Corrective jaw, or orthognathicsurgery is performed in order to correct a wide range of minor and major skeletal and dental irregularities, including the misalignment of jaws and teeth. While the patient's appearance may be dramatically enhanced as a result of their surgery, orthognathic surgery is performed to correct functional problems.
Following are some of the conditions that may indicate the need for
corrective jaw surgery:
difficulty in chewing, or biting food;
difficulty in swallowing;
excessive wear of the teeth;
open bite (space between the upper and lower teeth when the mouth is closed);
unbalanced facial appearance from the front, or side;
receding chin;
protruding jaw;
inability to make the lips meet without straining;
chronic jaw or jaw joint (TMJ) pain and headache;
facial injury or birth defects;
chronic mouth breathing and dry mouth;
sleep apnea (breathing problems when sleeping, including snoring).