Orthognathic surgery, in simple words, means cosmetic jaw surgery. Though the primary goal is esthetic facial appearance, functions like speech, biting and swallowing is also taken care of.
During the development of teeth and the jaws, there may be unproportional growth between the upper and lower jaws, resulting in unpleasant facial appearance and compromised function. The discrepancy in the size and shape of the jaw can be present in the upper jaw, lower jaw or both. Also, the excess or deficiency can be in the vertical and or horizontal dimension. Hence the unesthetic appearance is because of the jaw bone itself, mere braces therapy can not correct the situation. Such dento facial deformities need surgical correction of the jaw bone(s), which are known as orthognatic surgery. These procedures in general are carried out after the completion of growth of an individual, usually after the age of 16 years. The braces therapy can not be completely eliminated. Most of these surgeries will demand braces treatment before and/or after the surgery. Almost all these surgeries are carried out from inside the mouth and so there are no external visible scars on the face. There will be a healing time of about one month to 2 months after the surgery. The commonest post-surgical complaints are pain, swelling, bruises, numbness, restricted mouth opening and difficulty in chewing. The patients get back to their regular work schedule after 2 to 3 months. In “The Face Clinic”, we use NemoFabsoftware(Spain) for perfect analysis and planning for the orthognathic surgeries, rendering more precision and better results.
