Oral Surgery

Read more about our oral surgery services below

Dental Implants

If a patient has severe tooth decay and needs extractions or is missing some teeth, he or she may want to get a restoration, like a crown or permanent dentures. In order for these kinds of prostheses to stay secure in the mouth, Brian Toorani at Dental Oasis will need to place an implant that will act as an artificial tooth root. These implants are often made up of titanium, zirconia, and porcelain and are permanently implanted into the jaw bones. These implants are made up of fixtures, or the portion that is screwed into the bone, and the abutment, or the exposed area above the gum line where a false tooth will be placed.

This kind of surgery is important not only for aesthetics but for functionality as well. Since a person?s natural teeth stimulate the jaw bone, missing these components mean that bone density and strength can actually decrease. Furthermore, when a person is missing teeth, he or she will have to compensate with other teeth during eating, putting unneeded strain on otherwise healthy enamel. If a person?s jaw bones have already deteriorated enough that they will not support an implant, they may be able to get a bone graft first to make later implantation possible.

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Sinus Lifts

Individuals that need dental implants may first need bone grafting so that their jaw bones are strong enough to support the implantation procedure. However, if a person does not have enough room between their maxillary sinuses and upper jaw for bone grafting, ?then they will also need to get a sinus lift. A sinus lift, or sinus augmentation, is a procedure in which a dentist creates more room in the upper jaw for bone tissue to thrive; and, since bone density typically isn?t as strong in the upper jaws, it can be especially weak for an individual who is already missing teeth.

During this procedure, a dentist will put a patient under general anesthetic and cut into the gums to expose the maxilla or upper jaw bone. Once the maxilla is exposed, a dentist will cut a small opening into the bone and carefully loosen the sinus membrane so that it can be pushed up to create more room for grafting. Then, the dentist will pack the newly created space with granules of bone-grafting material before stitching up the site. After the procedure, a patient will have some very minor discomfort and swelling, which can be relieved by many over-the-counter analgesics.

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Extractions

Although a dentist will do everything in his or her power to save the form and function of a patient?s tooth, sometimes extractions are necessary for better oral health. For instance, many young adults need to have their wisdom teeth extracted because they become impacted, meaning they don?t fully erupt and can cause pain by overcrowding other permanent teeth. However, a dentist will let a patient know whether or not wisdom tooth extraction is actually necessary. Some people may not experience any pain or overcrowding teeth, and so extraction wouldn?t be practical.

If a child needs to start orthodontics but has stubborn primary teeth, these may need to be removed so that treatment isn?t delayed any further.

Tooth extraction is often necessary if a tooth has received severe trauma or has greatly decayed. While a dentist will first look at fillings, onlays, inlays, and crowns, sometimes these restorative methods aren?t possible. By removing the tooth, it makes it easier for a patient to proceed with dental implants and other prosthetics that will let them speak and chew comfortably without pain.

An oral surgeon may have to perform an extraction on an impacted tooth since these will need to be uncovered below the gum line, and broken up before being removed. However, many teeth can be removed by a general dentist with the application of a local anesthetic. During the procedure, the dentist will loosen a person?s tooth with a tool called an elevator, and then extract it with forceps.

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Bone Grafts

Individuals who have severe decay or who want to undergo dental implant surgery for missing teeth may need to get a bone graft first. Since decay and missing teeth can weaken the jaw bones, bone grafting is vital to make these bones strong enough to hold implants and other prostheses. Weakened jaw bones can cause a chain-reaction in which patients will feel pain and discomfort, so they may overuse and further break down their remaining healthy teeth. Besides functional issues, bone grafting is often necessary to restore a person?s appearance, since bone loss can cause a person?s face to change and skin to sag.

This procedure is more invasive than other oral surgery services, but patients often find that the commitment is worth it since it can greatly improve serious oral issues. During the procedure, a dentist will use a general anesthetic before applying the graft to the jaw bone. Grafting material can be harvested from another area of the body, like the hip bones, or from other sources, such as donors, animals, or synthetic means. After the procedure, a patient will need to leave the site with the graft alone and use antibiotics and a prescription mouthwash to keep the oral cavity healthy. Once a bone graft has healed over the course of several months, a patient may then consider seeking out other restorative options.

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Dental Oasis Of Orange County is located at 7777 Edinger Ave #232, Huntington Beach, CA 92647