Jaw Injuries and Disorders

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Basics

• Summary
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Patient Handouts

Summary

Your jaw is a set of bones that holds your teeth. It consists of two main parts. The upper part is the maxilla. It doesn't move. The moveable lower part is called the mandible. You move it when you talk or chew. The two halves of the mandible meet at your chin. The joint where the mandible meets your skull is the temporomandibular joint.

Jaw problems include:

• Fractures (broken bones)
• Dislocations
• Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
• Osteonecrosis, which happens when your bones lose their blood supply
• Cancers

Treatment of jaw problems depends on the cause.

Diagnosis and Tests

• Panoramic Dental X-Ray (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Chin augmentation - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Corrective Jaw Surgery (American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons)
• Treatment of Facial Injury (American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons) - PDF

Related Issues

• Bisphosphonate Therapy (and Osteonecrosis of the Jaw) (American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons)

Specifics

• Difficulty Chewing (American Society of Clinical Oncology) Also in Spanish
• Fractures of the Jaw and Midface (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Jaw Dislocation (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Malocclusion (Misaligned Teeth) (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Nevoid Basal Cell Carcinoma Syndrome (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
• Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (ONJ) (American College of Rheumatology) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• Auriculo-condylar syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Jaw (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Jaw Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Jaw Fractures (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Mandibular Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Maxillary Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Volume-rendered computed tomography images should be more widely used to report...
• Article: Association between gestational exposure and risk of orofacial clefts: a systematic...
• Article: Complications in patients with facial bone fractures before and after conservative...
• Jaw Injuries and Disorders -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Find an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon (American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons)
• National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Broken or dislocated jaw (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Malocclusion of teeth (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Micrognathia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Prognathism (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish