Oral Surgery Services – Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgeons

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons manage conditions involving the mouth, jaws, nose, face and skull. They treat impacted wisdom teeth, facial injuries and fractured jaws and can perform dental implant placement and bone grafting.

During a consultation, an oral surgery services Louisville KY will review your medical history and discuss options for anesthesia during the procedure. Your choices include oral sedation, nitrous oxide and general anesthesia.

Dental Implants

Dental implants are a popular option to replace missing teeth. They are a permanent solution to missing teeth that look and feel like natural teeth. The procedure involves surgically placing a titanium implant post into the jawbone. The implant then fuses with the bone through a process called osseointegration. Once healed, a crown is attached to the abutment and the patient has a permanent replacement tooth.

If a patient has minimal bone remaining or the jawbone isn’t healthy enough for implants, a bone graft may be required to build up the area before surgery. A sinus lift or gingival graft can also be necessary to create an ideal implant site.

Dental implants require proper home care to stay healthy and in good condition. This includes brushing twice a day and flossing regularly. The patient should also schedule regular visits to their dentist for cleanings and routine checks. Implants can last a lifetime with these habits and proper oral surgery services Louisville KY care.

Wisdom Teeth Removal

Wisdom teeth are the third set of molars that usually emerge between the ages of 17 and 21. They may not fit in the mouth because of a lack of room or because they erupt at an angle, which can damage adjacent teeth, the gums and jaw bone. Partially erupted wisdom teeth can also trap food and cause infections or cysts.

Once you’ve been administered anesthesia, we can remove erupted wisdom teeth with forceps. We can also make an incision to extract partially or fully impacted wisdom teeth. If the wisdom tooth is especially large, we might need to section it into smaller pieces before removal.

After the procedure, you’ll need to replace the sterile gauze, manage any discomfort and follow other instructions for optimal healing. Swelling is common but should subside within a few days. You should avoid hard, crunchy foods while healing and drink plenty of water or other liquids to prevent re-infection.

Extractions

Tooth extractions are minor surgical procedures that can often be performed in a dentist’s office. Occasionally, a tooth is too damaged to be repaired with restorative dentistry and must be removed, such as in the case of un-erupted wisdom teeth. In such cases, our oral surgeons can remove the troublesome tooth while preserving nearby healthy bone and gum tissue. Following the procedure, we will place some gauze to bite down on over the extraction site. It’s important to keep biting down on this gauze for a full hour to control bleeding and maintain a blood clot in the extraction site. You should also avoid rinsing, spitting, drinking through a straw or sucking on candy to prevent disturbing the clot. We recommend applying ice packs in 10-minute increments to reduce swelling for the first 24 hours after your procedure.

Bone Grafting

Bone loss is a common side effect of tooth loss, and it can negatively impact dental implant results. Fortunately, the bone tissue in the jaw can be rebuilt through a simple procedure called a bone graft.

A patient’s dental surgeon can use the body’s natural healing process to replace the graft material with new, healthy bone over time. The graft material can be obtained from the mouth or hip, or a synthetic bone substitute such as hydroxyapatite may be used.

During the procedure, anesthesia will be administered to prevent pain and discomfort. Patients with high levels of anxiety can also be given IV sedation.

Surgical techniques have improved to allow dentist in Louisville Kentucky to rebuild and graft bone safely and effectively while simultaneously creating adequate space for dental implants. Modern dental bone grafting is typically a minor, minimally invasive, painless surgical procedure. The typical recovery period lasts three to nine months as the body heals and integrates the graft.