The Impact of Jaw Surgery on Speech and Breathing

Patients undergoing corrective jaw surgery (orthognathic surgery) are often most concerned about the difference they’ll see in their appearance. It’s natural to be excited, and perhaps a bit apprehensive, about how much your appearance will change after jaw surgery. Still, jaw surgery’s impact on speech and breathing is equally or more important.

Any time the jawbone is moved in any direction, it affects the alignment of the teeth and the way the sinus passages, throat, and tongue align with each other and the mouth. Surgery’s impact on these features can dramatically affect your ability to speak and breathe properly. For some patients, it can even alter the sound of their voice and how well they sleep at night.

Eliminating Mouth Breathing

Mouth breathing, especially at night, often results from poorly aligned or partially obstructed sinus passages. After jaw surgery, many patients discover that their sinuses have opened up, and they can breathe more freely through their nose, even at night. Snoring is minimized, and they no longer have to deal with a dry mouth.

Better Night Breathing

Obstructive sleep apnea is a dangerous condition characterized by loud snoring and periodic breathing cessation throughout the night. When the jaw is misaligned, the airway in the back of the throat is smaller, and the tongue is more likely to slip back and block the airway completely. Breathing temporarily stops, leading to less oxygen to the brain until breathing starts again. Jaw surgery can open the airways and realign the jaw for freer breathing, reducing snoring and the effects of sleep apnea.

Improving Speech

While speech therapy is typically the first option tried to overcome a speech impediment, it may not be effective if there is a physical reason for the issue. Many areas of the mouth, including our tongues, lips, teeth, and palate, are involved in how we form words. A misaligned jaw can throw everything out of balance, affecting how you form words.

Jaw surgery can greatly improve your ability to articulate words by restoring balance so that the various parts of your mouth can work together to form words properly. Pronunciation of difficult words becomes easier, and nasal speech is reduced or eliminated because the palate can close at the back of the throat.

Changing the Voice

Depending on the type of jaw surgery, some patients may experience changes in how their voice sounds. The timbre or pitch of an individual’s voice depends on the shape of the mouth, the throat opening, and the tongue. After jaw surgery, these have been realigned and may have changed shape, impacting how air flows over and around them, creating new speech frequencies, and affecting the resonance of the voice. For most patients, any slight change in their voice is pleasant and indicates the many improvements they are experiencing through orthognathic surgery.

Although orthognathic surgery is a lengthy and involved process, it is clear that it can have a profound impact on nearly every aspect of your life. Improved abilities to eat, speak, and breathe and a greatly improved appearance can dramatically change your life. To learn more about how Dr. Li and Dr. Fan can change your life through jaw surgery, please schedule a consultation by calling Flushing NY Office Phone Number 347-943-1960.