Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery deals with a wide variety of problems relating to the mouth, teeth and facial regions ranging from cosmetic facial surgery to corrective jaw surgery. Our doctors are uniquely qualified to manage and treat Facial Trauma. The trauma injuries we treat are Intra oral lacerations, Avulsed (knocked out) teeth, Fractured facial bones (cheek, nose or eye socket) & Fractured jaws.

Treatments

Impaction

An impacted tooth is one that fails to erupt into the dental arch within the specific time. Because impacted teeth do not erupt, they are retained throughout the individual's lifetime unless extracted or exposed surgically. Teeth may become impacted because of adjacent teeth, dense overlying bone, excessive soft tissue or a genetic abnormality. Most often, the cause of impaction is inadequate arch length and space in which to erupt. That is the total length of the alveolar arch is smaller than the tooth arch (the combined mesiodistal width of each tooth). The third molars are frequently impacted because they are the last teeth to erupt in the oral cavity. Mandibular third molars are more commonly impacted than their maxillary counterparts. As a general rule, all impacted teeth must be surgically removed unless and otherwise contraindicated.

Extraction

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is a form of dentistry that treats a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries and defects around the head, neck, face and jaw. Most common oral and maxillofacial services include extraction (moderate to difficult, including wisdom teeth), reconstructive dental oral surgery and placing dental implants. Teeth can be extracted in two ways. The standard method involves the use of an elevator and forceps. The elevator is inserted between the tooth and periodontal ligament and the tooth is gently loosened or elevated out of the alveolus. Forceps then are used to grasp and extract the tooth from the socket. The second method of tooth removal is to section the tooth in the alveolus and extract it in pieces. This method is commonly used for impacted third molars or wisdom teeth, or for tooth fragments that are retained or buried in the alveolar bone. The site is surgically exposed using a hand chisel and mallet or a handpiece. The tooth then is extracted using a combination of elevators and forceps.

Suturing

The term “suture” describes any strand of material utilized to ligate blood vessels or approximate tissues. The primary objective of dental suturing is to position and secure surgical flaps in order to promote optimal healing.

Facial Esthetic Surgeries

Facial cosmetic surgery has long been the solution of choice for the correction of physical malformations resulting from aging, disease, injury and birth defects. In recent years, however, a growing number of men and women of all ages are choosing facial cosmetic surgery to improve their appearance and reduce the signs of aging.

Trauma: Wiring & Arch Bar

Maxillomandibular fixation (MMF) is important in the treatment of maxillofacial fractures and in orthognathic surgery, and is usually applied by wiring together the fixed upper and lower arch bars. Many kinds of MMF methods, including an Ivy loop wiring, a wired arch bar, an acrylated arch bar, the Gottingen quick arch bar, a bonded arch bar, Dimac wire, thermoforming plates and a bone screw system, have been used.

AlveoPlasty

When one or more permanent teeth are lost due to extraction, injury or accident, each absent tooth leaves a hole in the jawbone. Although the gums will heal over the hole, the underlying jaw bone will inevitably have high and low points.causing restorations such as dentures to rub against high points, create sore spots, and fit poorly. In such situations, we use alveoplasty or dental surgery to smooth out uneven areas, flatten and taper overly thin ridges, and prepare the jaw to receive dentures successfully. Not only does alveoplasty ensure a better fit for dentures but it helps control bleeding and improves healing time following multiple extractions, since we actually suture the tooth sockets closed rather than leaving them open to fill with a blood clot as with general single tooth extractions.

Maxillofacial Trauma

Facial trauma, also known as maxillofacial trauma, is any injury to the face or jaw bone. Facial trauma may present with skin lacerations, obstruction to the nasal cavity or sinuses, damage to the orbital sockets, fracture to the jawbone and missing teeth. Treatment for facial trauma often involves airway control, bleeding control, reduction of swelling, prevention of infection, repair of bone fractures, repair of lacerations or soft tissue injury, and reconstruction.

Incision and Drainage

Surgical incision and drainage is a commonly used technique in oral surgery to treat dental infections which have progressed to oral swellings. If cavities of the teeth are left untreated, they can eventually progress to infections that spread into the jaw bones and later into the surrounding soft tissues.

Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty is a surgical procedure carried out to reshape the nose. Appearance can be improved for those people who are dissatisfied with the shape and size of their nose. Nasal reconstruction was one of the first cosmetic procedures ever developed and is among those most frequently performed today. Rhinoplasty is a surgical procedure in which deformities of the nose are corrected by removing, rearranging or reshaping bone or cartilage.

Biopsy

A biopsy is a simple surgery that removes samples of soft tissue or bone from the body. In the case of dentists, this may be gum tissue, a tooth, or a jaw piece. Biopsies are performed when the dentist or the physician wants to take a look at the sample in the laboratory. The goal is to find the sources of the abnormalities or lesions. They may be caused by illnesses or injuries. The lesions may be in the area of soft tissue or bone that looks abnormal. This can be a lump or a patch of skin that has a different colour or texture.

Lip Lengthening

Lip Lengthening is an in-office clinical procedure carried out under local anesthesia (freeze up), which can be helped with the aid of a relaxing nose piece. A strip of soft tissue inside the lip is removed permitting the re-union of the lip to the gum in a lower position. This reunion is secured by stitches which dissolve resulting in less upper gum to be shown then the patient smiles. It gets rid of the gummy smile. This procedure is sometimes combined with crown lengthening which can make short teeth longer at the necks or uneven necks of teeth regular.

Orthognathic Surgery

Orthognathic surgery is a surgery to correct conditions of the jaw and face related to structure, growth, sleep apnea, TMJ disorders,malocclusion problems owing to skeletal disharmonies, or other orthodontic problems that cannot be easily treated with braces. Originally coined by Dr. Harold Hargis, D.M.D., it is also used in treatment of congenital conditions like cleft palate. Bones can be cut and re-aligned, then held in place with either screws or plates. Orthognathic surgery can also be referred to as corrective jaw surgery.

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Deals with a wide variety of problems relating to the mouth, teeth and facial regions ranging from cosmetic facial surgery to corrective jaw surgery. Our doctors are uniquely qualified to manage and treat Facial Trauma. The trauma injuries we treat are Intra oral lacerations, Avulsed (knocked out) teeth, Fractured facial bones (cheek, nose or eye socket) & Fractured jaws. Fractures of the upper and/or lower jaw are treated and stabilized by the surgical placement of small plates and screws at the involved site. More importantly, the patient's facial appearance will be minimally affected. Injuries to the teeth and surrounding dental structures are common and may need specialised dental treatment. The fractures in the supporting bone and replanting teeth that have been displaced or knocked out are treated by one of a number of forms of splinting (stabilizing by wiring or bonding teeth together). We do various kinds of plastic surgeries like adjustment of the jaw sizes, lip lengthening, lip size reduction, lip size reduction, cleft lip and palate, Nose reshaping etc.

Operculectomy

Operculectomy is a minor surgical procedure where the affected soft tissue covering and surrounding the tooth is removed. This leaves an area that is easy to keep clean, preventing plaque buildup and subsequent inflammation. Sometimes operculectomy is not an effective treatment. Typically operculectomy is done with a surgical scalpel, electrocautery, with lasers or, historically, with caustic agents (trichloracetic acid).