Maxillofacial injuries, or facial trauma is any injury to the mouth, face, or jaw. Our oral and maxillofacial surgeons are trained to treat and repair these kinds of injuries at Davis Oral Surgery and Dental Implant Center.
One of the most common types of facial injuries we see is facial bones being broken. Breaks and fractures can occur in the jaw, palate, cheekbones, eye sockets, or in a combination of these areas. If these injuries aren’t treated properly, they can affect a person’s ability to breathe, speak, and swallow.
Treating Facial Trauma
A lot of times, facial injury treatment requires hospitalization. The broken parts of the bones must be realigned and held in position long enough to heal. The healing process may take six weeks or more in some cases, depending on the age of the patient and the severity of the fracture.
For more severe maxillofacial fractures, multiple incisions may be needed to expose the bones. Bone repositioning techniques differ depending on the location and severity of the fracture. For instance, a break in the jaw may result in metal braces and rubber bands needed to hold the jaws together, in addition to fixing the bones with metal plates and screws.
Patients who are missing teeth may require specially constructed splints or dentures to align and repair a fracture of the jaw. Dental implants can be placed later for missing teeth. Liquid or pureed diets may be prescribed by our Raleigh oral surgeons during the healing process of jaw injuries. The doctor will give patients instructions on continued care after they are discharged from the hospital.