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Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is a specialty
of dentistry which encompasses the diagnosis and
treatment of diseases, defects, injuries and deformities
of the jaws and facial region. A wide range of
services fall under the surgical specialty of
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery from the extraction
of teeth and placement of Dental Implants to cosmetic
facial plastic surgery. Denta-Joy offers the full
scope of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery procedures
and is dedicated to providing the highest standard
of care to our patients, their families and the
community. Our commitment to excellence extends
to our state-of-the-art facility. The information
provided is an overview of the types of surgical
procedures offered in our practice.
Services
: Oral Surgery : Wisdom Tooth Extraction The
Wisdom Tooth
Wisdom teeth, or third molars are the last permanent
teeth to form and to move into the mouth. Wisdom
teeth usually erupt between 16 to 18 years of
age and are fully developed by age 22 or 23. This
was assumed to be the "age of wisdom"
which is where the term wisdom teeth originated.
There are usually four wisdom teeth, located behind
each of the 12 year molar teeth. If the jaw bone
is long enough, the wisdom teeth will grow in
with no resultant problems. Often times, however,
the jaws are not long enough and the wisdom teeth
do not have enough room to erupt. They become
trapped within the jaw bone. These teeth are known
as impacted wisdom teeth. Teeth which have partially
erupted are also considered to be impacted.
Indications
for the Removal of Wisdom Teeth
 Naturally occurring bacteria in the mouth can
work their way down to the impacted wisdom teeth,
causing infection in the surrounding gum tissue
and bone. Repeated soreness around wisdom teeth
is often mistaken as an effort of the wisdom teeth
to erupt. This soreness, however, could be a sign
of infection. Surrounding bone, tooth roots and
adjacent teeth may be harmed if this situation
is left untreated.
You
may not be having symptoms at the present time,
however, headaches, earaches, and pain in the
face, neck, throat and other teeth can occur if
impacted wisdom teeth are not removed. Cysts can
also develop around impacted wisdom teeth. The
sac or follicle which surrounds the developing
wisdom teeth may remain when the teeth are impacted.
The sac can fill with fluid and become a cyst
which may destroy bone surrounding adjacent teeth.
In rare instances, if the cyst is not treated,
a tumor may develop and more extensive procedures
may be required for removal.
Advantages
to Early Removal of Wisdom Teeth
The
surgical procedure to remove impacted wisdom teeth
at an early stage in their development is usually
less involved than waiting until symptoms develop.
The ideal time to remove the wisdom teeth is before
the roots are fully formed and before any symptoms
develop. As the teeth develop, the roots lengthen
and become more firmly anchored within the jaw.
It becomes more difficult then to remove wisdom
teeth as a person ages.
Also,
waiting until the wisdom teeth are symptomatic
may increase the possibility of complications.
The procedure and recovery time may be more involved
than if the wisdom teeth are removed electively.
All
dental extractions require some type of anesthesia.
Prior to surgery, anesthesia options and recommendations
will be discussed, and a plan for an appropriate
anesthetic technique will be decided upon by you
and your surgeon.
Aesthetic
techniques used in our office include:
- Local anesthesia
- an injection which numbs or freezes the surgical
area
- Oral premedication
- a medication taken by mouth prior to the procedure
which helps to relieve anxiety
Service:
Oral Surgery
Corrective Jaw Surgery or Orthognathic Surgery
 Orthognathic
Surgery is used to correct a wide spectrum of
major and minor jaw deformities. "Orthognathic"
means "straight jaws" and this surgery
is used to reposition one or both jaws which are
misaligned.
When the jaws
are moved, the teeth also move. For this reason,
orthognathic surgery is performed in conjunction
with orthodontics so that the teeth and bite as
well as the jaws are aligned correctly after surgery.
After orthognathic surgery, the teeth and jaws
will fit together correctly and function properly.
This may also improve chewing, speaking and breathing
as well as enhance facial appearance.
Any of the following symptoms may indicate a need
for Corrective Jaw Surgery:
- Difficulty chewing or biting
food
- Difficulty swallowing
- Chronic jaw pain
- Excessive wearing of teeth
- Open bite (a space between upper
and lower teeth when the mouth is closed)
- Overbite (upper and lower teeth
overlap too much)
- Unbalanced facial appearance
- Facial injury or a defect from
birth
- Chronic mouth breathing
- Sleep apnea
Unequal
growth of the jaws may exist at birth or may be
acquired after birth as a result of hereditary
or environmental factors or facial trauma. To
best evaluate your specific condition and to achieve
optimal results, a team approach is necessary.
The team includes an oral and maxillofacial surgeon,
an orthodontist and a general dentist. With this
combined effort, the teeth and jaws can be moved
into a new position which is balanced, functional
and healthy.
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Services:
Oral Surgery
Dental
Implants
Dental Implants may be a suitable replacement
for missing teeth in healthy individuals and often
are a superior alternative to more conventional
techniques. Dental Implants are used for several
different purposes. They can be used to replace
one or more missing teeth, to provide an anchor
for an upper or lower denture or to replace a
full or partial denture with fixed bridgework.
It is important
to replace missing teeth. Obvious cosmetic problems
may be associated with missing teeth. Additionally,
however, other oral and general health problems
may result when teeth are not replaced. Shifting
or movement of adjacent teeth into the empty space
may occur over time. This malalignment may make
these teeth more susceptible to decay and gum
disease, eventually causing more tooth loss. Missing
teeth may also decrease chewing efficiency and
may also affect speech. Dental Implants are used
to restore the dentition and prevent these consequences
of longstanding missing teeth.
Services
: Oral Surgery : Bone Grafts
 Bone
grafting procedures are usually necessary
if there is not enough bone available to
place Dental Implants or if any vital anatomy
is in the way.
Today,
bone grafting procedures have become almost
an integral part of implant reconstruction.
In many instances, a potential implant site
in the upper or lower jaw does not offer
enough bone volume or quantity to accommodate
a Rootform Implant of proper size or in
the proper place. This is usually a result
of bone resorption that has taken place
since one or more teeth (if not all) were
lost. Bone Grafting procedures usually try
to re-establish bone dimension, which was
lost due to resorption.
Many years
ago the lack of bone posed a considerable
problem and sometimes implant placement
was impossible because of that. Today, however,
we have the ability to grow bone where needed.
This not only gives us the opportunity to
place implants of proper length and width
(and for Rootform Implants we always try
to go for as long and wide as possible),
it also gives us a chance to restore the
esthetic appearance and functionality better.
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Type
of Bone Grafting Materials
With respect to the Bone Graft material used,
we have to differentiate between several choices.
All materials can be categorized into five different
categories:
- Autograft or autogenous bone
graft
- Allograft or allogenic bone graft
- Xenograft or xenogenic bone graft
- Alloplast or alloplastic bone
graft
- Growth Factors
Each
of the bone graft materials is usually developed
with a specific purpose or advantage in mind.
Your surgeon will make a decision with respect
to the bonegraft material, based on your individual needs and the latest
research in that field.
| Bone grafting techniques : use of endogenous bone (i.e. belonging to the
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| Bone grafting techniques : use a range of artificial substitutes |
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Effects
of Missing Teeth
When a tooth is missing its neighboring teeth
will tend to shift, sometimes significantly, which
in turn can have a major impact on your dental
health. Even the removal of a single tooth can
lead to problems related to your chewing ability,
problems with your jaw joint, and the problem
of a possibility that the surrounding teeth of
predispose the teeth may shifted.
To
avoid these complications, in most cases, we will
probably recommend to you to replace the tooth
that has been extracted. Restorations for missing
teeth includes:
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