Dental & Maxillofacial Surgery

The Department of Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery at BLK-Max treats everything from routine fillings to jaw reconstruction after trauma or tumour removal. Because we work in a 650-bed super-speciality hospital rather than a standalone clinic, we perform complex surgery with a full operating theatre, anaesthesia, and critical care support, alongside other departments as needed. The department has provided routine and specialised dental procedures for the past decade.

What Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Involves

Oral and maxillofacial surgery treats conditions affecting the jaws, mouth, face and skull, the area a general dentist refers to rather than treats. It covers corrective jaw surgery, repair of facial fractures, removal of cysts and tumours from the mouth and jaw, cleft lip and palate correction, and surgical placement of dental implants where the jawbone needs building up first.

Surgery for the top jawbone is a distinct procedure within dentistry. The incision is usually made inside the mouth, above the top teeth. Diagnosis and treatment of the facial bones, lower face, palate and teeth all fall within the speciality.

The practical distinction matters when you are choosing where to go. Routine dentistry, fillings, cleaning, root canals, crowns, is done in a dental chair. Maxillofacial surgery is done in an operating theatre, usually under general anaesthesia, and often needs an overnight stay or longer. A hospital department can do both; a dental clinic can only do the first.

Why Patients Choose BLK-Max for Jaw and Facial Surgery

1. Hospital-Grade Surgical Support

Orthognathic surgery, facial trauma repair and tumour resection need a full operating theatre, an anaesthesia team and post-operative critical care. All three are on site. If a case becomes complicated during surgery, the support is in the same building rather than an ambulance ride away.

2. Routine and Complex Care in One Department

The same department that places a filling also performs jaw realignment. That matters when treatment spans both: an implant may need a bone graft first, and orthodontic braces are often planned around orthognathic surgery. You are not handed between a clinic and a hospital mid-treatment.

3. Surgery Alongside Other Specialities

Correction of cleft lip and cleft palate is performed in tandem with the plastic surgery department. Facial trauma involving the eye socket or skull base, and oral cancers needing reconstruction, are similarly planned with the relevant surgical teams rather than referred out.

4. Oral Cancer and Pre-Cancerous Lesions

The department diagnoses and treats pre-cancerous changes in the mouth and performs major resections where cancer is confirmed, including maxillectomy, mandibulectomy and glossectomy. Reconstruction surgery is planned as part of the same surgical decision, not afterwards. Minor oral surgical procedures including cyst removal, biopsy and removal of cancerous lesions are also performed here.

Conditions We Treat

If you are unsure whether your problem needs a dentist or a dental surgeon, the list below is a reasonable guide. Anything involving the jaw joint, jaw position, facial bones or a lesion that has not healed usually needs a maxillofacial assessment.

1. Impacted Wisdom Teeth

A wisdom tooth that cannot fully erupt can press on the tooth beside it, trap food and bacteria, and cause repeated infection, swelling and pain. Surgical removal is often needed rather than a routine extraction, particularly where the tooth lies close to the nerve in the lower jaw.

2. Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Disorders

The temporomandibular joint connects the jawbone to the skull. When it is not working properly, it causes jaw pain, clicking, headaches, and difficulty chewing or opening the mouth fully. Most cases are managed without surgery, with medication, splints and physiotherapy and surgery is considered only where those have not worked.

3. Jaw Misalignment and Bite Problems

Underbite, overbite and asymmetric jaw growth affect how you chew, speak and breathe, not only how you look. Mild cases are corrected with braces alone. When the jawbones are in the wrong position, orthognathic surgery is needed, usually combined with orthodontic treatment before and after. Correction of a proclined jaw is performed here.

4. Facial Trauma and Fractures

Fractures of the jaw, cheekbone, eye socket and nose following road accidents, falls or assault are repaired to restore both the bite and facial shape. Timing matters, bones begin to set in the position they were left in, so early assessment gives a better result.

5. Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate

Correction of cleft lip and cleft palate is carried out in tandem with the plastic surgery department. Repair is staged over several years as the child grows, and typically involves speech assessment, orthodontics and sometimes bone grafting to the jaw alongside the surgery itself.

