When is Dental Oral Surgery Necessary?

When a patient goes to see the dentist, he certainly doesn’t want to hear that he needs to have oral surgery. The very idea of those two words—‘oral surgery’—can bring about fear in many people. There are, though, several dental conditions which do require this procedure to be done.

For one, many people have difficulties with their wisdom teeth. This is quite a common issue. Some of these people end up needing oral surgery because of these difficulties. If these teeth, which are the third molars, end up getting impacted between the jawbone and the gum tissue, a person will require oral surgery.

A wisdom tooth can become impacted when there is not proper room to allow the tooth to emerge where it is supposed to be. The tooth then becomes entrapped, causing swelling and pain in the jaw surrounding the tooth. Other teeth—along with the gums—nearby can become permanently damaged if this situation is not remedied. Therefore, most dentists recommend oral surgery to remove the impacted tooth.

Occasionally, other teeth, such as the cuspids or bicuspids, can become impacted as well. Oral surgery may or may not be recommended in these cases.

Oral surgery is almost often suggested in instances of tooth loss. Dentists may recommend that patients get dental implants to replace the missing teeth. Similarly, improperly fitting dentures can result in oral surgery. Sometimes instead of fixing the dentures, dentists may want to correct jaw irregularities.

Speaking of jaw irregularities, unequal jaw growth will prompt dentists to suggest oral surgery. When the upper and lower jaws do not grow equally, speaking, eating, breathing, and swallowing problems can result. If braces or other orthodontic appliances do not work to correct these jaw problems—or, if the dentist does not believe that these appliances will be the right solution for a specific patient—oral surgery will be the recommended procedure.

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) may also end up resulting in oral surgery. These are problems in the jaw joint which can be caused by grinding or clenching the teeth (which many people do during sleep without their knowledge), arthritis, and stress. Most cases of TMD can be treated through medication and physical therapy; however, severe cases may need oral surgery.

Oral surgery is also done for patients who have cleft lip and cleft palate. This is done by a team of surgeons, usually, because it is a reconstructive surgery—one that is done for cosmetic reasons as well.

Patients who have experienced facial trauma or injury may also be referred to oral surgery. This would include broken facial bones and fractured jaws.

Many people are frightened of oral surgery, as mentioned above. However, like other forms of surgery, it is done under general anesthesia in most instances. Therefore, patients will be “under,” so to speak—they will be asleep during the procedure and will not be aware of the surgery being done. Of course, there will be pain upon wakening, like there is after any procedure, but pain medications will be given to minimize this.