Fracturing your jaw is one of the most common breaks you can have in your body. Whether it’s a sports injury, car accident, or fall that causes the fracture, you’ll want to have a physical exam as soon as possible. Visiting an oral surgery specialist about a broken jaw ensures that your teeth and jaw receive expert treatment, too.
If you think you’ve broken your jaw, apply ice to the area until you can visit your doctor. Pain alone isn’t a guarantee of a fracture; your oral surgery specialist will need to take x-rays to examine the bone.
If the fracture is stable, treatment may only involve wiring the upper and lower teeth together so that the bones or joints can heal properly. When the condyles at the joint are fractured, oral surgery specialists use elastics to keep the jaws together, removing them after 10-14 days.
Having a wired-shut mouth may feel inconvenient and does require eating through a straw for a couple of weeks, but you can avoid surgery if your fracture is stable.
If the broken bones are not stable, oral surgery may be necessary. The oral surgery specialist places a small titanium plate across the bones so that they can heal properly. Patients take antibiotics and usually recover in about six weeks.