Face & Jaw Dental Treatments
An injury to the face and jaw can arise from many different things. Some of the more common causes of facial and jaw injuries include sports injuries, automobile accidents, fall injuries, and unfortunately, domestic concerns. When we here at Manhattan Maxillofacial Surgery Group meet a patient who has sustained an injury to their face or jaw, we understand how scary this can be for them.
Learn more about our face and jaw treatments
Facial injuries can be quite devastating and even disfiguring if not properly handled, leading to scars on the face and impaired oral function. When you need surgery on your face or jaw, regardless of the reason, then you need us to assess and treat the site to give you the best, most attractive outcome.
What Procedures Do We Perform on the Face and Jaw?
Trauma to the face resulting in lacerations or damage to the soft or bony tissue need extreme precision and care when they are being treated. That is not only because the area is quite delicate and prone to scarring, but also because there are so many vital nerves and structures (such as your salivary glands) in the area and we must maneuver around them carefully to avoid complications from arising.
Trauma to the mouth does not just result in cuts or abrasions to the soft tissue, either. Many times, if the impact that led to the injury was severe enough, there may be broken bones or teeth that need repair, too. It is vital that you do not delay treatment after an injury to the face, as you may sustain permanent damage and scars to the area.
We also treat non-emergency jaw issues in our office. We often see patients who are complaining about problems with their temporomandibular jaw (TMJ), which can result in pain in the joint that attaches the jaw to the rest of your face. TMJ dysfunction can cause popping and clicking in your mouth when you open and close it, discomfort when chewing or eating, a locked jaw when you try to close it, and tenderness and pain spreading from your jaw to your ear or neck. When other interventions do not relieve the symptoms of TMJ dysfunction, we can perform surgery to help improve it.
Keeping an Eye Out for Oral Cancer
Oral cancer is a highly lethal and devastating disease, one that will claim over 13,000 lives this year. If caught early, the prognosis is often favorable, but unfortunately, it often goes undetected for a long time. Signs of oral cancer can include white or red lesions in the mouth, an unexplained mass or swelling in the mouth or jaw, a bleeding sore that does not want to heal, and an ongoing sore throat.
Regular oral cancer screenings are essential to catching it early, and if you are a suspect for oral cancer, we can help diagnose and treat it. We may start with a biopsy to get a sample of the affected tissue. The sample will be sent to our lab and, depending on if we find any signs of cancer in the biopsied sample, we can treat it through surgical or other interventions.
As oral and maxillofacial surgeons, we cover a wide scope of diagnostic and treatment options to our patients. If you believe you may need oral surgery, or you are interested in learning more about what we do here at Manhattan Maxillofacial Surgery Group, please give us a call at (212) 245-5801 today!
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