Understanding Common Oral Surgery Procedures: What You Need to Know
Oral surgery is an umbrella term for several surgical procedures performed on a patient’s mouth, jaw, or other oral or facial areas. Oral surgeons in Melbourne may perform these procedures to diagnose a problem or treat injuries, defects, and diseases of the mouth’s hard and soft tissues.
Common Oral Surgery in Melbourne
Wisdom tooth removal
Wisdom teeth are the last to erupt or appear through the gums. These four teeth tend to erupt when a person is between 17 and 25 years old – usually after their jawbone has finished growing. In many cases, the jaw doesn’t have enough room to accommodate the wisdom teeth. Trying to erupt in cramped spaces can cause the tooth to come in sideways or erupt only partway through the gum line; dentists refer to this as impacted wisdom teeth.
Impacted wisdom teeth can cause pain, infection, and other oral health issues. Oral surgeons address these issues by extracting or removing the wisdom teeth.
What to expect during wisdom teeth removal in Melbourne
Removing wisdom teeth is not always necessary, except when they become impacted or cause problems. Before removing the wisdom tooth or teeth, your oral surgeon will administer nitrous oxide (laughing gas), local anesthesia, or general anesthesia to control pain and anxiety.
Your oral surgeon will then make an incision in the gum tissue to expose the wisdom tooth and jawbone. Next, they will remove any bone that blocks access to the tooth’s roots. They may break apart the wisdom tooth to make removing it whole easier. The oral surgeon will remove debris, clean the area, and close the wound as needed. They will place a piece of gauze over the treatment site and provide you with aftercare instructions.
Dental implants
Dental implants are metal posts surgically implanted into the jaw. These posts hold realistic-looking crowns or dentures.
What to expect with dental implants in Melbourne
Dental implants require several trips to your oral surgeon over several months. After the initial consultation, you’ll come in to place the dental implants. In a process known as osseointegration, the metal post fuses with bone tissue to create a sturdy anchor for the dentures. Once osseointegration is complete, you’ll return to your oral surgeon for placement of the tooth replacement.
Full mouth rehabilitation
In full mouth rehabilitation, your oral surgeon rebuilds or replaces all the patient’s teeth and gums in the upper or lower arch. This set of procedures can improve your smile’s health, function, and appearance through dentures, dental implants, and more. Dentures may be removable or fixed when used in conjunction with dental implants.
What to expect during full mouth rehabilitation in Melbourne
Full mouth rehabilitation starts with dental implants. The number of dental implants you receive depends largely on the type of full-mouth rehabilitation you choose.
Types of full-mouth rehabilitation procedures include:
- Locator overdenture – removable denture snaps onto two dental implants
- Bar-retained overdenture – the removable denture snaps onto a bar that fits over 4 to 6 dental implants
- Fixed hybrid – this fixed denture fits on four to six dental implants
Bone grafting
Your jawbone helps your teeth stay healthy and in place, of course, but your teeth return the favor by keeping your jawbone strong. When you bite and chew, you exert pressure on your teeth. This pressure travels down the tooth’s root and into the jaw, stimulating the growth of new bone tissue. When you lose a tooth, you also lose this beneficial pressure that keeps your bone tissue dense, increasing your risk of losing even more teeth.
Bone grafting is a procedure in which your oral surgeon moves healthy bone tissue into your jaw to increase its volume and density. The bone graft material can come from a donor bank, another body part, or be synthetic.
Consult with an Oral Surgeon in Melbourne
For more information about oral surgery in Melbourne, contact Sedaros Oral Facial Surgery & Dental Implants today.