Orthognathic surgery involves a wide variety of surgical procedures performed to place the teeth, jaw bones, and other associated hard and soft tissue structures into their best anatomical positions. This may be necessary as a result of congenital abnormalities, growth disturbances or trauma. Correction of these abnormalities generally results in improvement in function such as chewing, speaking and breathing and often enhances facial esthetics.
Whenever a jaw and bite abnormality is severe enough that orthodontics alone cannot correct the problem, surgery is often necessary. In this type of case the orthodontist moves the upper teeth into their best position in relation to the upper jaw and the lower teeth into the best position in relation to the lower jaw. Surgery is then necessary to correct the position of either the upper jaw, lower jaw or both. After the jaws are repositioned, the orthodontist is then able to properly finish the bite into the best possible relationship. Surgery may also be helpful as an adjunct to orthodontic treatment to enhance the long term results of orthodontic treatment, and to shorten the overall time necessary to complete treatment.
In order to help answer some questions which you may have about surgical treatment, the following information is provided.
There are several reasons why correction of a jaw abnormality through orthodontics and surgery may be beneficial. Some of these reasons are listed here:
There are times when congenital abnormalities, growth disturbances, or previous trauma have resulted in jaw positions that prevent conventional orthodontics from achieving a satisfactory functional and esthetic result.
Correcting the bite frequently helps many people chew food more normally and eat things that they have been previously unable to eat.
In some cases orthodontic treatment alone can, in fact, produce a good bite relationship during and immediately after the time of orthodontic treatment. However, when an underlying jaw abnormality is responsible for the bite problem, orthodontic movement must sometimes be done in such a way that it will be difficult to maintain the position of the teeth over a period of time after the braces have been removed. Surgery can often improve the long term results in these cases.
In some cases there are several options for treatment including orthodontics alone or a combination of orthodontics and surgery. In some of these cases the combined orthodontic surgical approach can be completed in a shorter period of time since movement of the jaw bone to a better anatomical position may decrease the amount of orthodontic treatment that is necessary.
Placement of jaws into the proper position may often result in a more pleasing facial appearance.
When surgery is performed on the jaws, the ability to breathe is frequently improved. This type of surgery often greatly improves problems associated with sleep apnea which can cause or be associated with other serious medical problems.
Correction of poorly positioned jaws or teeth may have a positive effect on abnormal speech. Jaw surgery may need to be combined with speech therapy to correct speech abnormalities.
Patients who have jaw joint pain or pain in their jaw muscles may experience some improvement after correction of jaw position. While this pain reduction occurs for many patients, there is no absolute guarantee that correction of jaw positioning will be able to totally eliminate or reduce pain