requires more time to complete than other corrective jaw bone surgeries.
If you need to correct your upper or lower jaw bones, contact a dentist for a corrective jaw surgery consultation today.
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