Concierge maxillofacial · UK
Private jaw surgery, planned in 3D, done by a consultant.
Orthognathic surgery — BSSO, Le Fort I, bimaxillary and MMA — planned jointly by a BAOMS-registered maxillofacial surgeon and a specialist orthodontist. Every millimetre agreed before you go to theatre.
Why patients choose us
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A consultant maxillofacial surgeon, in theatre
Not a cosmetic clinic and not a training case. A named BAOMS-registered surgeon, a dedicated orthognathic team, and 3D planning that matches the plan to your face.
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Orthodontic prep taken seriously
Jaw surgery is only as good as the 12–24 months of orthodontic decompensation before it. We put the orthodontist and surgeon in the same room from day one.
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Independent, and free
We are paid by no clinic, so the recommendation is impartial and costs you nothing.
Indicative pricing
What private jaw surgery costs in the UK.
Indicative ranges across our partner hospitals. Orthodontic treatment is priced separately by the orthodontist. Send the details and we quote firm figures across two or three options.
In short
A bimaxillary case in our network: £15,000–£30,000, one night in hospital, home the next morning.
| Procedure | Indicative range | Typical duration | Hospital stay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bimaxillary surgery (Le Fort I + BSSO) | £15,000–£30,000 | 4–6 hr GA | 1 night stay |
| Mandibular surgery alone (BSSO) | £8,000–£15,000 | 2–4 hr GA | 1 night stay |
| Le Fort I maxillary osteotomy alone | £10,000–£18,000 | 3–4 hr GA | 1 night stay |
| Genioplasty (chin) alone | £4,000–£8,000 | 1–2 hr GA | Same day / 1 night |
| Maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) for OSA | £20,000–£35,000 | 4–6 hr GA | 1–2 nights |
| Joint consultation (surgeon + orthodontist) | £300–£600 | 45–60 min | Same visit |
NHS funding is available where there is a functional need — significant IOTN score, sleep apnoea, cleft, or post-traumatic malunion — but the pathway takes 3–5 years. Private prices vary by hospital, surgeon and whether patient-specific implants are used. We come back with a firm quote within one working day.
The problem
The right surgeon, the right orthodontist, the right plan.
Orthognathic surgery is a joint project between orthodontist and maxillofacial surgeon. When they are not in the same room from the start, the plan drifts — and so do the results.
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Waited years on the NHS?
We can review the plan and offer a private route that skips the queue, or run alongside your NHS orthodontics.
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CPAP not working for OSA?
For selected moderate–severe cases, maxillomandibular advancement is a curative surgical option — assessed jointly with sleep medicine.
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Want a proper 3D plan?
Cone-beam CT, VECTRA facial capture, digital surgical planning and patient-specific implants where indicated — the modern standard, offered as standard.
The journey
From enquiry to refinement — what happens, in order.
A joint orthodontic–surgical team from first message through to the settled bite twelve months after surgery.
Phase 1 · Before surgery
12–24 months of joint planning and orthodontics
Phase 2 · Surgery and hospital
One night on the ward
Phase 3 · After
Recovery and refinement
- 01
Before
You tell us what is going on
A short, confidential form. Bite problems, jaw pain, sleep apnoea, facial concerns, previous orthodontic work — and whether the NHS route has already been tried.
- 02
Before
We come back with a recommendation
Within one working day: the right joint orthodontic–surgical plan, the likely operation (BSSO, Le Fort I, bimax, genioplasty), an indicative timeline and price.
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Before
Joint clinic and 3D planning
Consultant-led joint clinic with the orthodontist and surgeon. 3D cone-beam CT, VECTRA facial capture, digital planning, and patient-specific implants where indicated.
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Before
Pre-surgical orthodontics
12–24 months of fixed braces or clear aligners to decompensate the bite. This looks worse before it looks better — that is by design.
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Surgery
Surgery day
GA with nasotracheal intubation. A 3–6 hour operation depending on single-jaw or bimaxillary. Titanium plates and screws hold everything precisely.
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Surgery
Overnight in hospital
One night on the ward — occasionally two. Ice, head elevation, IV fluids, careful analgesia and anti-sickness cover. Home the next morning in most cases.
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After
Recovery, elastics and refinement
Liquid and soft diet 6–8 weeks. Guiding elastics 6–12 weeks. Refinement orthodontics 6–12 months to settle the bite. A review pathway that does not stop when you leave hospital.
Typical end-to-end: 18–24 months from first plan to surgery. Full settling: 6–12 months after theatre.
