Maxillofacial Surgery

One of maxillofacial surgery's areas of interest is orthognathic surgery. Orthognathic surgery is a term that describes the movement of the lower and upper jawbones with surgery to correct deformities. The main purpose of these surgeries is to provide an ideal dental occlusion relationship between the lower and upper jaw and to obtain the most aesthetically appropriate facial appearance.

 

Deformities of the jaw and the face are a serious health problem affecting approximately 20% of the population. These patients have varying degrees of functional and aesthetic deformities but do not consult a physician unless the deformity is at advanced level. When their symptoms get worse, they often consult a dentist for dental issues or a plastic surgeon for aesthetic problems. Unfortunately, in our country where a multidisciplinary working culture is still not established, most of these patients cannot draw heavy attention and cannot be treated or they are monitored with incomplete and incorrect treatments. However, these patients should be evaluated by a team of plastic surgeons, orthodontists and, if necessary, a prosthesis specialist. Their detailed soft and bone tissue measurements should be performed before surgery and they should be treated by the same team. Because these patients often cannot heal by surgery alone or by orthodontic treatment alone.

 

Other areas of interest in maxillofacial surgery include fractures of the jaw and face bones, congenital disorders and benign or malignant tumours of the jawbone. As with orthognathic surgery, more than one speciality may often need to work together on these. The plastic surgeon is the right person to provide information on these issues.