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Navigating life post jaw surgery as a dental student

BDJ Student volume 32, pages 44–46 (2025)Cite this article

As a dental student, orthognathic surgery is a topic we touch on briefly - what it is, why patients need it, and how it's performed. In your second year, such an invasive procedure feels very theoretical, like something out of a textbook rather than real life. However, for me, it became very real when I found myself on the other side of the chair, as a patient under the care of maxillofacial surgeons.

From an early age, my mother suspected that something was wrong with my bite. The way my teeth occluded seemed off, the way I spoke was a little strange. After observing for a few years to see if it was a normal factor of growth, she raised her concerns with our family dentist. I was referred to the orthodontist, where I was told that I would have to wait six months for them to do any treatment - for about two years. Seeking a second opinion, our dentist recommended another orthodontist, who examined me briefly and immediately responded saying he couldn't treat me as the case was too complex, and I was swiftly referred to the Maxillofacial Department at Guy's Hospital.

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References

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  2. Orthodontics Deparment Queen Victoria Hospital OD. A guide for patients considering orthodontics and jaw surgery (Orthognathic Treatment). 2017. Available from: https://www.qvh.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/A-guide-for-pts-considering-orthognathic-surgery-Rvw-February-2020.pdf (accessed February 2025).

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  1. Peninsula Dental School, Plymouth, United Kingdom

    Anamika Kumar

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  1. Anamika Kumar
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Correspondence to Anamika Kumar.

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Kumar, A. Navigating life post jaw surgery as a dental student. BDJ Student 32, 44–46 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41406-025-1499-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41406-025-1499-7

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