When it helps
When jaw surgery is the right step.
The clinical patterns we see most, and the one situation — post-traumatic malunion — that needs an especially experienced hand.
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Class II retrognathic mandible
A small or set-back lower jaw giving a receding chin, overbite and — sometimes — night-time airway problems. Usually a BSSO advancement, often with a genioplasty.
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Class III prognathic mandible
A prominent lower jaw and underbite. Correction is usually a BSSO set-back, often paired with a Le Fort I to bring the maxilla forward.
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Maxillary hypoplasia (deficient midface)
A short or set-back upper jaw giving a flat midface, dental show issues and Class III bite. A Le Fort I advancement is the standard operation.
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Anterior open bite
Front teeth that do not meet even when the back teeth touch — often speech and eating problems. Bimaxillary surgery with maxillary impaction is typical.
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Facial asymmetry
A jaw that grew unevenly — visible tilt, dental cant, or deviated chin. Planned in 3D with asymmetric movements of one or both jaws.
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Obstructive sleep apnoea
For selected patients with moderate–severe OSA who cannot tolerate CPAP, maxillomandibular advancement enlarges the airway and can be curative.
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Cleft lip and palate
Adults with a cleft history often need a Le Fort I advancement — sometimes with distraction — as the final step of a lifetime pathway.
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Red flag: post-traumatic malunion
A jaw that has healed in the wrong position after a previous fracture. Corrective osteotomy is more complex and needs experienced hands.
Procedure options
The operations that make up orthognathic surgery.
The building blocks of every jaw operation — combined into the plan that fits your face and your bite.
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BSSO (mandibular osteotomy)
Bilateral sagittal split osteotomy of the lower jaw — the workhorse of orthognathic surgery. Advances or sets back the mandible with plates and screws.
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Le Fort I (maxillary osteotomy)
A horizontal cut above the upper teeth lets the whole maxilla be moved forward, up, down or rotated — precisely, and held with titanium plates.
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Bimaxillary surgery
Le Fort I and BSSO together, often with a genioplasty. Used when both jaws need to move — the most powerful and predictable correction.
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Genioplasty (chin osteotomy)
A cut through the chin lets it be advanced, set back or straightened. Often added to a BSSO to refine the lower face profile.
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Maxillomandibular advancement (MMA)
Bimaxillary advancement designed to enlarge the pharyngeal airway — the definitive surgical option for selected moderate–severe OSA.
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Mandibular distraction osteogenesis
A gradual lengthening of the jaw over weeks using a distractor device — reserved for very large movements, syndromic cases and some cleft patients.
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Segmental osteotomies
Selected pieces of the maxilla or mandible are repositioned — used to close open bites, level canted occlusion or narrow a wide arch.
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Corrective osteotomy for malunion
Re-cutting and re-fixing a jaw that healed in the wrong place after previous fracture or previous orthognathic surgery.
Our vetted UK network
A small panel of maxillofacial surgeons, we picked them.
Consultant orthognathic surgeons across London, the South East and major regional centres. Not listed publicly — introductions are made privately, once we understand your case.
Selection criteria
How we choose every maxillofacial surgeon in our network.
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Consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeons on the GMC and GDC specialist lists, BAOMS-affiliated
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Joint orthodontic–surgical planning with a BOS-registered orthodontist
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3D cone-beam CT, VECTRA facial capture and digital planning as standard
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Overnight ward with anaesthetist-led post-operative airway monitoring
Safety and recovery
What to expect afterwards — honestly.
Orthognathic surgery is well-established and safe in experienced hands. The honest risks worth understanding are nerve sensation, TMJ symptoms, and the discipline of the post-operative diet and elastics.
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Inferior alveolar nerve — lip and chin numbness
A stretch or bruise to the nerve running through the mandible causes altered lip and chin sensation in 5–30% of patients transiently and 5–10% persistently. Usually a nuisance rather than a functional problem.
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Infraorbital nerve — cheek numbness
Le Fort I surgery can bruise the infraorbital nerve giving cheek and upper lip tingling. It usually settles over weeks to months.
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Dental root damage
Careful pre-operative planning and 3D imaging make dental root injury uncommon. When it happens, endodontic treatment or extraction is the fix.
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TMJ dysfunction
Some patients get temporomandibular joint clicking, tightness or pain after surgery. In most it settles with physio; a minority need targeted TMJ care.
