Orthognathic Surgery

Orthognathic surgery, also known as corrective jaw surgery or simply jaw surgery, is surgery designed to correct conditions of the jaw and lower face related to structure, growth, airway issues including sleep apnea, TMJ disorders, malocclusion problems primarily arising from skeletal disharmonies, and other orthodontic dental bite problems that cannot be treated easily with braces, as well as the broad range of facial imbalances, disharmonies, asymmetries, and malproportions where correction may be considered to improve facial aesthetics and self-esteem.

Skew or misaligned teeth are most commonly corrected with orthodontics.

In some circumstances orthodontics alone is not enough to ensure a good aesthetic and functional outcome. It might be that there is a jaw discrepancy, for example, the upper or lower jaw being too big or too small.

This would require the movement of either the upper or the lower or both jaws to ensure a more optimal outcome.

Common orthognathic procedures include: Le Fort 1 osteotomy (upper jaw), Bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO) (lower jaw) and genioplasty (repositioning of the chin). These procedures could also be utilised to correct facial asymmetries.