Facial Trauma FAQs Skip to main content

Facial Trauma FAQs

A baseball line drive to the face. A car accident. A bad fall. All of these can cause maxillofacial injuries, which can require surgery. Our patients who have had some type of accident that injured their jaw or teeth often have a variety of questions—here are a few of the most common questions we receive:

What types of facial injuries need surgery?

Fractures of the lower jaw, upper jaw, cheekbones, eye socket, or a combination of those bones might require oral surgery. The loss of a tooth might require dental implant surgery, a permanent tooth replacement made possible by a titanium post that connects to the jawbone.

What if I think I only cut my face?

Even if you think you’ve only injured the soft tissue on your face, it’s always a good idea to have us evaluate you to ensure there was no damage to your jaw, teeth, facial bones, facial nerves, salivary glands, salivary ducts, or other areas. For soft tissue injuries, you might only need stitches to repair any lacerations, but if you’ve broken bones or injured glands, nerves, or ducts, you will definitely need further treatment to prevent long-term complications and problems.

How do you treat broken facial bones?

Since we obviously cannot stabilize bones of the face with a cast, we employ other methods. Sometimes we might need to wire the jaws together for various types of jaw fractures. Other times we might need to place small plates and screws in various parts of the face to fixate the fracture (called rigid fixation). Each patient is different and how we proceed depends on your specific injury.

What are my options if my tooth is broken or was completely knocked out?

If your tooth cannot be saved or repaired by a dentist (through restorative treatment) or by an endodontist (through root canal surgery), a dental implant is a good option. The dental implant secures an artificial tooth to the jaw bone with a titanium post, giving you the security and comfort you have with a natural tooth.

If you’ve had a facial injury, call one of our three locations for a consultation: Hackensack: 201.343.8297, Westwood: 201.664.5656, or Ridgewood: 201.444.4137. Drs. Diamond and Novelli are on staff at Hackensack University Medical Center and Dr. Han maintains clinical privileges at Hackensack University Medical Center and Columbia University Medical Center. Whatever your injury, we can give you the best treatment and help you get back to normal.

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