Oral Surgery

At the first sight of the word ‘surgery’, you may start to get a bit apprehensive, but we promise, oral surgery isn’t as scary as it sounds! It actually plays a crucial role in restoring and maintaining your dental health! At Spokane Dental, we offer a range of procedures under the oral surgery umbrella that help address and treat many common oral concerns.

What is Oral Surgery?

Oral surgery is a branch of dentistry focused on the use of surgical procedures to treat dental issues within the jaw, gums, teeth, and other oral structures. This includes a wide array of dental treatments including tooth extractions, dental bone and gum grafts, and corrective jaw surgery. Doctors who perform oral surgery are typically periodontists or other oral surgeons who have received additional education and advanced training in the procedures. When undergoing oral surgery at Spokane Dental, you can be sure that with Dr. Jonathan Smith and the rest of our spectacular team, you are in the best hands.

What Would Cause Me to Need Oral Surgery?

First off, we want to warn you, you can’t be sure whether or not you need oral surgery based off of a few Google searches and blog posts read. That being said, at Spokane Dental, we think it’s of the utmost importance for our patients to be educated on their oral and dental health, so let’s start with an overview of some scenarios that may result in the need for oral surgery. The best way to know for sure of course, is to pay our office a visit so our team can properly evaluate you and advise you in the best course of action.

Periodontal Treatment

Periodontal treatment treats periodontitis, otherwise known as gum disease, which is a severe infection in the gums that damages the soft tissue surrounding the teeth, and can destroy the bone structures that are meant to support your teeth. In many situations involving serious gum disease, oral surgery may be necessary. During the surgery, the gum tissues are temporarily moved away from the teeth in order for the doctor to access and clean the roots of the teeth thoroughly to eliminate any plaque buildup and harmful bacteria. Once the cleaning is done, the doctor repositions and stitches the gum tissue in a way that promotes healthy and successful gum attachment and restores oral health.

Dental Bone Grafts

When a patient has a missing tooth that goes untreated, as time goes on there is a greater and greater risk for bone loss to occur in the jaw. Tooth roots are what stimulate the nerves in the jaw, sending a signal to maintain consistent bone growth. When a tooth, and therefore it’s roots are missing, those nerves aren’t stimulated, and the jawbone deteriorates. Bone grafts are done to restore bone density and volume in the jaw, allowing for additional dental treatment to be done, such as the ability for dental implants because the strengthened jaw can now be used as a solid foundation to support the implant. The procedure actually enhances the long-term success of dental implant placement.

Correcting Jaw Irregularities

Orthognathic surgery, also known as corrective jaw surgery, is performed to address skeletal irregularities of the jaw. It helps in correcting facial imbalances, improves chewing function, and alleviates pain that is often caused by caused by temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD). This form of oral surgery can have a large impact on the functionality and aesthetics of the face and jaw bones.

Tooth Extractions at Spokane Dental

At Spokane Dental, the most common form of oral surgery done is tooth extractions, which may be needed for a variety of different reasons! Here’s a quick rundown of some common scenarios that require a tooth or teeth to be extracted:

Damaged or Decaying Teeth

You may be familiar with cavities and root canal treatment, which are needed when there is slight damage or decaying happening within a tooth. However, when the decay or damage done to a tooth is too extreme, repairing the tooth with these dental procedures may not be an option, and oral surgery for a tooth extraction may be needed.

Gum Disease Correction

We discussed how oral surgery may be needed to treat gum disease, but it may also be necessary to correct the damage caused by gum disease. It’s not uncommon for gum disease to cause a significant amount of bone loss and mobile teeth, and in these situations extraction may be required to restore oral health. When oral surgery is suggested for this scenario, it’s essential to get it done as soon as possible in order to prevent any further, more serious complications such as diabetes and heart disease!

Poorly Positioned and Nonfunctional Teeth

In some situations, patients may have teeth that need to be extracted simply because they are poorly positioned or aligned. It’s quite common for patients to have their third molars extracted because the way they are positioned causes irritation and discomfort to the check. A molar may also come in but do not have a matching tooth to bite against which could put the nearby teeth at a greater risk for tooth decay and periodontal disease, and tooth extraction may be the best choice to avoid these issues.

Wisdom Teeth Problems

One type of oral surgery and tooth extraction that is widely known and performed is that of wisdom tooth extraction. Wisdom teeth often cause pain, swelling, and difficulties in oral hygiene due to their position and limited space in the mouth and need to be removed. Even if an individual isn’t experiencing immediate discomfort or noticeable issues, it is often advised to consider their removal to prevent future complications.

Your Spokane, Washington Dentist – Spokane Dental

We opened our doors at Spokane Dental in 2012 and have providing our patients with excellent care ever since. We aim to offer not only the most advanced treatment, but the most empathetic care, ensuring our patients are comfortable throughout each visit, and confident in the services they are provided. If you think you are potentially in need of oral surgery, give us a call or schedule a consultation today, we’ll take it from there!