Enjoy better sleeping and breathing, improved chewing, and a beautiful smile with jaw surgery. Oral surgery is the first step to correct specific cosmetic and functional issues with the jaw. Jaw surgery aims to help patients who have issues like chronic TMJ pain, trouble making the lips meet, or a protruding jaw. But can it improve your looks?
What Can I Expect?
Any type of surgery is a source of worry for patients. Operations on the lower face carry unique concerns about breathing, eating, and cosmetic appearance. Lower jaw surgery is an efficient procedure to successfully treat the issues above. Since this method involves incisions around delicate facial nerves and muscles, post-operative precautions like restrictions on physical activity and diet are common.
Effective jaw surgery will reset an irregular jaw structure. Different conditions create a need for this type of orthognathic surgery. These include genetics, birth defects, or injury. In most cases, a patient will have a receding or protruding lower jawline in relation to the upper jaw. Any jaw misalignments of the lower or upper jaw can affect the ability to chew or swallow food properly. Also, jaw-related conditions may cause sleep apnea.
The Process
In performing jaw surgery, a skilled surgeon will separate the lower jawbone from its anchor bone. Having accomplished this, your surgeon will move the bone forward or backward, depending on your jaw misalignment. They may use screws, wires, or plates the jaw’s new position. This operation may occur in a specialty surgery center, a hospital, or even in an office. Estimated operation times may therefore range from under an hour to several hours.
Jaw Surgery Benefits
The benefits from a proper jaw alignment include a balanced facial appearance, improved sleep, breathing, eating, and speech improvement. Secondary psychological benefits to note include a cosmetic revision and a boost of self-confidence.
Jaw surgery also corrects what many call a gummy smile. The best smiles expose the least amount of gum tissue. Gum tissue noticeable during your smiling should have stable, even shapes according with the upper lip. This relationship to the gum and upper lip presence is why many people feel their smiles are unattractive, making them reluctant to smile at all.
Patients who show too much gum tissue may have related health issues. If teeth eruption and jaw development were abnormal, an unnatural and uncomfortable bite may result.
There are other dental solutions for gummy smiles caused by too much gum tissue. Patients with gummy smiles triggered by a misaligned jaw or an abnormal bite should have jaw surgery. Afterward, they can take care of cosmetic issues and long-term oral health.
As you can see, jaw surgery is a comprehensive procedure. It requires multiple steps, including lifestyle changes after surgery. While the initial process might be frustrating to some, the positive effects can last a lifetime.
If you would like more information about jaw surgery, call our Austin oral surgery office at 512-327-7233 to request a consultation.
