Orthognathic Surgery

What is Orthognathic Surgery?

Orthognathic surgery is a form of corrective jaw surgery that is designed to treat more significant skeletal and dental irregularities. This surgery aims to improve the patient’s ability to chew, speak, and bite.  It corrects functional problems with the patient’s teeth through careful and corrective surgery and orthodontics. This procedure is done while in orthodontic therapy and is performed by a maxillofacial surgeon (OMS).

Why is Orthognathic Surgery Needed?

Some of the different conditions that may indicate the need for this orthognathic jaw surgery is:

• Having difficulty in chewing or biting food
• Chronic dental pain or certain TMJ disorders 
• Excessive wear and tear of the teeth 
• Facial injury or unbalanced facial appearance 
• Difficulty or an inability to make the lips meet without excessive strain
• Sleep apnea

What are the Advantages of Orthognathic Surgery?

Corrective jaw surgery can have many benefits.  One of the main benefits is that it helps the patient to have better oral health through correct jaw functioning.  It helps to treat bite related problems that can't be corrected by orthodontics alone. Other problems such as sleep apnea, speech problems, and pain can be improved by correctly aligning the jaws. The surgery can put the jaw in a more harmonious position which can help reduce or minimize chronic joint pain.  By improving the patient's jaw balance, the patient's overall oral health also can improve over time. This corrective jaw surgery is sometimes the best option for patients to have better oral health and jaw function over time.