Oral and maxillofacial surgeons might be the ultimate puzzle solvers. Facial trauma, especially when it involves complex fractures, requires a specialized hand and an understanding of the intricately-balanced structures in the face and jaw. Ever seen an archaeologist try to reconstruct shattered pottery? It’s kind of like that.
How do you know if you need to see a maxillofacial surgeon for a full mouth reconstruction after facial trauma? You’ll know. If an accident left you with a misaligned or broken jaw, cracked orbital bone, broken nose, or massive soft tissue damage, your ability to breathe, eat, speak, see, make facial expressions, etc., can be compromised. That’s no quality of life anyone wants, which is why seeing a facial trauma surgeon after a maxillofacial injury is key to ensuring you don’t have lifelong issues from healing improperly after facial trauma.
Services an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon Provide for Victims of Facial Trauma
Specialists in oral maxillofacial injuries and repairing facial trauma need to have several skill sets to be able to repair the complicated structures of the face and jaw:
- Full mouth reconstructions, including palate repair, jaw repair, occlusion repair and tooth replacement
- Bone grafts for cheek bones, orbital bones or jaw bones
- An understanding of an interdisciplinary approach to facial trauma surgery, including working with ophthalmologists (sight specialists), otorhinolaryngologists (sinus specialists) and plastic surgeons (structural/aesthetic specialists).
Facial trauma surgeons performing full mouth reconstructions often have to work with other specialists, and perform more than one maxillofacial surgery to completely reconstruct the damage, as massive facial trauma requires careful and patient repair. These types of injuries and subsequent surgeries usually require the patient to be hospitalized and sedated for the surgeries. A maxillofacial surgeon working on facial trauma reconstruction will closely monitor a patient’s healing over time until the trauma has been restored as much as can be expected.
If you’ve suffered facial trauma or illness that’s resulted in your need for a full mouth reconstruction specialist or a maxillofacial surgeon, contact your local oral and maxillofacial surgery practice as soon as the initial emergency has been dealt with. Optimal healing requires immediate intervention.
