Great teeth are crucial to helping you look your best. Straight teeth that work efficiently are also vital for your overall comfort as it helps you do your daily tasks that involve oral health. Eating, chewing, speaking, and smiling are just some of the things you use your mouth for. In some cases, a jaw misalignment may happen, and this causes a lot of discomfort.

The aim of corrective jaw surgery, also known as orthognathic surgery, is to realign the teeth and straighten them. Although jaw surgery is crucial for cosmetic changes, it also corrects the functions of the teeth and jaw so that both parts will work normally.

Aside from improving the overall look of the face, jaw surgery is crucial in fixing other issues, which include:

• Problems with breathing
• Problems with chewing, biting, or swallowing
• Painful tremors in the jaw
• Speech problems
• TMJ (temporomandibular joint) disorder

If you are one of the people who need corrective jaw surgery, you may be curious about what happens during the procedure. The following are some insights into what happens during corrective jaw surgery:

The Jaw Surgery Procedure

Corrective jaw surgery is conducted by specialists, who are oral and maxillofacial surgeons. You will be put under general anesthesia, causing you to be asleep, feeling no pain during the procedure. The procedure will normally be done in a hospital, and recovery time will typically take two to four days. During the procedure, your surgeon will surgically separate your jaw so they can make the necessary adjustments and corrections.

Surgery is usually done inside your mouth so that the incisions will not show up on your cheek, jaw, and the area surrounding your mouth.

However, there may be instances where small incisions outside your mouth are necessary. What the surgeon does is cut your jaw bone so that it can be moved in the correct position. When the surgeon has been successful in aligning your jaw, the bones will be set in place using metal plates, screws, wire, and rubber. Over time, these foreign materials will be integrated into your bones. There will be some instances wherein the extra bone is needed, which they can get from other parts of your body, such as your hip, leg, and rib. This bone will likewise be secured by plates, metals, and screws.

There may be cases wherein the bone needs to be reshaped in order to fit perfectly into its new position.

Jaw surgery may be done in any of these parts: the upper jaw, the lower jaw, the chin, or any combination thereof.

Does Jaw Surgery Hurt?

After jaw surgery, you shouldn’t feel anything extremely unpleasant. Usually, in jaw surgery, patients say that the feeling they have is just like having their wisdom tooth extracted. The swelling, however, can be more intense with jaw surgery. There is a big chance that you will be feeling sore after your surgery, and you will be advised to take prescription medication. The amount of time of recovery varies from each patient, but on average, you should be able to resume your normal activities after three weeks.

The Risk Factors Of A Jaw Surgery

You may get some bleeding and infection after jaw surgery. After your operation, you are likely to feel numbness in your lower jaw. You will lose feeling and sensation in these parts because there is a chance that your nerves have been damaged during surgery. The swelling that normally occurs after surgery also puts pressure on the nerves. When it comes to younger patients such as children, the sensation often comes back. But with older patients, the possibility of getting the sensation back is unpredictable.

Some other risk factors that may be associated with jaw surgery include tingling on the lips and cheeks. There will also be the possibility of the jaw segments being incorrectly placed. Damage to the teeth is also possible, as well as some problems with the joints in the jaw area.

After surgery, your surgeon will advise you on what to eat as well as certain habits to take up in order to hasten healing.

Technological Breakthroughs in 3D Surgery

If you are having jaw surgery nowadays, you can benefit from 3D technology called Sure Smile. This improves the treatment of patients that need jaw surgery in a significantly shorter amount of time. Most models use X-rays to make plasters of the 3D representation of the jaw to be corrected. Representing the human anatomy in 3D can be complicated, but with the introduction of Sure Smile, it revolutionizes how dentists can see, visualize, and diagnose jaw problems and other teeth problems. Operating on the jaw will be more accurate, and there will be fewer errors during surgery.

Final Thoughts

Undergoing jaw surgery is necessary not only to make you look attractive but to correct any imperfections in your jaw. These imperfections do not only have cosmetic consequences but can also harm the efficiency of your jaw and teeth. Invest in your oral health and reap the benefits. After surgery, you will feel as if you have been given a new lease on life because you will be able to do your tasks more efficiently and more comfortably.