Some
problems with your teeth and jaws may require corrective jaw surgery.
For instance, if you have obstructive sleep apnea that isn't relieved
by CPAP devices, then jaw surgery could help. If you have TMJ,
excessive wear of teeth, or other painful oral issues, then jaw
surgery could help to relieve your symptoms.
Still,
some patients are wary of jaw surgery if they have to get their jaws
wired shut. To assuage any fears and concerns you might have, read on
to learn more about jaw wiring.
Why
Do Some Doctors Wire Patients' Teeth Together?
There
are two things that need to happen for bones to heal properly: there
needs to be adequate blood supply and there needs to be stability.
Oral surgeons use internal screws and plates to stabilize the
jawbones after oral surgery. During your recovery, new bone tissue
will heal around these fixations.
However,
some doctors may also opt for external stabilization and wire the
teeth together while you recover. Because you can't really put a cast
on your teeth as you would on another broken bone, like your in your
leg, the wiring acts like a cast and keeps your jaws immobilized for
better healing.
Teeth
wiring is beneficial because it prevents non-unions. Simply put, a
non-union is when your bones don't heal together properly after
surgery. A non-union can be caused by poor blood supply or poor
stabilization.
Some
people are more at risk for non-unions that others. For example, you
can be at risk if you
- Have
a low vitamin D level
If
your doctor recommends that your jaw be wired shut for a while after
surgery, it's probably for a good reason. If a patient ends up with a
non-union, he or she could experience pain and require another oral
surgery. Jaw wiring is just another tool the doctor will use to
encourage the best outcome of your surgery.
How
Are Your Jaws Wired Shut?
There
are a couple of ways your doctor can wire your jaws shut. An
orthodontist can place braces on your teeth and then attach surgical
hooks to the brackets. During your jaw surgery, your doctor will use
small wire loops around the surgical hooks which will keep your teeth
together. Instead of wire, some doctors may use elastic rubber bands
around the surgical hooks.
If
your doctor doesn't want to place braces on your teeth, then he or
she may use ivy loops. These ivy loops are wrapped around the teeth
themselves without an orthodontic archwire or brackets.
Lastly,
for more stabilization, a doctor may recommend screw-retained arch
bars. Your doctor would use an arch bar that's screwed into the bone
which then can support external loop wires to hold the jaw shut
during healing.
What's
the Recovery Like With Jaw Wiring?
Jaw
wiring isn't painful. Your doctor will wire your teeth together while
you are still under general anesthesia. Plus, during recovery, you
may actually experience post-operative numbness because a lot of the
nerves in the lips, chin, and gums may still need to heal.
In
short, while some soreness is expected after major jaw surgery, the
jaw wiring itself shouldn't add to your pain.
The
most challenging part of recovery may be getting adequate nutrition.
You'll need to have protein shakes, soups, and other liquid-based
foods. Your doctor will give you a syringe so that you can take in
liquids and mashed foods between your teeth. Your doctor will give
you wire cutters in case of an emergency. If you need to cut your
wires for some reason, your doctor can easily rewire your teeth again
during an office appointment.
Complete
healing from surgery takes about twelve weeks, but the initial
healing takes about six, so you may be able to get the wires off
sooner if your x-rays show good healing.
As
you can see, while having your jaws wired may be a little
challenging, it shouldn't be painful. And it can be extremely helpful
to prevent non-unions. Reach out to us at Donald
E. Snyder Orthodontics to
learn more about corrective jaw surgery.