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Malunion, non-union or relapse
Bone can heal in the wrong position or partially move back — most often when post-operative elastics or diet are not followed. Careful follow-up catches it early.
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Bad split (BSSO)
An unfavourable fracture line during the mandibular split. Managed intra-operatively with additional fixation — rarely a lasting problem when handled by an experienced surgeon.
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Haemorrhage and airway
Bleeding, swelling and airway compromise are the main early risks — the reason overnight anaesthetist-led monitoring is standard, not optional.
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Infection and hardware
Wound infection is uncommon with prophylactic antibiotics. Plates and screws stay in place unless they cause symptoms, in which case they are removed 9–12 months on.
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Red flags
Sudden airway difficulty, spreading facial swelling, uncontrolled bleeding or high fever in the first two weeks are not normal — the on-call team, or A&E, the same day.
Reading your operation note
Your operation note in four parts. Read the last one first.
Whichever combination of osteotomies was performed, the note the surgeon sends you keeps to the same shape.
A quiet reminder
Surgical language is precise and can read coldly — we translate it for you.
If you would like us to talk you through the note before your review, just ask.
- 01 Header
Diagnosis and surgical plan
Skeletal classification, cephalometric findings, and the exact movements agreed — how many millimetres of advancement, set-back, impaction or rotation for each jaw.
- 02 Technique
Osteotomies performed and fixation
Whether Le Fort I, BSSO, genioplasty or a combination, the fixation used (plates, screws, patient-specific implants), and any segmental cuts.
- 03 Findings
Intra-operative notes and nerve status
Splits, nerve identification, blood loss, and any deviations from the digital plan. This is the honest record you will want if anything needs reviewing later.
- 04 Impression
Recovery, elastics, diet and review
Read this first: diet stages, elastic regimen, physio, refinement orthodontic timing and when follow-up scans and photos are due.
Recognised by major UK insurers
Cover for orthognathic surgery varies by insurer — most fund it where there is a functional indication (bite, OSA, malunion, cleft) but not for purely aesthetic cases. We confirm cover before booking.
Frequently asked
Everything we get asked about jaw surgery.
Quick answers on braces, cost, NHS vs private, sleep apnoea and recovery — the questions people actually send us.
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What is orthognathic (jaw) surgery?
Orthognathic surgery is planned surgical correction of the jaw and facial skeleton — most commonly a BSSO of the lower jaw, a Le Fort I of the upper jaw, or both together with a genioplasty. It fixes bites that braces alone cannot, and can improve chewing, speech, sleep apnoea and facial balance.
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Do I need braces before jaw surgery?
Almost always yes. 12–24 months of pre-surgical orthodontic decompensation lines the teeth up on their own jaw bases so the surgeon can move the bones into the right position. Skipping this step is the single commonest reason results relapse.
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How long does the operation take and how long is the hospital stay?
A single-jaw operation is typically 2–4 hours; a bimaxillary case is 3–6 hours. You will have a general anaesthetic with a nasotracheal tube and usually stay one night on the ward, occasionally two.
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How much does private jaw surgery cost in the UK?
Indicative ranges: bimaxillary surgery £15,000–£30,000, mandibular alone (BSSO) £8,000–£15,000, Le Fort I alone £10,000–£18,000, genioplasty £4,000–£8,000, MMA for OSA £20,000–£35,000. These cover surgeon, anaesthetist, hospital and follow-up but exclude orthodontic treatment.
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Can I get jaw surgery on the NHS?
Yes, when there is a functional need — a significant IOTN orthodontic score, sleep apnoea, cleft, or post-traumatic deformity. The pathway takes 3–5 years and mixes orthodontic and surgical waits. Purely aesthetic cases are not funded.
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What are the main risks?
Altered lip and chin sensation from the inferior alveolar nerve is the commonest concern — transient in 5–30% and persistent in 5–10%. Other risks include cheek numbness, TMJ symptoms, bleeding, infection, relapse, and rarely a bad split during BSSO.
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How long is recovery?
Most people take 2–3 weeks off work and driving. Liquid and soft diet lasts 6–8 weeks. Guiding elastics run 6–12 weeks. Swelling settles noticeably by 6 weeks and completely by 6–12 months. Refinement orthodontics runs 6–12 months after surgery.
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Will jaw surgery cure my sleep apnoea?
For carefully selected patients with moderate–severe OSA who cannot tolerate CPAP, maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) enlarges the pharyngeal airway and has one of the highest surgical cure rates in sleep medicine. It is not a first-line treatment and needs a sleep-physician review first.
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