Maxillofacial Surgery Treatment and Complications
Maxillofacial surgery is an operation performed by a highly trained dental surgeon. A variety of maxillofacial procedures can treat diseases, fix injuries or correct defects in your face, jaw or mouth. As with any operation, maxillofacial surgery has certain risks. But the procedures help many reduce pain, fix deformities and restore function.
What is maxillofacial surgery?
Maxillofacial surgery is a special type of dentistry. It involves operations to correct diseases, injuries and defects of your face, jaw or mouth. Maxillofacial surgeons are advanced specialists who diagnose and treat problems with:
Bones and tissues of your jaw and lower face (maxillofacial area).
Roof of your mouth (palate).
Teeth.
Why is maxillofacial surgery done?
Maxillofacial surgery is performed to:
- Improve jaw function.
- Relieve pain.
Maxillofacial surgery can address a wide variety of dental problems and conditions, such as:
- Diagnosing reasons for chronic dental pain.
- Preparing the mouth for dental implants and prostheses (such as dentures).
- Placing dental implants.
- Removing (extracting) impacted teeth.
- Treat oral diseases.
Procedures can also treat jaw problems, such as:
- Bone grafting, or transplanting bone from another area of the body to replace bone that’s missing in your jaw.
- Reconstructing your jaw to correct an abnormal bite.
- Treating temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders that affect the area where your lower jaw attaches to your skull.
- Treating injuries related to trauma to your face, jaw and mouth.
Other reasons to perform maxillofacial surgery include:
- Correcting congenital (present at birth) abnormalities such as cleft lip and palate.
- Diagnosing and treating cysts, tumors, cancer and other growths in your head and neck.
- Diagnosing reasons for chronic facial pain.
- Treating facial trauma (injury), such as facial fractures or damaged maxillofacial tissue.
What are the risks or complications of maxillofacial surgery?
As with any operation, there are risks with maxillofacial surgery, such as:
- Bleeding.
- Dry socket, a painful condition that can occur after tooth extraction involving problems with blood clots.
- Infection.
- Injury to teeth, lips, tongue, cheeks, chin, nasal cavity, sinuses, or maxillofacial bones or tissue.
- Numbness or changes in sensation in the mouth or other areas of your face.
- Pain.
- Possible damage to nerves that move some of the muscles of your face.
- Root fragments, a rare complication when a piece of tooth root breaks off and stays in place after surgery.
- TMJ disorders.
What’s recovery like after maxillofacial surgery?
Recovery after maxillofacial surgery depends on the type of procedure you have. You’ll likely experience some discomfort, sensitivity, swelling and bleeding for at least a few days. Your healthcare provider may recommend pain medications to keep you comfortable.
If you received stitches, they’ll either dissolve or be removed in about a week.
You may have to avoid certain foods and activities for days or weeks. Your healthcare provider will give you specific instructions, which may include:
- Apply ice packs to reduce inflammation.
- Avoid foods that are crunchy, chewy or hard.
- Avoid tobacco products and alcohol.
- Don’t exercise for a few days because it can increase bleeding and swelling.
- Rest to prevent complications.
- Rinse your teeth instead of brushing them to kill bacteria in the mouth.
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