Tooth realignment is one of the main cases when oral surgery might be necessary. Although your orthodontist might simply recommend a pair of invisible braces to get the job done, sometimes that’s not really practical. If you’re in need of extensive tooth realignment, or you don’t want to wait until your braces realign your teeth over time, then surgery is the preferred solution.
Tooth realignment surgery can be recommended by a North Suburban oral surgeon expert if your teeth need straightening and you suffer from either an overbite, an underbite, or the problems caused by a misaligned jaw. The goal of the surgery is to either straighten your teeth or to realign your jaw in order to make the problem go away.
There are a few specific cases when your dentist might recommend this course of action:
- If you already suffer from an infection or your misaligned teeth are causing pain and discomfort;
- When there is the potential for overbite or underbite to cause additional oral health problems such as the development of a cyst or an infection;
- In cases when the top jaw is too small or too large, and extensive skeletal surgery is needed.
This type of surgery sometimes requires a difficult recovery period. Depending on the severity of the problem and the extent of the surgical intervention, sometimes the jaw has to be wired shut for up to six weeks following the surgery, so patients are only able to take any type of nourishment using a straw.
