“I had a car accident that caused my bottom jaw to be out of place. Can surgery help me?”

If there is a malalignment of your jaw, it could be due to one of three reasons or any combination of:

-a problem with the alignment of one or both jaw joints
-a change in the position of your teeth in the jaw bone
-a undiagnosed fracture resulting in your jaw healing in an abnormal
position. This is known as a malunion.

Should you choose to have a consultation with a surgeon, old photographs or dental records may be helpful as a point of reference.

David Bell, D.D.S., M.D.

Yes. Realignment of the jaw post healing often requires orthodontic treatment to align the teeth followed by surgical correction of the jaw. In some cases orthodontic treatment is not required. Surgical correction usually will require treatment in a hospital setting under anesthesia.

Yes. This is commonly done. Please see an oral and maxillofacial surgeon who can help properly diagnose and treat your issue.

Displacement of jaws after and accident can often indicate fractures of the mandible or dislocations of the TM Joint. In either case you need to have some 3D imaging of the mandible to rule out fractures that healed poorly. If the CT is negative then an MRI of the TM Joint may be indicated to evaluate the meniscus of the joint. Mal-aligned fractures can be surgically repaired if indicated. Minor bite changes can often be treated with Orthodontics and no surgery. If you have a meniscus displacement or internal derangement of the meniscus you man need some non-surgical TMJ therapy to try and recapture the meniscus in the proper position. Some times arthroscopy or open joint therapy is needed. Seek out an Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon to have a complete work up to properly evaluate your "out of place jaw"

The short answer is "yes," but depends on exactly what happened at the time of the trauma.

Dr. A