5 Times When a General Dentist May Recommend Oral Surgery

Oral surgery is sometimes required to address existing dental issues or to replace missing teeth. Your general dentist might perform minor oral surgery or refer you to an oral surgeon when a dental issue requires it.

The following are some of the reasons why a dentist might typical recommend a surgical treatment:

Teeth do not always erupt as they should. Their growth might be blocked by an obstacle, like another tooth, due to not having enough space on the jaw, or they might simply be growing at an irregular angle. An impacted tooth can lead to pain and it can damage adjacent teeth. Impacted teeth are also more vulnerable to infection than teeth that erupt properly.

The standard way to deal with an impacted tooth is to have it extracted. The impacted tooth can usually be replaced with an oral prosthetic unless it is a wisdom tooth.

Dental implants are a popular way to replace lost teeth and this process requires oral surgery. The patient might be referred to an oral surgeon for the installation of the implants. Implants prevent bone tissue loss that can occur when a tooth is lost.

The implant is inserted directly into the patient’s jaw and it fuses with the jaw via a process called osseointegration. This leads to a very stable restoration that is a lot like a real tooth. Implants can be fitted with crowns to replace a single tooth or with dentures and bridges for multiple teeth replacement.

Bone grafts are performed to restore areas with damaged or diminished bone tissues. The procedure is sometimes performed prior to the installation of implants if the patient’s jawbone is not thick enough to hold an implant in place. Donor tissues can be synthetic or taken from other parts of the body. The graft is attached to areas that need more bone tissues.

A sinus lift is a procedure used to thicken bone tissues in the upper jaw. Implants inserted into the upper jaw are held in the sinus area. The graft encourages the growth of new bone tissues in the area while thickening the tissues there. Patients who need bone grafts before getting implants might have to wait up to three months to recover before proceeding with implants.

Oral surgery can be used to fix deformities, bone infections, and damage to bone tissues in the jaw caused by trauma. It can also be used to address problems with the temporomandibular joints.

Oral surgery is nothing to fear. Anesthetics are used during these procedures, so one does not feel significant pain. Call our Walnut Creek clinic for an evaluation if you are dealing with an oral problem that might need surgery. Our dentist will point you in the right direction.

Request an appointment here: https://www.dentistrywalnutcreek.com or call Advanced Dentistry Of Walnut Creek at (925) 937-2273 for an appointment in our Walnut Creek office.

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