6. Oral Lesions, Cysts and Tumours

A mouth ulcer that has not healed in three weeks, a white or red patch that will not rub off, or a lump in the jaw needs assessment rather than waiting. Some of these are harmless; some, such as leukoplakia, are pre-cancerous and are monitored or removed. The department performs cyst removal, biopsies, and removal of cancerous lesions.

7. Missing Teeth and Jawbone Loss

When a tooth has been missing for a long time, the jawbone beneath it shrinks, and there may not be enough bone left to hold an implant. Bone grafting or a sinus lift rebuilds the site first. Replacement of a single tooth, multiple teeth and implant-supported dentures are all offered.

Maxillofacial Surgery Procedures

1. Orthognathic Surgery

Orthognathic surgery repositions the upper jaw, the lower jaw, or both, to correct how the teeth meet and how the face is proportioned. It is planned with the orthodontist, because braces are usually needed before surgery to align the teeth and afterwards to settle the bite. Most patients stay in hospital for a short period and return to normal eating gradually over several weeks. The overall treatment process, including orthodontic preparation before surgery and finishing treatment afterwards, may take several months to more than a year, depending on the complexity of the jaw and bite correction. Most patients return to normal eating gradually over several weeks. 

2. Facial Trauma Reconstruction

Broken facial bones are repositioned and held with small titanium plates and screws, usually through incisions placed inside the mouth or in natural skin creases so that scarring is limited. Soft tissue injuries are repaired at the same time where possible.

3. Dental Implant Surgery

An implant is a titanium post placed into the jawbone to support a replacement tooth. The bone must be assessed first for density and volume, if it is insufficient, grafting comes first and the implant is placed later. Healing takes a few months before the final crown is fitted. We perform replacement of single teeth, multiple teeth, and implant-supported dentures.

4. Bone Grafting and Sinus Lift

Bone grafting and sinus lift surgery are performed to rebuild the jaw where bone has been lost. A sinus lift raises the floor of the sinus in the upper jaw to create room for an implant. Graft material may be taken from elsewhere in your own body or be synthetic, your surgeon will explain which is proposed and why.

5. TMJ Surgery

Where non-surgical treatment has failed, the jaw joint can be washed out, examined with a small camera, or reconstructed depending on what is wrong with it. This is a last-resort option and most TMJ patients never reach it.

6. Oral Tumour Surgery and Reconstruction

Removing a tumour from the mouth or jaw may require taking part of the upper jaw (maxillectomy), part of the lower jaw (mandibulectomy), or part of the tongue (glossectomy). Wherever possible, we plan reconstruction to restore swallowing, speech, and facial shape as part of the same operation. Cordectomy is performed for selected vocal cord lesions.

Dental Services at BLK-Max

The Department of Dental Surgery offers comprehensive dental services, including Dental Implants, all-ceramic veneers and crowns, Precious Metal Crowns, Flexible Valplast Dentures, Dental Sealants, Gum Treatment, Bone Grafting, Periodontics, and Prosthodontics. The full range is grouped below.

1. Cosmetic Procedures

• Cosmetic tooth-coloured facings for deformed and stained teeth (laminates and veneers)
• Cosmetic tooth coloured fillings (correction of broken teeth and cavities)
• Smile designing
• Gap closures
• Cosmetic contouring of gums and teeth
• Bleaching and gum bleaching, including a single-visit one-hour whitening system
• Ceramic crowns and metal crowns
• Bridges (ceramic and metal)

2. Root Canal Treatment

Root canal treatment removes infected tissue from inside a tooth so the tooth can be kept rather than extracted. Painless, single-sitting root canal treatment is available. Most teeth are then restored with a crown to protect them.

3. Implants and Gum Surgery

• Replacement of single tooth, multiple teeth and implant-supported denture
• Sinus lift surgery
• Gum surgeries, treatment of loose teeth, gum loss, receding gums and excessive gum tissue

4. Extractions and Minor Oral Surgery

• Extraction, routine and surgical
• Minor oral surgical procedures including cyst removal, biopsy and removal of cancerous lesions

5. Orthodontics

• Orthodontic braces (metal and tooth coloured braces)
• Lingual and invisible braces
• Orthognathic surgery (correction of proclined jaw), where braces alone cannot correct the bite

6. Routine and Preventive Care

• Scaling, cleaning and air polishing
• Dental sealants
• Partial and complete dentures, including flexible Valplast dentures
• Digital X-rays

What Happens During Maxillofacial Surgery

The exact steps depend on the procedure, but most follow the same sequence.

