Reconstructive Jaw Surgery

Whether you require reconstructive jaw surgery for aesthetic reasons or as a precursor to further oral surgery procedures, Dr. Daria Hamrah has several years of focused experience on oral and maxillofacial reconstructive surgery procedures and has trained with one of the world’s most renowned tumor and reconstructive surgeons, Dr. Robert E. Marx. Reconstructive jaw and facial surgery is performed by Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons to correct a many minor and major skeletal and dental irregularities including misalignment of the jaws, face and teeth, which, in turn, can improve chewing, speaking and breathing. While the patient’s appearance and functional ability may be dramatically enhanced as a result of reconstructive surgery.

Am I a Candidate for Reconstructive Jaw Surgery?

Reconstructive jaw surgery is necessary when:

• A patient has been the victim of facial trauma
• A patient had parts of the jaws and face removed after tumor surgery
• Hereditary influences have left them without an adequate foundation of jawbone for a dental implant
• A patient’s sinus cavities are too low for a dental implant, necessitating a sinus lift
• A birth defect has caused a baby’s upper lip to not join properly with the lower lip, resulting in a cleft lip and palate.

Facial Trauma

If you have been involved in an accident requiring immediate emergency care, Dr. Daria Hamrah is equipped and qualified to handle any facial trauma you may have experienced.He understands that facial injuries impart tremendous trauma, both physical and emotional. For this reason, he is always on call for emergency service to other doctors and will stay late, if necessary, for a patient that requires immediate surgical care. Instances of facial trauma that requires immediate care are:

• Knocked out teeth
• Fractured facial bones
• Fractures jaw (both upper and lower)
• Facial lacerations

Bone Grafting

Occasionally a patient has an insufficient amount, or lacks the quality, of jawbone necessary for a successful dental implant. In these cases, Dr. Hamrah will perform a bone grafting procedure to supplement the missing bone. If you require bone grafting to ensure the success of your dental implant, supplemental bone can be taken from:

• Allograft bone from a bone bank
• An artificial substitute, such as ceramics or graft composites
• From your own body – most often, supplemental bone is taken from the hip or tibia (shin-bone)

Sinus Lift

Another obstacle to a successful dental implant is if the sinus cavity has become enlarged and is braced against the upper jaw. Since the sinus is an air cavity, it is impossible for a dental implant to be performed during these cases with the sinus in its current position, as the implant would be inserted into empty space. Dr. Hamrah can perform a sinus lift to provide adequate space for the implant. It’s a fairly simple procedure that requires the sinus to be “lifted” and artificial bone or supplemental bone from your own body to be inserted into its place.

Cleft Lip and Palate

If a baby’s lips and mouth do not join properly in the upper lip, he/she is left with a cleft lip. A cleft palate not only hurts one’s aesthetics, it is also detrimental to the baby’s health, as the palate is necessary for sucking and learning how to speak properly. A cleft palate has a whole in the roof of the mouth that communicates with the nose.If a child has a cleft lip, treatment is performed starting as early as the age of 3 months. The separation will be closed, muscle functionality restored, and the mouth’s shape will be normalized. In most cases, several revision surgeries are required later in life.In the cases of a cleft palate, the surgery is performed between 7 and 18 months. The gap between the roof the mouth and the nose will be closed and the palates’ functionality restored. Alveolar bone grafting follows orthodontic evaluation and treatment and involves bone grafting of the jaw defect at age 9-11 years. The bone is typically harvested from the hip region.If you live in the Washington, D.C. or Northern Virginia areas and believe you are a candidate for reconstructive jaw surgery, please contact Dr. Hamrah today to schedule your personal consultation.