Oral Surgery

Corrective Jaw Surgery

Uneven jaw growth. For some people, the upper and lower jaws fail to grow correctly. Uneven jaws can cause difficulty in speaking, eating, swallowing, and breathing.

While some of these problems, like irregular teeth alignment, can be corrected with braces and other orthodontic appliances, more severe issues, require oral surgery to reconfigure all or parts of the upper or lower jaw, or both, into a more balanced, functional, and healthy position.

Improve the fit of dentures. To ensure proper fit before creating dentures, oral surgery can be performed to fix any deformities of the jaws.

Supporting bone deteriorates over time, resulting in dentures that no longer fit properly. In severe cases, your oral surgeon can add a bone graft to areas where little bone remains.

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. The temporomandibular joint, or the TMJ, is the small joint in front of the ear where the skull and lower jaw connect. It is one of the common sources of headache and facial pain. Most patients with TMJ disorders can be treated with a combination of oral treatments.

Facial injury. Fractured jaws and broken facial bones often need oral surgery for repair.

Cleft lip and cleft palate. Cleft lip and cleft palate result when all or parts of the mouth and nasal cavity do not grow together correctly during foetal development. The result is a space in the lip and/or an opening in the roof of the mouth.

Facial infections. Pain, redness, and swelling in the face, neck, or jaws may indicate infection. Infections in this area of the body can develop into life-threatening emergencies if not attended to immediately.

Your oral surgeon can assist you in diagnosing and treating this problem. Surgical treatment may involve cutting into and draining the infected area, as well as extracting any teeth that might be involved.

Snoring/sleep apnoea. When nonsurgical methods such as positive pressure air machines and dental splint appliances fail to alleviate this problem, oral surgery can be performed. Oral surgery involves removing the soft tissues of the oropharynx or the lower jaw. Laser surgery is a newer treatment option.