• Your surgeon takes a history, symptoms, previous treatment, current medicines and any bleeding or anaesthetic problems.
• The mouth, teeth, jaw joint and facial bones are examined.
• Imaging is taken. Digital X-rays are used routinely; jaw surgery and implant planning usually need three-dimensional imaging so the bone can be assessed in depth.
• The findings and options are explained, including what happens if you do nothing. You should leave this appointment knowing why a particular procedure is being recommended over the alternatives.
• Surgery is performed under local anaesthesia, sedation or general anaesthesia depending on the procedure. Incisions are placed inside the mouth wherever possible so no visible scar is left.
• Stitches are placed, most dissolve on their own; some are removed after about a week. Packing may be placed to protect the site.
• You recover from the anaesthetic in a recovery area. Some swelling, bruising, discomfort and minor bleeding in the first days is expected rather than a sign that something has gone wrong.

Ask your surgeon before the day of surgery which anaesthetic is planned, how long you will be in hospital, and when you can go back to work. These three answers shape everything you need to arrange around the operation.

Risks and Complications

Every surgical procedure carries risk, and you should hear about it before consenting rather than afterwards. Risks are reduced, not eliminated, when a qualified specialist performs surgery with appropriate imaging and anaesthetic support. The risks below are the ones that apply generally to oral and maxillofacial surgery; your surgeon will tell you which are relevant to your specific procedure and how likely they are in your case.

• Swelling, bruising and discomfort in the days after surgery. This is expected in most cases rather than a complication.
• Bleeding, which is usually minor and settles with pressure. Tell your team beforehand if you take blood thinners or have a bleeding disorder.
• Infection at the surgical site, which may need antibiotics or drainage.
• Temporary or, less commonly, lasting numbness of the lip, chin or tongue. This is the risk most relevant to lower wisdom tooth removal and lower jaw surgery, because nerves run close to the operating field.
• Difficulty opening the mouth fully for a period after surgery.
• Sinus complications following upper jaw surgery, sinus lift or upper implant placement.
• Damage to adjacent teeth, fillings or crowns during access.
• Bite changes after jaw surgery, sometimes needing further orthodontic adjustment.
• Bone graft or implant failure to integrate, requiring the procedure to be repeated.
• Anaesthetic risks, which are discussed at your pre-operative assessment.

Contact the hospital rather than waiting for your review appointment if you have heavy bleeding that does not stop with pressure, a fever, spreading swelling, or pain that is getting worse rather than better after the third day.

Recovery and Aftercare

Recovery depends heavily on which procedure you have had. A simple extraction settles in days; orthognathic surgery is a matter of weeks before you are eating normally.

In the first week after most oral surgery, you can expect to:

• Keep to soft, cool foods and avoid chewy, crunchy or hard items on the surgical side
• Avoid tobacco and alcohol entirely, smoking is the single largest avoidable cause of poor healing and implant failure
• Avoid rinsing vigorously or using a straw for the first 24 hours, so the clot is not disturbed
• Keep the area clean, following the specific rinsing instructions you are given
• Take pain relief as prescribed rather than waiting for pain to build
• Sleep with your head slightly raised for the first few nights to reduce swelling

A review appointment is arranged to check healing and remove any non-dissolving stitches. After implants, bone grafts or jaw surgery, follow-up continues over several months while the bone integrates.

Our Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery Team

The department combines dental specialists and maxillofacial surgeons, so that treatment spanning both, an implant needing a bone graft, or braces planned around jaw surgery, is managed by one team.

• Dr Neetu Kamra, Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery 
• Dr Isha Pareek, Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery 

Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery Cost in Delhi

The cost of dental and maxillofacial surgery in Delhi varies considerably from patient to patient, and any hospital quoting a single figure before assessing you should be treated with caution. The factors below determine what your treatment will cost.

