On this page you will find the link to the Patient Information Document and we will answer the most common question we are asked about Orthognathic Surgery. Please remember that if you cannot find the answer to your question here do not hesitate to ask our team any questions you need answering.
Patient Information Document
What is Orthognathic Surgery?
Who needs jaw surgery?
Orthognathic Time-line?
Post Op?
What is Orthognathic Surgery?
Corrective jaw surgery or orthognathic surgery, is performed to correct facial skeletal disproportion and/or dental malalignment. (The word orthognathic is derived from the Greek words; "ortho" -to straighten, and "gnathic" - referring to the jaws).
Orthognathic surgery is needed when jaws don't meet correctly and/or teeth don't seem to fit with the jaws. Teeth are usually straightened by the orthodontist prior to the corrective jaw surgery. This is known as ‘decompensation orthodontics’.
When the teeth are straightened on the jaw, the bite is often worsened temporarily until the corrective jaw surgery is undertaken following which the upper and lower teeth will then meet perfectly. Often some minor adjustments of the teeth is required after surgery. Whilst the main aim of the orthognathic surgery is to harmonise the jaw disproportion and improve the bite it also has a significant effect on facial appearance and can improve chewing, speech and the health of the teeth and gums. There are many other reasons why one may elect to undergo elective jaw surgery including a gummy smile, a receeding chin, a protruding jaw, a poor profile, an inability to bring the front teeth together known as open bite, jaw joint dysfunction, difficulty in chewing, swallowing or biting food, sleep apnoea and chronic mouth breathing.
Who needs jaws surgery?
Whilst many people will be aware that they have one or more of the above problems it is usually the orthodontist who will identify that a patient requires corrective jaw surgery to improve the misaligned teeth and jaws. This often results because the upper and lower jaws grow, either at different rates or in such a way that the bite cannot be corrected by orthodontic tooth movement alone.
Your dentist/orthodontist and orthognathic surgeon will be able to determine whether you are a suitable candidate for corrective jaw surgery and it is important to note that the process of decompensation orthodontics, orthognathic surgery and final adjustment of the bite can often take up to three years to complete in its entirety. The jaw surgery itself is not undertaken until skeletal maturity, usually at the age of 16 or 17 in females and 17 or 18 in males. There is however, no upper age limit at which one can undergo this process.
Orthognathic Time-line?
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Pre-surgical orthodontic treatment (decompensation orthodontics). Once your dentist/orthodontist has decided that you are a suitable patient for orthognathic surgery you will undergo decompensation orthodontics. This involves aligning the teeth on the jaws and may require extractions, to allow for room to straighten the crooked teeth. In some cases it may appear that your bite has dis-improved, this however is only temporary until the surgery is undertaken. A few weeks before your surgery when decompensation orthodontics is completed you will undergo a surgical assessment and pre-planning. This involves taking impressions, x-rays, pictures and models of your teeth as well as a face bow (jaw registration). This will allow the surgeon to plan the movements of the jaw and the technician will be able to construct the splints required during surgery.
- The surgery is usually performed under general anaesthetic and can take up to 3 or 4 hours to complete depending on how much jaw surgery is required. Other procedures such as removal of wisdom teeth, insertion of implants, fat grafting etc. may also be undertaken. The new position of the jaws is maintained with the use of plates and screws and on occasions these may be resorbable (dissolve). Most of the work on the jaws is done through incisions (cuts) in the gum. However on occasions a small skin puncture is needed to place a screw in the lower jaw at the side.
- Following surgery elastics are applied to the teeth to guide the new bite and the patient is put on a puree diet for 6 weeks. During this time medications such as antibiotics, painkillers and nasal drops are often required in the first week or two after surgery. Patients are asked to avoid smoking and alcohol and physical activity should be curtailed during the first four to six weeks. When the healing of the jaws is well underway, the elastics are removed after about six weeks and the final adjustments to teeth and bite are undertaken by the orthodontist in consultation with the surgeon. The process can last a further three to six months depending on the complexity of the procedure.
Post Op
Please look at our dedicated Post-Op page for answers to common queries and for information on your post-op instructions
