Corrective Jaw Surgery for Dental, TMJ, Airway & Craniofacial Conditions

Many types of conditions may require jaw surgery – especially when they change a child’s bite, facial balance, speech, ability to chew or breathing. These conditions can also affect confidence and quality of life. Our surgeons are specifically trained in procedures that treat jaw-related conditions in both children and adults.

Skeletal Malocclusion & Facial Asymmetry

Jaw surgery can benefit some people whose teeth and jaws don’t align or fit together like they should. Examples include:

  • Excessive gum display (vertical maxillary hyperplasia)
  • Facial asymmetry
  • Long face or short face syndrome
  • Open bite
  • Overbite (class II malocclusion)
  • Small or retruded jaw (mandibular retrognathia)
  • Underbite (class III malocclusion)

Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Conditions

We treat people with conditions that affect the jaw joint and surrounding muscles, such as:

  • Chronic TMJ pain and dysfunction
  • Condylar resorption
  • Congenital TMJ differences
  • Degenerative joint disease
  • Disc displacement and internal derangement
  • Facial asymmetry related to TMJ growth disturbances
  • Failed prior TMJ surgery
  • TMJ ankylosis
  • TMJ arthritis, including juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)

Conditions Associated with Airway Obstruction & Sleep Apnea

Your provider may recommend jaw surgery when tissue blocks the airway, resulting from:

  • Facial skeletal differences
  • Jaw discrepancies contributing to sleep apnea
  • Mandibular deficiency (small lower jaw)
  • Maxillary deficiency
  • Midface hypoplasia
  • Persistent obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) despite adenotonsillectomy or continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy
  • Pierre Robin sequence

Craniofacial Conditions

Craniofacial conditions refer to differences in how the head and face develop. We may use jaw surgery to treat patients with these conditions:

  • Apert syndrome
  • Cleft lip and palate-related skeletal differences
  • Congenital facial skeletal deficiencies
  • Craniofacial microsomia
  • Craniofacial syndromes
  • Crouzon syndrome
  • Facial asymmetry
  • Hemifacial microsomia
  • Nager syndrome
  • Orbital and midface differences
  • Pfeiffer syndrome
  • Post-traumatic facial differences
  • Treacher Collins syndrome

 

Note: We also treat craniofacial fractures and benign tumors and cysts or tumors of the jaw (odontogenic tumors).