Can Oral Surgery Correct My Speech Problems?

Speech is the procedure of producing particular sounds to convey meaning to the listener. Speech disorders refer to any problem that impedes your ability to make sounds to create words.

Speech is the primary way you communicate your thoughts, feelings, and ideas with your friends or family members. The act of speaking requires accurate coordination of various body parts, including the chest, head, neck, and abdomen.

This article explores different speech disorders and treatment options, including surgery to correct the problem.

Why Do the jaw Problems and Teeth Misalignment Interfere with Speech?

Your speech becomes impacted due to different factors, including tooth and jaw problems. If you or your kid has speech impediments, consider visiting the dentist near me before you start sessions with a speech therapist. The speech issue could result from bad teeth or a tiny jaw. However, treating the condition at its source helps the impediment dissipate naturally. In some cases, tooth and jaw problems affect speech in ways you never imagined.

Your speech impediment could be a result of misaligned teeth, premature loss of teeth, self-consciousness about the appearance of your teeth. For example, you can become self-conscious about your teeth even if you have bad breath, making you refrain from opening your mouth and mumble when you speak.

Jaw problems also affect speech. Your teeth are positioned crammed together if your jaw is tiny and your tongue has minimal space to move around.

What Problems Can a Misaligned Jaw or Malocclusion Cause?

A misaligned jaw or malocclusion can result in chewing challenges of cutting food. It also causes problems with speech, obstructive sleep apnea, TMJ disorders, and cosmetic disharmony in your smile and facial features. In such cases, you help yourself by scheduling an appointment with the dentist in Modesto, CA, to receive appropriate treatment for the problem you encounter.

What Can Be Done to Address Speech Problems?

If orthodontic treatments aren’t successful in correcting the problems with your misaligned jaw and malocclusion, you may receive a recommendation for orthognathic surgery to correct severe malocclusion resulting from a misaligned jaw. The surgical process includes techniques to move your upper jaw or maxilla forward or backward and perhaps even widen it. The surgery also provides strategies to move your lower jaw or mandible to correct asymmetry back or forward. Orthognathic surgery is generally completed in conjunction with orthodontic treatment or braces.

In most cases, your orthodontist will refer you to an oral surgeon to discuss jaw surgery. For example, if you are a resident of Modesto, you will likely receive a referral for oral surgery in Modesto, CA, which is completed to ensure the asymmetry and harmony of your facial profile. The procedure you undergo during the surgery may include chin surgery, genioplasty, cheek augmentation, and Marlar implants.

Time Required to Recover from Jaw Surgery?

Recovery time from orthognathic surgery varies between patients but is relatively rapid. Generally, you require an overnight stay in the hospital with discharge the following day in the morning or afternoon. During the initial few days, your diet is limited to liquids. After that, you can advance to a non-chew diet for at least four weeks. After six weeks of healing, you can gradually incorporate a soft chew diet.

Although rare, if your teeth are wired together after the procedure, you must subsist on a liquid diet six weeks after the surgery. You require at least a week off from school or work after the surgery. You must restrict activities during the first four weeks and avoid strenuous exercises that require you to lift over 40 lbs. You can resume light activities after four weeks but limit contact sports or rigorous activities for at least 12 weeks or three months after the surgical procedure.

How to Manage Pain after Jaw Surgery?

You will experience moderate swelling after orthognathic surgery. To limit the swelling and ensure your comfort, the specialists utilize perioperative steroids in high doses starting from the evening before the surgery, followed by intravenous dosing while in the hospital. The swelling varies between patients and resolves by 90 percent in approximately 4 to 6 weeks. The remaining 10 percent requires about six months to resolve, although it is not noticeable by everyone around you.

Is Long-Term Follow-up Necessary?

Patients must return for numerous post-operative visits following orthognathic surgery to ensure they heal correctly. You can expect follow-up visits during the first, fourth, sixth, and 12th week after the procedure after completing the orthodontic therapy and removing the braces. Proper post-operative follow-up is essential to detect any potential complications early to ensure a proper bite and jaw position are obtained and stable.

If you own a family member who has speech problems and think you may find relief from oral surgery, please schedule an appointment with 123 iSmile for an evaluation to have the problem corrected.