When you need surgery in your mouth or a complex dental extraction, your oral surgery is best performed by a dental professional.
Although surgeries vary from one person to the next, some of the most common forms of oral surgery offered in dental offices included procedures such as:
Surgical Tooth Extractions — If a tooth is unerupted, impacted, or has atypical anatomy that prevents a routine dental extraction, then a surgical extraction is the best solution to have it removed. Creating an opening to access the tooth allows your dentist to remove it in smaller portions, rather than trying to extract it completely intact.
Dental Implant Placement — Getting dental implants involves a surgical process to set the artificial roots down into the jaw. Most people say it’s easier than having a tooth pulled!
Bone or Soft Tissue Grafting — Adding new bone or gum tissues back to areas that have suffered loss can protect your healthy teeth and support prosthetics such as dental implants.
Biopsies — Cysts, tumors, and precancerous tissues may need to be biopsied or fully removed in conjunction with other treatments.
Sinus Lifts — After an upper back tooth is removed, the sinuses above it can start to drift down into the area where the root used to be. Before an implant can be set, the sinus lining must be lifted to prevent perforation.
Your comfort is extremely important to us. Not only do we want you to feel relaxed during your oral surgery, but when you do, it allows our team to work more efficiently.
To ensure that you don’t feel any discomfort, we offer appropriate sedation dentistry options. Most of our patients say that they feel like they took a light nap during the procedure, completely fall asleep, or don’t remember a thing once it’s over. We’ll talk you through the different types of sedatives that we offer so that we can choose the best one together as doctor and patient.
Although sedatives are involved, we also use local anesthetic around the surgical site to ensure it is completely numb.
Depending on the type of oral surgery being performed, your procedure might be covered by medical insurance or dental insurance…or both. Our financial coordinators will help you estimate the benefits that you’re entitled to, given the procedure being completed. We want to minimize any out of pocket expenses on your part so that the financial aspect of your surgical procedure is the least of your worries.
Because most oral surgeries are completed with sedation, you will need to have a family member or friend drive you to and from your appointment, and wait in the reception area during the procedure.
It’s important that you only drink a small amount of clear liquids rather than a normal meal before coming in for your appointment. Our team will guide you through the details prior to the surgical date.
As with any type of surgery, we ask our patients to listen to their bodies and rest for an appropriate length of time before returning to work or school. If you are taking prescription strength pain relievers, do not drive.
Our office will provide you with written home care instructions that ought to be followed, to ensure proper healing and to reduce your risk of unwanted side-effects (such as dry socket.) If for any reason you experience prolonged bleeding or fever, contact us immediately.
For more information about our oral surgery services, call today to schedule a consultation.