Oral and maxillofacial surgery focuses on diagnosing and treating injuries, defects, and conditions affecting the mouth, teeth, face, jaws, and related soft tissues. This specialized field combines precision, expertise, and advanced technology to address complex oral and facial issues that go beyond general dentistry.
Oral surgeons undergo extensive training, completing six additional years of hospital-based surgical and anesthesia education. This rigorous preparation equips them with the knowledge and skills needed to provide exceptional care in both office and surgical settings, ensuring maximum patient comfort and safety.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons perform a wide range of procedures to restore oral health, function, and aesthetics, including:
Whether you’re addressing a simple procedure like a tooth extraction or a more complex need like jaw reconstruction, oral and maxillofacial surgery combines state-of-the-art techniques with compassionate care to deliver the best outcomes for your health and well-being.
Surgical dental extractions are usually required for the removal of wisdom teeth and for teeth that are broken under the gum line or have not fully erupted.
Surgical extractions are often times performed under IV sedation or IV general anesthesia to provide maximum comfort to the patient. Often times a pre-op evaluation (consult) is necessary to determine if the patient is a good candidate for in-office sedation. Some patients require an outpatient surgical center or a hospital setting due to complicated medical history.
Here is a link to the post surgery instructions we give our patients after they have had a dental extraction. It will give you an idea of what the recovery process entails.
For more information on dental extractions, click here.
Third molars, commonly known as ‘wisdom teeth’, emerge during adulthood and can contribute to many types of oral health issues including improper tooth alignment, infections, TMJ disorder, and discomfort such as orofacial pain and headaches. Removing wisdom teeth is often considered a precautionary measure to preserve oral health and well being.
If healthy and functional, your wisdom teeth can be useful. However, there are also reasons behind why you may need to consider removing your wisdom teeth. In some cases, your wisdom teeth are in fact healthy, but because of orthodontic treatment they need to be removed.
In other cases, your wisdom teeth can become impacted or only partially erupt through the gum in a misalignment. When impacted or partially impacted, your wisdom teeth can cause swelling, pain and even infection of the surrounding gum. They can also put pressure on the adjacent teeth, which can result in permanent damage to these otherwise healthy teeth and their surrounding bone. Sometimes impacted or partially impacted wisdom teeth can also lead to the formation of cysts, and in worse case scenarios even tumors, which could potentially destroy an entire section of your jaw.
Lastly, a fully erupted wisdom tooth needs to be removed because they are very hard to clean and can become severely decayed. So, for these reasons, sometimes the smart move is to have your wisdom teeth removed.
When performing tooth extractions, our dentists take great care to provide a pleasant and comfortable experience.
For more information about wisdom teeth removal, click here.
Maxillary eye teeth or upper canines can become impacted. Impacted canines can damage surrounding structures including adjacent teeth. If left untreated by an oral surgeon, impacted canines can lead to the development of cysts around the un-erupted crown; this can severely damage roots of adjacent teeth.
Successful treatment of impacted canines depends on early detection. The older the patient is, the more likely the canines will fuse in place and resist all attempts to get them to emerge. In such cases, the only option is to extract the canine and replace it with a dental implant.
However, if this problem is detected early enough, an orthodontist can expose the canine and force it to fit into the dental arch.
The position of the impacted tooth in relation to the rest of the teeth in the dental arch is an important consideration in deciding the course of treatment. Dentists also take into account the reasons behind the canine not erupting naturally. These can include:
Dentists may recommend braces to open up the eruption path for the canines. This procedure works till the age of 11 or 12 years. As often as possible, dentists prefer to orthodontically extrude the impacted tooth. One important reason for this is that the maxillary canine teeth offer support to the insides of the cheek and the nasal rim.
Extracting the tooth can cause the upper lip to appear flattened. Removing an impacted canine from only one side of the maxillary dental midline can cause the face to appear asymmetrical.
Our dentists and staff at Dental Depot understand the devastating effects tooth loss can have on our patients. Losing a tooth can shake your confidence, affect your ability to eat, and lead to additional tooth loss because even one missing tooth can lead to bone atrophy and leave neighboring teeth unsupported. Patients missing multiple teeth face even greater risks to their oral health.
We understand that losing a tooth is a delicate, emotional issue, however, we encourage patients to explore their tooth replacement options as soon as possible because bone can atrophy quite rapidly, and bone loss can affect a person’s candidacy for certain treatments. Dental Depot offers a number of options for replacing missing teeth, such as the placement of dental implants. These long-lasting, low maintenance replacement teeth can restore both oral function and appearance.
For more information on your tooth replacement choices, see our implant dentistry and dentures pages. You might also want to review our Dental Implants vs Dentures page.
Orthognathic surgery is corrective jaw surgery that repositions the jaws to align the teeth and provide a functional bite. The surgery is performed by an oral surgeon. The patient’s oral surgeon works in conjunction with their orthodontist to prepare them for the surgery. Common examples that require surgical correction are a weak lower jaw resulting in a ‘weak’ chin, and an excess of upper jaw resulting in a ‘gummy’ smile.
We offer our patients several anesthesia options when undergoing oral surgery. Your options include:
For more information about these anesthesia options, click here
Facial trauma, also known as maxillofacial trauma, can be a very complex injury. Usually, it requires special attention from a qualified oral surgeon and maxillofacial patients usually face longer treatment times. Maxillofacial injuries can include broken facial bones including nose, jaw or cheekbones, soft tissue injuries, burns, lacerations, bruises or fractures. These injuries can lead to permanent facial disfigurement. This means if you don’t seek proper treatment you can lose facial function. Since our faces are usually the first thing people see about you this can lead to a loss of self-esteem, impacting your ability to form meaningful relationships or pursue a career.
The most common causes of facial injuries are:
For more information about facial trauma and treatment options, click here.