How Jaw surgery can help you

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So what is jaw surgery?

Jaw surgery, also known as orthognathic surgery, in laymans terms is chaning the sape of your jaw. It is the surgical correction of the position, shape or size of the upper and/or lower mandibles. If a person has a serious problem with their mouth that regular orthodontics can’t fix, then jaw surgery can help.

Some of the more serious problems that may require jaw surgery can include:

  • Mandibular retrognothia (lower jaw too short) – This results in the lower teeth being too far behind the upper teeth.
  • Mandibular prognothia (lower jaw too low) – This results in the lower teeth being too far forward of the upper teeth.
  • Maxillary retrognothia (upper jaw too far back).
  • Maxillary prognothia (upper jaw too far forward).
  • Vertical maxillary excess (upper jaw too tall vertically with excessive display of upper tooth and gum below the upper lip).
  • Vertical maxillary deficiency (upper jaw too short vertically with little upper tooth displayed below the upper lip).
  • Transverse maxillary deficiency (upper jaw too narrow, leading to dental cross-bite).
  • Transverse maxillary excess (upper jaw too wide, leading to dental scissors-bite).
  • Anterior open bite (vertical open bite between the upper and lower front teeth, making incising food and chewing difficult or impossible).
  • Posterior open bite (vertical open bite between the upper and lower back teeth, making chewing in this region impossible).
  • Facial and jaw asymmetry, including deviation of the dental and jaw midlines to one side and/or tilting of the occlusal (bite) plane up or down on one side.
  • Jaw surgery is also an effective treatment for snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea, by moving the lower and/or the upper jaw forward to improve the pharyngeal (throat) airway.

If you’ve had problems with your jaw, teeth, gums for years and regular dentistry and orthodontics can’t help, then give us a call today. Here at Lance West, we have the skill, experience and expertise to help you. Call us for a chat if you have any questions about jaw surgery. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff will be happy to answer any questions you may have.