5 Reasons You May Need Surgical Orthodontics
Orthodontic treatments such as braces and Invisalign can help correct bite disorders and a misaligned jaw. However, those orthodontic devices may also cause the movement of your teeth, worsening your jaw alignment and bite. Your orthodontist may recommend surgical orthodontics Cedar Park. Also called jaw surgery, surgical orthodontics is an orthodontic treatment that involves straightening and repositioning your jaw and teeth through oral surgery. As a result, you can benefit from corrected dental and skeletal abnormalities. Eliminating jaw bone deformities will make you speak, chew, swallow, breathe, and smile better.
Consequently, below are reasons you may need orthodontic surgery.
1. Malocclusion
Malocclusion is an abnormal alignment of the lower and upper teeth. It may result from teeth overcrowding the jaw, missing teeth, injury, or the behavior of sucking the thumb, especially during childhood.
Without proper alignment of your upper and lower teeth, there is a negative impact on your ability to speak and chew normally. That may also promote the erosion or grinding of your teeth’s enamel.
Teeth misalignment also leaves you susceptible to cheek biting.
2.Bite problems
The common bite problems are underbite, crossbite, protrusion of the upper front teeth, overbite, crowding, and open bite. For instance, an underbite is a dental condition characterized by your lower jaw extending farther than the upper teeth.
On the other hand, a crossbite occurs when your teeth line up improperly when you close your mouth.
Surgical treatment of bite problems can safeguard you against speech difficulty and premature erosion of the teeth and their protective layer.
3.Asymmetrical facial appearance
An imbalance in the structure of the jawbones also imbalances the appearance of your facial features. The problem may be due to a congenital disability or an injury. Congenital disabilities may also cause cleft lip and cleft palate, which your orthodontist can correct through surgery.
Your orthodontist can correctly align your facial bones to enhance the appearance of your face and improve the jaw’s function.
4.Injury to the jaw or face
Surgical orthodontic treatment can reverse the undesired changes if an injury affects your jaw or face and causes facial misalignment.
5.Temporomandibular disorders
Temporomandibular disorders affect jaw muscles, facial nerves, and temporomandibular joints. The condition may result from injury, frequent teeth grinding, excessive jaw joint movement, or arthritis.
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction will cause pain and limited movement of joints and muscles of your jaw.
Other conditions requiring surgical orthodontics may include protruding jaw, receding lower jaw and chin, long-lasting mouth breathing, difficulty closing the lips, and sleep apnea. For instance, surgery can significantly improve your airways and enhance your facial appearance and bite if you have a severe case of sleep apnea.
The orthodontic surgery may last several hours, depending on your condition. Once your jaws are aligned surgically, it may take around two months to recover and heal completely. After surgical correction of your jaw, your orthodontist will recommend you wear braces to move and maintain your teeth in their correct position.
The braces may last six months or one year before removal. Then, you also have to use dental retainers to keep your teeth in their new, correct position.
Contact Freedom Orthodontics today to book an appointment with a surgical orthodontics specialist.