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You May Need Corrective Jaw Surgery for Facial Harmony Philadelphia, PA
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Facial harmony is when your jaw’s relative position works with your facial shape. This conformity is crucial for daily life functions, enabling you to eat, speak, breathe and swallow comfortably.

When Braces Alone are Not Enough

Facial harmony is necessary for your jaws to adequately support your teeth, allowing them to work seamlessly with your temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and facial muscles. The TMJ connects your lower jaw (mandible) to your upper jaw (maxilla) and skull, allowing you to open and close your mouth.

Sometimes, braces alone are not enough to improve how the mandible and maxilla fit together. The braces may enhance your smile, but if a skeletal deficiency is also present, orthognathic surgery (also called surgical orthodontics or jaw surgery) is required to fix your bite.

Signs Corrective Jaw Surgery is Necessary

Orthognathic surgery corrects misaligned jaws, alleviating functional dental issues and improving facial deformities. It helps your jaws’ performance (chewing, speaking and breathing) and rectifies aesthetic concerns.

Not sure if you need jaw surgery? All of the following afflictions are signs that you should see our expert team at Broad Street Braces to discuss treatment:

  • You suffer from chronic headaches or jaw pain. Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD) causes soreness in the facial muscles and TMJ. Corrective jaw surgery can fix TMD.
  • You hear noises coming from the TMJ – a symptom of TMD.
  • You are experiencing trouble chewing, biting or swallowing. Misaligned jaws make eating difficult, especially foods that require cutting by the front teeth.
  • You notice uneven wear of the teeth.
  • You have excessive smile lines (a “gummy” smile).
  • You are experiencing problems with breathing and sleeping, such as chronic mouth breathing, snoring and sleep apnea. These problems happen because misaligned jaws can obstruct breathing passageways. Unfortunately, regular mouth breathing results in dry or inflamed gums; snoring and sleep apnea poor sleep quality.
  • When you close your jaws, you have a gap between your bottom and top teeth (an overbite), which may be affecting how you speak.
  • Your teeth are offset toward one side more than the other (a crossbite).
  • You have an unbalanced facial appearance: This could be due to a protruding jaw, a small recessive chin, nasal deviation or chin deviation. It could also be due to facial asymmetry (a size discrepancy between jaws), maxillary excess/prognathia (an overbite) or mandibular deficiency/retrognathia (an underbite).
  • You cannot seal your lips over your teeth without straining your chin muscles.
  • You have congenital disabilities or facial injuries, such as a jaw fracture from an accident.

Orthognathic surgery can correct any of these jaw abnormalities.

Scheduling a Consultation to Inquire About Jaw Surgery

Orthognathic surgery is necessary when orthodontics alone cannot fix the skeletal disharmonies. Dr. Neil will work with a maxillofacial surgeon to coordinate a treatment plan suited to your needs and carry out the procedure. Contact Broad Street Braces in Philadelphia, PA today to schedule a consultation.

Posted on behalf of Broad Street Braces

1819 S Broad St
Philadelphia, PA , 19148

Phone: (215) 234-3030

Email:

Mon – 8am to 5pm
Tue – 8am to 5pm
Wed – 8am to 5pm
Thu – 8am to 5pm
Fri – 8am to 1pm

Our Patient Reviews

Broad Street Braces

5.0 / 5.0

Based on 387 reviews

Felicia W

Excellent staff, excellent service with trusty expertise. It was overall a great experience for my son and myself. We are highly satisfied with all the services performed today.

Alisa O

I am pleased with this Orthodontist location because they are very prompt with appointments. It's never a long wait. The staff is kind and willing to fix misunderstandings quickly. They actually play relaxing music in the office. My favorite staff member is Trinh because she answers questions gracefully. Trinh always greets me with a smile. Glad I chose this dental office.

Phuong H

Really nice office. Very clean and modern. Everyone is friendly, especially Trinh. She is great. Love taking my son here.

Refie H

The staff is really friendly, very satisfied with the service. The place is cozy, and also clean, seriously I recommend it to anyone who wanted to have the braces on

Kevin A

My mom received THE BEST service here. Consultations & visits were a breeze & the staff was always so kind. Their bilingual employee, Sara, was very helpful because my mom only speaks Spanish.

Hung C

This is my son’s first time here. This Office is very nice and very professional. Great service. Mrs. Trinh did an excellent job helping us translate Vietnamese. She is really nice and did a great job! Thank you so much!

Angela D

Great experience!! welcoming and good at what they do. Ask for amanda- she's the best!

Thang N

Many friends told me that Trinh always does a great job and I am very lucky today to have her put my braces on! They look great. I am looking forward to coming back for my second appoinment. The treatment coordinator, Rachel is very friendly and welcoming. She is awesome. I would recommend anyone who is interested in braces to come to Broad Street Braces. You would love Dr. Neil!