Frequently Asked Questions about Jaw Surgery

How much is jaw surgery?

At Arizona Jaw Surgery, we prefer to be clear about our fees so there is no uncertainty.  For specific detials of our surgical fees, see our Prices Page. 

In general, surgeon’s fees are usually around $6,000-$20,000 for single Jaw Surgery and $12-$40,000 for double jaw surgery. Costs can vary drastically between procedures, providers, and your insurance coverage. For instance, adding a genioplasty may add an additional $2,000-5,000. Often, most of the expense comes from hospital-associated costs, the majority of which are typically covered by your insurance. If you do not have insurance coverage, several procedures can be performed in our office to help contain costs. If needed or desired, genioplasty and other procedures can add to the total cost.

How long is jaw surgery recovery?

• There are several milestones along the way to full recovery from jaw surgery.
• Initially, the first 5-7 days are the most difficult. This is the time when swelling reaches its peak, you may have difficulty breathing through your nose (if you had maxillary/lefort surgery), and you may have a sore throat from the intubation (breathing tube) that can make eating/drinking challenging. Once you reach the end of this time, each day gets easier than the previous.
• Next, during the second week you start to have more energy and desire to be more active with an increased ability to eat/drink.
• By week 3, often your swelling has improved to where many people would not notice if they met you for the first time.
• By week 6, you can usually begin chewing and much of the restrictions are lifted although you may still want to avoid activities where you may get hit in the face or cause increased force on your jaws. At this point, likely 80-90% of your swelling has resolved and you are very close to being back to normal.
• At 3 months, you should be functioning mostly as if you never had surgery. Exceptions to this may be residual hypoesthesia (numbness) that has yet to resolve and limitations to mouth opening.

What is double jaw surgery?

“Double Jaw Surgery” involves having surgical correction of both your upper (maxilla) and lower (mandible) jaws. This is the most common combination of jaw surgery compared to single jaw surgery which only involves one of the two jaws. This is utilized most frequently because it gives the surgeon the most control over occlusion (bite), airway, and esthetics.  Single jaw surgery is a possibility at times but has the potential to limit one or all these variables in certain circumstances.

Is jaw surgery worth it?

Rarely do patients say they wish they had not had jaw surgery when all is said and done. There are points in the process when patients may feel this way, but they are usually pleased with the result and happy they decided to proceed with surgery. However, “worth” is difficult to determine as it is highly variable between individuals who have different priorities, diagnoses, and financial situations.

Is jaw surgery dangerous?

Jaw surgery is a safe procedure but that does not mean there are not risks that need to be understood prior to proceeding. Risks of nerve injury, further surgery, or a lack of healing are a few of the risks involved that should be discussed with your surgeon.

Does jaw surgery hurt?

Surprisingly, jaw surgery is typically not very painful. Most patients describe it as unpleasant or uncomfortable due to swelling that is more bothersome than other areas of your body because it involves your face, mouth, and throat.  The lack of pain can at least partially be attributed to the fact that many of the nerves that help you feel pain are temporarily bruised or stretched during surgery.  This can cause temporary numbness that limits how much pain is felt.  In our practice around 50% of our patients do not take a single opioid.

How long does jaw surgery operation take?

This can vary widely based on surgeon, procedure, patient, and circumstances. A single jaw may take as little as 1 hour or as long as 3.  When you have two jaws and/or genioplasty, you are likely in the 2.5-6 hour range.

How to know if you need jaw surgery

There are several reasons why jaw surgery may be indicated or beneficial:

• The most common is that the teeth and jaws do not align and cannot be corrected with orthodontics alone.
• Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea who are looking for a surgical solution to avoid CPAP or other treatments may benefit from Maxillomandibular Advancement (MMA). Jaw Surgery (MMA) has repeatedly been shown to be the most effective treatment for OSA patients who cannot tolerate CPAP or wish to avoid it.
• Finally, esthetic concerns can lead to a need or desire for jaw surgery to correct facial imbalances and asymmetries.
• Often these indications overlap to where a patient with a jaw size mismatch will also have airway and/or esthetic concerns. This makes jaw surgery a procedure that often improves both function and esthetics.