What jaw surgery can help you with.

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What is Jaw surgery?

Jaw surgery, also known as orthognathic surgery, is the surgical correction of the position, shape or size of the upper and/or lower jaws. 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 suffer from any of these conditions 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 helpful staff will be happy to answer any questions you may have.