How is a broken mandible treated?
How is a broken mandible treated?
Treatments can include:
- Resting your jaw. This requires you to avoid opening your jaw except to consume – but definitely not chew – soft foods and liquids.
- Wiring your mouth closed. This stabilizes your jaw joints as the bones heal.
- Surgery for more severe breaks.
How long does it take for a broken mandible to heal?
For fractured or dislocated jaws not requiring surgery, the recovery period typically lasts four to eight weeks. Recovery from a surgical procedure could take several months. No matter the treatment method, for most patients, the jaw heals successfully with few long-term effects.
What happens if the mandible is broken?
If you have a severe jaw fracture, you might experience limited ability to move your jaw or be unable to move your jaw at all. Numbness and bruising in the face and gums are also normal to have if your jaw is fractured or broken. Breaking the bone can cause other abnormalities with the shape of your face.
How can a broken jaw heal faster?
What can I do to manage a jaw fracture?
- Apply ice. Ice helps decrease swelling and pain.
- Eat soft or blenderized foods as directed.
- Clean your mouth 4 to 6 times each day.
- Do not play sports while your jaw heals.
- Do not put pressure on your jaw.
What does a fractured jaw bone feel like?
Symptoms of a broken jaw include: Pain in the face or jaw, located in front of the ear or on the affected side, that gets worse with movement. Bruising and swelling of the face, bleeding from the mouth. Difficulty chewing.
What happens if you leave a broken jaw untreated?
It is important not to leave broken bones untreated as this may well result in difficulty with eating and drinking. Factures of any bones in the jaw will alter the way your mouth opens and closes, treatment will prevent risk of infections, dental decay and long term conditions such as arthritis.
Can you still talk with a broken jaw?
You may not be able to close your mouth or open it very wide. Your jaw may be twisted to one side. Your bite may not line up correctly. You may have trouble speaking or swallowing.
How long are you in hospital after a broken jaw?
Your jaw surgery may be on either your upper or lower jaw (single jaw osteotomy), or both jaws (bimaxillary osteotomy). You are likely to be in hospital for 2 – 4 days, depending on your progress and how quickly you recover from the operation.
How long is a jaw wired shut when broken?
Your jaws will be wired together approximately six to eight weeks. This is the time it takes for the bones to heal in a good, strong union. During the time your jaws are wired together, you will find eating, talking and other daily activities somewhat difficult.
Can you talk if you have a broken jaw?
What does a fractured jaw look like?
Signs of a broken jaw include: Facial bruising, swelling or numbness. Jaw stiffness, tenderness or pain that worsens with biting and chewing.
How is a broken mandibular bone treated in surgery?
A patient may sustain either a single fracture or multiple fracture sites. For multiple mandibular fractures, a patient may require multi-step treatment or surgery under general anaesthesia. The broken jaw must be immobilised into proper alignment and secured with plates and screws or wires where indicated.
Do you need antibiotics for a mandibular fracture?
Some specialists consider all mandibular fractures to be “open” due to the mandible’s proximity to oral flora. Others only offer antibiotics to patients with truly open fractures, compound fractures, or fractures of the dentoalveolar ridge. Most sources agree that antibiotics are not needed for condylar fractures.
How long does it take for a mandible fracture to heal?
Again, so your jaw remains stable, wiring your mouth closed might be required. And, again, a liquid diet might be on the menu. Treatment and recovery can require up to four to six weeks for your fracture to heal. During this time, you’ll typically receive prescriptions or advice to take:
How are fractures of the jaw and midface treated?
A lower jaw fracture is treated by resting the jaw, surgery, or wiring the jaw closed until bones heal. A midface fracture can be treated surgically, but surgery usually is done only if the fracture causes problems other than pain and swelling, such as facial deformity.