Five Common Types of Oral Surgery and What to Expect

While many dental problems can be quickly resolved without the need for surgical intervention, there are instances where oral surgery is inevitable. In such cases, your regular dentist may refer you to an oral surgeon for further treatment. An oral surgeon is a highly-skilled and specialized dentist who receives additional training on how to perform surgical procedures on the jaws, face, teeth, and mouth.

There are different types of oral surgeries. The underlying common goal of all of them is to restore the function and well-being of the patient.

Tooth Removal

Also known as dental extraction, tooth removal is the process of taking out a tooth from its tooth socket. While it’s always preferable to keep all your natural teeth for a lifetime, there are instances when an extraction is the best course of treatment. For example, severely decayed or crowded teeth usually call for extraction.

Impacted Wisdom Tooth Removal

If your teeth are trapped under your gums, they are said to be impacted. The most frequently impacted teeth are the third molars, also known as wisdom teeth. Impacted wisdom teeth pose a risk for future complications, including infection, the formation of cysts, and bite problems. As such, an oral surgeon may recommend the removal of impacted teeth if they determine that the teeth will become problematic in the future. Impacted wisdom tooth removal involves cutting through the gum tissue to access the trapped tooth, and then gently pulling the tooth out of its socket.

Dental Implant Surgery

Tooth loss can devastate your life in many ways. For starters, missing teeth hurt your self-confidence. Second, you may find it difficult to chew or speak properly when you’re missing some of your teeth. Tooth loss can also cause your adjacent teeth to shift in place, which affects your overall bite. Dental implants are an ideal, permanent replacement for missing teeth.

A dental implant is an artificial tooth root that supports a dental prosthesis such as a crown or dental bridge. Dental implant surgery is the surgical placement of dental implants into your jaw bone. During this surgical process, an oral surgeon carefully drills holes in your bone and then places the titanium posts into the holes. Over several months, the posts fuse to the bone in a process known as osseointegration.

Bone Grafting

Bone grafting is the process of rebuilding diseased or damaged bone by “borrowing” or transplanting bone from a donor or a different part of the body to the oral cavity. Bone grafting is usually recommended for patients who have suffered bone atrophy, or a decline in bone density, as a result of tooth loss. In such cases, an oral surgeon performs bone grafting as a pre-requisite step to dental implant surgery.

Corrective Jaw Surgery

Corrective jaw surgery is also referred to as orthognathic surgery. Corrective jaw surgery focuses on the correction of jaw irregularities or malformations to improve the function of your jaws and teeth, as well as your appearance. In cases where other interventions such as orthodontics fail to deliver desired results, corrective jaw surgery is usually preferred. An oral surgeon performs corrective jaw surgery to correct bite misalignment issues, relieve temporomandibular joint pain, repair congenital disabilities as well as solve sleep apnea problems.

All oral surgeries are preceded by a thorough consultation and assessment, during which an oral surgeon takes into account your medical history, ongoing health issues, needs, treatment expectations, and other relevant information.

Oral surgery is typically carried out under appropriate anesthesia to ensure the relaxation of the patient. At Toronto East Maxillofacial Surgery, we take great care to ensure the comfort of our patients at all times. Our friendly and compassionate oral and maxillofacial surgeons have many years of experience in performing various types of oral surgery. We also utilize advanced dental technology to ensure accuracy, precision, and efficiency. Contact us today if you’re interested in oral surgery in Toronto, ON.