Oral Surgery
Oral surgery is a branch of dentistry that deals with surgical management of problems related to the head, neck, and face region.
You may need to visit an oral surgeon if you have:
Impacted tooth
An impacted tooth is a tooth that is partially or completely submerged in the bone and thus fails to erupt in the oral cavity. This could be due to the untoward position of the tooth in the bone or due to crowding of teeth or lack of space in the jaws. The most commonly impacted tooth is a wisdom tooth.
An impacted tooth can cause to discomfort in the following ways:
- Pain in eating food from that side
- Pain while opening the mouth
- Food lodgement in that area
- Swelling around that tooth
- Pain that radiates to the ears or neck
- Gum issues
What is done in case of an impacted tooth?
Whenever a patient reports any of the above-mentioned symptoms, then a clinical and radiographic examination is conducted to assess whether the tooth can erupt or not.
If the tooth can erupt then a small surgery can be done to remove the soft tissues over the tooth. This can give symptomatic relief to the patient and also help in eruption.
If the tooth is placed in a position where it just cannot erupt, then it has to be removed surgically from the bone. The procedure to remove an impacted tooth is known as disimpaction.
We have been performing painless disimpactions at Shobhai Dental and Implant Clinic.
Periodontal problems
Periodontal tissues are the structures surrounding the teeth. Periodontitis is a common condition affecting the masses. It can present as:
- Bleeding from the gums while brushing
- Pain on chewing or biting
- Generalized pain in the teeth
- Bad breath from the mouth
- Mobility of teeth
- Hard deposits around the tooth
Whenever you have any such issues, then you would need some advanced intervention. There is recurrent soft and hard tissue loss in this situation. Periodontal surgeries have been beneficial in correcting the disease. The various periodontal surgeries are:
Flap surgery: An incision is made at the site of infection. The area is thoroughly cleaned with the help of scaling and root planing. The flap is then sutured back.
Soft tissue grafts and bone grafts: The grafts are placed in the areas of the bone and gingival loss.
Implants: Implants are artificial roots that are used for the replacement of the lost tooth structure. These are made up of titanium and are placed surgically inside the bone. They are left to integrate with the bone for some time and then a crown is placed over them.
Cosmetic concerns
Some surgical procedures are done to enhance the smile. The cosmetic procedures that are performed at the clinic are:
- a) Surgery for the correction of a gummy smile: In this procedure, the gingiva is contoured surgically, and smile beautification is done.
- b) Surgery for increasing the crown length: At times the crown is short due to attrition or dental decay. The crown length can be increased to receive a crown or a restoration.
Commonly asked question
Can I resume work after oral surgery?
It’s better to take a day or two off. The surgery is done under anaesthesia. There could be post-operative swelling and pain. The body needs some rest after the surgery for healing.
Would the surgery be very painful?
The surgery is done under anaesthesia. The surgery is hence completely painless. The post-operative pain is taken care of by the medication.
Postoperative instructions:
There are a few instructions that every patient should follow so that there is faster healing.
These are:
- Do not spit for 24 hours after the surgery. If you spit just after the surgery, there are chances of dislodgement of the clot.
- Have a semisolid or liquid diet for a few days
- Do not drink or eat anything hot for sometime after the surgery
- Avoid alcohol
- Smoking should be completely avoided to aid in healing
- Cold compressions for some time after the surgery reduce the chances of post-operative inflammation.
- Take your medication properly after the surgery
- Report to your doctor immediately if the bleeding does not stop
- Do mouthwash gargles to keep the surgical site clean.
Dr. Manoj Patil has been handling all the surgical care with appropriate skill. All the surgical procedures are done under proper sterilisation.
Your dental care is in safe hands at Shobhai Dental and Implant Clinic.