Procedures

Because of their permanence, stability, and ability to prevent jaw bone loss, dental implants are the tooth replacement option of choice by doctors and patients alike.

Most people's mouths are unable to accommodate the growth of a third set of molars — the wisdom teeth — so dental professionals recommend removal before issues arise.

If you're missing most or all of your teeth in an arch, your doctor can use dental implants to secure a fixed denture, restoring your smile and preserving your oral health and function.

When a tooth is damaged or unhealthy and unable to be preserved by other means, your doctor may recommend extraction to prevent it from causing further oral health problems.

Your doctor can perform various bone grafting procedures to restore bone lost due to prolonged missing teeth or preserve bone after an extraction, making you a candidate for dental implants.

When a tooth is unable to grow into the mouth naturally (impacted), your surgeon works with your orthodontist to guide the tooth into its place with a procedure called expose and bond.

Nonsurgical treatments such as braces or mouthguards can sometimes correct jaw misalignment

Facial trauma often occurs suddenly and varies in severity. Your oral surgeon can treat facial injuries of all kinds, from lacerations on the skin to bone fractures, restoring health and aesthetics.

If your temporomandibular joint disorder is resistant to common forms of treatment, surgery may restore function and improve comfort.

Oral pathology refers to any change from a normal, healthy condition and includes everything from a lesion or a growth to cancer. Any changes in the health of your mouth or jaws require an immediate evaluation.

A frenectomy is performed to release the tongue or lip for more mobility when the frenulum—the piece of skin attaching it to the gums—is too short. This is especially important for infants to nurse properly (latch on).

Patients with ill-fitting dentures or patients considering dentures as a tooth replacement option may undergo pre-prosthetic surgery to smooth and shape the dental arches for the most comfortable fit.

Noninvasive treatments such as changes in lifestyle or the use of a CPAP machine can sometimes treat sleep apnea successfully. When those methods don't work, your surgeon can perform a surgical procedure to clear your airway.

To speed healing after oral surgery or possibly eliminate the need for a bone graft, bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are applied to the surgical site to stimulate regrowth of tissue and bone.

Patients with damaged or missing teeth have several tooth replacement options to choose from, ranging from traditional removable dentures to a fixed prosthesis using dental implants.