What Does a Maxillofacial Surgeon Treat?

When you have multiple issues in your facial area that needs treatment, it can be overwhelming to think about undergoing different procedures in different medical centers. What if you could get one physician to perform all your procedures? It is possible with maxillofacial surgeons, who are multi-faceted to treat various matters of the head and neck.

Who Is a Maxillofacial Surgeon?

A maxillofacial surgeon in Toronto, ON, is a medical expert that specializes in the reconstructive surgeries of the facial features, including the oral cavity, nasal cavity, jaw, neck, and head. Although these surgeons specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the face and head, they can also perform cosmetic surgeries for facial modifications.

More About Maxillofacial Surgery

Maxillofacial surgery encompasses operating on various parts of the head, whether for functional or cosmetic purposes. As such, it requires dual training and experience in medicine and dentistry. It explains why the medical experts in this specialty are called oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMF surgeons). This way, OMF surgeries act as a bridge between medicine and dentistry.

What Conditions Can OMF Surgeons Treat?

OMF surgeons at Toronto East Maxillofacial Surgery have multiple responsibilities in medicine since they operate on many features of the head. You can almost always rely on a maxillofacial surgeon for all your cosmetic and functional concerns on the face. Their work is categorized in the following sectors:

1. Skeletal problems affect your face and oral cavity like facial fractures or damaged maxillofacial tissue.
2. Cancers of the head and neck – targeting tumor, cysts, and growths, with a keen emphasis on oral cancers.
3. Reconstructive treatments – to impact the appearance of your cheekbones, jaw, and teeth.
4. Cosmetic surgery – to improve your facial appearance through replacing missing teeth and nose modifications, to mention a few.

In that case, some examples of the surgical works that these surgeons diagnose and treat are:

1. Rhinoplasty – is a surgical procedure for correcting the appearance and improving the function of the nasal cavity. Although rhinoplasty is typically considered a cosmetic procedure, it can significantly improve your breathing, particularly when you have a deviated septum.
2. Impacted teeth – are the types of teeth that improperly erupt and remain partially or completely stuck under the gums. Removing such teeth would require surgical intervention, not a standard tooth extraction procedure.
3. Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) – are dysfunctions of the jawbone resulting from a problematic connective joint between the jaw and the skull.
4. Oral and neck-related cancers – like throat, tongue, gums, and larynx cancers
5. Mouth infections – the common oral infections are gum disease and tooth decay. While these conditions may be treatable without surgery, it is not always the case. An OMF surgeon will intervene for surgery to treat periodontitis, an advanced stage of gum disease, through approaches like gum grafting and bone grafting.
6. Permanent tooth replacements – when you have lost your teeth and need a permanent replacement solution, an OMF surgeon will perform an implantation surgery. The surgery will install a tooth implant in your jawbone, replacing the tooth root.
7. Cleft Lips and cleft palates – are birth defects that feature impartially formed lips and palate. Such patients will have a hole on the roof of their mouths and deformities of the face where the upper lips do not close properly. Cleft lips and palate surgeries require body functional and cosmetic intervention to aid breathing, eating, speech, and repair the appearance of the mouth.
8. Reconstructive surgery – after injuries or accidents, you may suffer significant damage to your head and neck. Reconstructive surgery focuses on restructuring your facial elements by fixing fractures, adjusting joints, shaving bones, realigning jaws, and reconstructing bone sockets.

Summary

Maxillofacial surgeons undergo intense training for many years to ready them for treating multiple health issues of the head and neck. However, it does not mean they work independently. In several cases, these surgeons work in part with other medical experts, especially in dentistry. For example, an OMF surgeon may work closely with an orthodontist to restore the functionality of a misaligned jawbone.