• Whether the procedure is routine dental treatment performed in a chair, or surgery requiring an operating theatre and anaesthesia.
• Type of anaesthesia, local anaesthesia, sedation or general anaesthesia carry different costs.
• Complexity and duration of the surgery, and whether it is staged across more than one operation.
• Implants, plates, screws, graft material and prostheses used, and the grade of material chosen.
• Number of teeth or sites treated, a single implant costs differently from a full-arch reconstruction.
• Imaging required for planning, including three-dimensional scans.
• Whether orthodontic treatment is needed before and after jaw surgery, which extends the overall course.
• Room category and length of hospital stay for procedures requiring admission.
• Laboratory work for crowns, dentures and prostheses.
• Follow-up visits and any revision work.

Planning Your Treatment

If you have been told you need jaw surgery, an extraction that a dental clinic will not perform, or treatment for a lesion in your mouth, a hospital assessment is the right next step.

Bring to your first appointment: any X-rays or scans you already have, the images themselves, not only the reports, details of previous dental treatment, a current list of medicines including blood thinners, and details of any bleeding disorder, diabetes or previous anaesthetic problem. These change what can be done and how quickly.

If a treatment plan has been proposed elsewhere and you are unsure about it, you can request a second opinion online before committing. This is routine, and no surgeon will take offence.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the difference between a dentist and a maxillofacial surgeon?

A dentist treats the teeth and gums; a maxillofacial surgeon operates on the jaws, facial bones and mouth. Maxillofacial surgeons complete dental training first and then further specialist surgical training. You would see a dentist for a filling, crown or routine extraction, and a maxillofacial surgeon for jaw realignment, facial fractures, impacted wisdom teeth close to a nerve, or a lesion needing biopsy. At BLK-Max Hospital, both work in the same department.

2. When should I be referred to a hospital rather than a dental clinic?

When the procedure needs an operating theatre, general anaesthesia, or support from other medical specialities, including jaw realignment surgery, facial fractures, removal of cysts or tumours, complex impacted teeth, and any surgery where a heart condition, bleeding disorder, or diabetes complicates the anaesthetic. A dental clinic will usually tell you when a case is beyond what it can safely do.

3. Is maxillofacial surgery safe?

Every medical procedure carries some amount of risk, but these are minimised when performed by a specialist. The specific risks depend on the procedure, nerve numbness is the main concern in lower jaw and wisdom tooth surgery, and sinus complications in upper jaw work. Ask your surgeon which risks apply to your operation and how common they are in practice. A surgeon who will not discuss complications with you is the wrong surgeon.

4. What is orthognathic surgery and will I need braces as well?

Orthognathic surgery repositions the jawbones to correct how your teeth meet and how your face is proportioned. Most patients do need orthodontic treatment as well, usually braces for a period before surgery to align the teeth, and a further period afterwards to settle the bite. Your surgeon and orthodontist plan this together from the start, so the total timeline is longer than the operation alone suggests.

5. How long does recovery take after wisdom tooth removal?

Most people are comfortable within three to five days and back to normal within a week or two, though swelling usually peaks around the second or third day rather than immediately. A deeply impacted tooth close to the nerve takes longer. Avoid smoking entirely during healing, it is the most common avoidable cause of a painful dry socket.

6. I have a mouth ulcer that has not healed. Should I be worried?

Any ulcer, white patch or red patch in the mouth that has not healed within three weeks should be examined rather than watched. Most turn out to be harmless. Some, such as leukoplakia, are pre-cancerous and are either monitored or removed. Early assessment is straightforward and quick; late assessment is neither. Do not wait for it to become painful, many do not.

7. Can I get dental implants if I have been missing a tooth for years?

Usually yes, but the jawbone shrinks where a tooth has been missing for a long time, and there may not be enough left to hold an implant securely. In that case, a bone graft or sinus lift rebuilds the site first, and the implant is placed once it has healed. A three-dimensional scan of the jaw shows whether this applies to you.

8. Will my surgery be done under general anaesthesia?

It depends on the procedure. Routine extractions and most implants are done under local anaesthesia while you are awake. Jaw surgery, facial fracture repair and complex tumour surgery are done under general anaesthesia. Sedation is available for anxious patients undergoing procedures that would otherwise be done under local anaesthesia. Ask which is planned for you at your consultation, because it determines fasting, hospital stay and whether you can drive home.