Jaw Surgery

Jaw surgery is sometimes necessary to correct misaligned jaws and teeth, which can have an impact on the way a person speaks, chews their food and breathes. Jaw surgery is also used to correct a birth defect and reconstructive jaw surgeries help people who are recovering from an accident or injury.

"What is jaw surgery?" One might ask. Jaw surgery is usually done after orthodontic treatment is completed. The surgeon will take a cast of your mouth prior to the surgery along with photographs and X-rays of the bone. The surgery will be done under general anesthesia. The surgeon will re-position the bone to its proper alignment. Sometimes bone may need to be added, or some may be taken away or the surgeon will re-shape the bone. Most of the incisions are made inside the mouth, but it may be necessary to make small incision outside of the mouth, but the surgeon will be careful about placement of those incisions and take steps to make sure that they are small.

When you are recovering from jaw surgery you will be on a restricted diet. Your doctor may have some liquid recipes for after jaw surgery to share with you. The pain can be managed with medication and your jaw surgery recovery should last a few weeks.

There are many medical reasons for jaw surgery. Your surgeon may need to perform jaw surgery for an under bite, lower jaw surgery, orthodontic upper jaw surgery, or jaw realignment surgery such as for people with temporomandibular disorder. Your doctor will show you before and after lower jaw surgery photos so that you can see the difference re-aligning your jaw can make to the appearance of your face. Pictures of lower jaw surgery can give you an idea of how your face might look when your surgery is complete.

Just as in the jaw surgeries for humans, Veterinary orthodontists perform canine jaw cancer surgery to help our four-legged friends chew and breathe better.

Because jaw surgery is performed to correct a functional problem, the procedure is usually covered by insurance. Your surgeon's staff should be able to help you to deal with your insurance company to handle the approval process.

Between your dentist, orthodontist and oral surgeon, they will compare notes and make the determination about whether or not you will need to have corrective jaw surgery. The whole process from the orthodontia through the surgery and recovery will take years. It is important to keep the communication going between these different specialists throughout your treatment.