Orthognathic surgery refers to jaw surgery, which may be carried out if there is a gross discrepancy in the size of the upper jaw to the lower jaw.
Surgery is most often carried out when growth has completed or has almost been completed.
There are times when the bite discrepancy is too large to fix with tooth movements alone. Often the problem is the incompatibility of the upper and lower jaws being out of proportion to one another and to the cranial base.
To resolve the discrepancy, braces are put on to set teeth up, followed by jaw surgery to achieve jaw bone compatibility and bite correction.
The pre-surgical and post-surgical orthodontics is critical to establish long term stability and success of treatment and to achieve a beautifully balanced bite and smile.
Pre-surgical orthodontics helps in ideal tooth placement for the surgery and post-surgery, when the tissues have healed Dr Chisholm, guides the teeth into an ideal relationship.
