When you’re experiencing pain, discomfort, and other inconveniences created by structural problems in the jaw, it affects every area of your life. Without medical intervention, you can only hope for temporary periods of respite with over-the-counter pain relievers or bags of ice. Jaw surgery is often the only way to enjoy the permanent benefits of a healthy mouth.

6 Reasons to Consider Jaw Surgery

1. Relief From Pain

Pain can manifest in the jaw in a variety of ways. Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ) may cause your joints to ache when they move, or they may lock so that you can’t fully open or close your mouth. Even if you don’t have TMJ, the crookedness could still strain your facial muscles. With surgery, your jaw can be realigned, and you can experience significant pain relief.

2. Healthier Teeth

If you have an overbite, underbite, or crossbite, your bite pressure is distributed unevenly throughout your mouth, often leading to cracked, broken, highly sensitive, or cavity-riddled teeth. Although a dentist can treat worn teeth, perform an extraction in extreme cases, and replace missing ones with dental implants, jaw surgery can help prevent the problem in the first place. Correcting these bite issues can keep your teeth healthier for a more extended period and help you avoid several costly procedures.

3. Improved Speech

Crooked jaws and ones that are too small can make it difficult to form words correctly. You have to place your tongue in odd places to create the sounds you want to make, and the space between the misaligned teeth could cause you to emit whistling sounds no matter how you speak. Speech problems are often resolved after jaw surgery.

4. Ability to Eat & Swallow Easily

Jaw disorders make it harder to chew and swallow food properly due to the uneven bite distribution. If you can’t break down your food into small enough pieces, you produce less saliva that contains necessary digestive enzymes, and the stomach can’t quickly metabolize anything. With jaw surgery, you can avoid the discomfort of indigestion and slow metabolism. 

5. Better Sleep

Overbite makes you prone to developing obstructive sleep apnea (or OSA) because the recessed jaw makes it easy for the tongue to slide backward in your mouth and block your airway. OSA has been linked to increased vulnerability to heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and kidney diseases. Surgery to correct your jaw alignment can prevent these issues and extend your life.

6. More Confidence in Your Appearance

As social creatures, humans naturally care about the way they present themselves to others. Having a healthy jaw may help you feel more confident, allowing you to interact more comfortably with others and enhancing your emotional and mental health. Mental health and self-perception are essential, as they can directly affect your physical well-being as well.

Located in Keller, TX, Alliance Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery can help you live a healthier life in every way with jaw surgery. They offer a variety of other services as well, prioritizing your comfort and health for any oral surgery you might need. To make an appointment, call them at (817) 741-2200 or send them a message online.