Oral and Maxxilofacial Surgery

Extractions can be necessary for many reasons, including extensive decay, trauma or to make room for other teeth in a mouth that are too crowded. Sometimes, decayed or damaged teeth can be saved with fillings, onlays, crowns or root canals; but some teeth are so badly damaged, they cannot be saved, or saving them could compromise the health of other teeth. In those cases, an extraction is necessary.

Not always, but usually, extraction is the best route. Wisdom teeth are the last teeth to emerge, and by the time they begin erupting through the gum, the mouth is already full of teeth. As a result, the emerging wisdom teeth can cause crowding that pushes teeth out of alignment, or they may become impacted and stuck under neighboring teeth, resulting in pain, infection, and damage to other teeth. Even when wisdom teeth have room to emerge, they’re located so far back in the jaw that they can be very difficult to care for, often becoming badly decayed or infected.

That depends on where the tooth is located, why it’s being removed and the health of the tooth. In a simple extraction of a tooth that can be easily accessed, the gum will be numbed and the tooth will be pulled using special appliances designed to grip the tooth. But when a tooth is impacted or broken, an incision may need to be made into the gum to perform the extraction. The incision will be closed with a few sutures afterward.

Often if the tooth has severe bone infection bone graft may be necessary to restore bone. It will be placed into the cleaned socket following an extraction. It will also insure that the bone will be ready for implant placement.

Often it is recommended to replace a missing tooth with an implant. However, not all missing teeth have to be replaced. If you have one missing tooth it will be recommended to restore it so you could maintain healthy bone. If you have several missing teeth only few need replacement with implants that are then restored with an implant supported bridge or denture.

Sinus lifts are procedures that use bone grafts to augment the bone in your upper jaw. Sinus lifts may be performed prior to having a dental implant procedure to ensure the upper jaw is able to support the implant or to add space between the upper jaw and the sinus so there’s ample room for the implant post. The bone grafts may be derived from your own body or they may come from a tissue bank.

We use advanced pain management techniques to help ensure any discomfort you feel will be minimal. After the procedure, you can use ice packs and medication to manage pain and swelling.