When a patient visits the clinic with multiple complaints about the oral and maxillofacial conditions, our job is to first check whether he really needs a maxillofacial surgery. The candidates of orthognathic surgeries are usually concerned with these queries,

• What is considered as Maxillofacial Surgery?

Oral and maxillofacial surgery encompasses a variety of procedures that involve oral surgery (mouth), jaw surgery (maxilla), and face surgery (facial). Often considered as an "upgraded" form of dental surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery is actually the practice that extends far beyond what a dentist can perform.

• What does a Maxillofacial Surgeon treat?

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons treat conditions, injuries, defects and aesthetic aspects of the mouth, teeth, jaws and face. 

• Is maxillofacial surgeon a dentist?

A maxillofacial surgeon is a dental specialist with advanced medical knowledge and training about the conditions affecting teeth, jaws, bones and soft tissues of the face. These specialists are well trained to treat the conditions surgically and appropriately with anesthesia.

• What is the difference between oral surgery and maxillofacial surgery?

Surgeries that include simple tooth extractions and surgical procedures associated with just the teeth and the mouth are referred as “Oral” Surgeries while ones related to soft tissues, jaws, face are referred as “Maxillofacial” Surgeries.

• Is Maxillofacial Surgery Safe?

Maxillofacial surgery also known as Orthognathic surgery is very safe with the best surgical and anaesthetic practices. However, there may be a few complications which need to be understood by the patient. These surgeries may result in blood loss, thus blood transfusion is sometimes required.

• Will jaw surgery change my face?

In case of corrective jaw surgery, the aim is to give a balanced appearance of your lower face. This corrective alignment will thus improve a lot many things like chewing, swallowing, breathing and other functionalities of teeth. The surgery has other health benefit like improved sleep.

• How much weight do you lose after jaw surgery?

Following your surgery and throughout the post-operative recovery period, especially if your jaw is wired shut, you could lose as much as 10 percent of your body weight.

• How long are you on a liquid diet after jaw surgery?

After the jaw surgery, you will need to follow a liquid or pureed diet until your jaw has healed. This usually takes about 4 to 6 weeks.

• Does jaw surgery leave a scar?

Corrective jaw surgery is generally performed entirely inside the mouth, therefore, no external scars are produced other than a very small, less than ½ inch neck incision is required for placement of jaw screws to stabilise bone fragments.

• Do you need braces after jaw surgery?

This surgery is performed for correcting the bite. Thus braces are necessary both at the beginning and the end phase of the treatment. Braces help in alignment of the bite by moving your teeth and the jaw bones.