JAW SURGERY (Genioplasty)

Shape-related deterioration in the jaw occurs in a very diverse manner, and is often seen due to developmental problems. However, sometimes it may also happen as a result of accidents. One of the major problems in jaw deformities is whether the teeth are involved. Depending on this, the technical, planning and recovery periods to be used in the surgical operation show differences.

Shape deformations in the jaw can be listed as follows;

   1. Dislocation of the jaw bones to the side

   2. Insufficiently developed upper jaw

   3. The upper jaw being too ahead of the lower jaw 

   4. Insufficiently developed lower jaw

   5. Developmental defects in the lower and upper jaws considered together

Under normal conditions, the teeth of the upper jaw are slightly in front of the lower teeth, covering the teeth of the lower jaw. Any other lower-upper tooth relationship remaining outside this creates a situation that needs to be corrected. The treatment for correction is performed sometimes only with orthodontics and, when orthodontics is not enough or late, occasionally with jaw surgery after orthodontic arrangements. After the surgical operation, the orthodontic treatment should continue for a while.

The lower jaw may sometimes remain at the front of the upper jaw, at the back of the upper jaw, or lateral to the upper jaw, even though the teeth are in a normal occlusion relationship with each other. In such jaw deformities, aesthetic operations at the tip of the jaw can be performed by intervening only with the tip of the jaw bone without the need for intervening with the teeth.

SURGICAL OPERATION:

The surgical operations varies according to the deformity in the jaw:

If the tip of the jaw is small, the operation which should be performed is that;

The tip of the jawbone is cut and taken forward as necessary and fixed.

The tip of the jaw can be enlarged by placing a prosthesis at the jaw tip.

If the jaw is shifted to the side, the operation which should be performed is that;

The tip of the jawbone is cut and shifted to the centre and fixed.

If the tip of the jaw is big, the operation which should be performed is that;

The tip of the jaw is cut as necessary and moved backwards and fixed.

The excess bone at the tip of the jaw is cut and removed.

Operations to be performed when there are dental incompatibilities (biting problems):

Moving the upper jaw forewards

Moving the lower jaw backwards

Distraction applications in the upper or lower jaws

In such cases, orthodontic planning and treatment before performing the surgical operation is very important in terms of preparing the surgical operation of the teeth and determining the new positions after the surgical operation. This treatment lasts for about 6 months. The orthodontic treatment is interrupted and the surgical operation is performed when the mouth and teeth structure of the person becomes suitable for the operation. After the operation, the lower and upper jaws are fixed to each other for a certain period of time, preventing the opening of the mouth. This period changes from 3 weeks to 8 weeks according to the fixing method to be applied in the operation. Within this period, patients are fed with liquid nutrients and high-calorie solutions are prescribed to the patient. Temporary or permanent sensory defects may occur on the lower lip due to these surgical operations, swelling here may take longer than that in the jaw tip aesthetics. The orthodontic treatment should be continued for 6 months after the surgical operation.

All these surgical operations are performed with the application of general anesthesia. There will be no traces left on the skin because incisions take place within the mouth. Swelling is less and it occurs in a shorter amount of time. Less pain is felt. The recovery period is limited to 1 week or 10 days. In this period, it is important for the person to feed with liquid nutrients in order to avoid the wound problem occurring in the mouth. Stitches do not need to be removed manually, because they are dissolvable.