The concept, oral surgery is a wide one with lots of scopes. Oral surgery specializes in treating many diseases, injuries and defects in different parts of the body including the head, neck, face, jaws, then the hard and soft tissues of the oral (mouth) and maxillofacial region. Oral surgery is an internationally recognized surgical specialty.

In many countries, however, oral surgery is a dental specialty which focuses on the diagnosis, surgical and adjunctive treatment of diseases, injuries and defects related to the functional and aesthetic aspects of the face.

Conditions that Require Oral Surgery

Now there are certain conditions which require oral surgery, and they include:

Impacted Teeth

Wisdom teeth are the last set of teeth to develop. More often, one or more of these wisdom teeth fail to erupt in proper alignment or fails to rupture through the gum line fully and becomes enclosed or “impacted” between the jawbone and the gum tissue. Other teeth can also be impacted so what an oral surgeon can do is to remove the impacted and damaged teeth.

Facial Injury Repair

Fractured jaws and broken facial bones can be repaired through oral surgery. So you do not need to worry about those broken noses, oral surgery can get it right.

Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Repair

Cleft lip and cleft palate occur when all or portions of the mouth and nasal cavity do not grow together properly during foetal development. The result is an opening in the roof of the mouth. This can, however, be corrected through oral surgery. Oral surgeons work as part of a team of healthcare specialists for a successful surgery and correction.

Sleep Apnea

If the dentist suspects that a patient has a sleep disorder, the patient will likely be referred to a sleep clinic for polysomnography, an overnight clinic test that monitors his or her sleep patterns. The patient will then be referred to an oral surgeon if the cause of the sleep disorder is sleep apnea which needs immediate surgery. Surgical procedures involve removing the soft tissues of the oropharynx or the lower jaw.

Unequal Jaw

This happens when the upper and lower jaws fail to grow properly, and it happens to some persons. This can cause difficulty when speaking, eating, swallowing and breathing. Some of these problems like improper teeth alignment can be corrected with braces and other orthodontic appliances. More serious issues require oral surgery to move all or part of the upper jaw, lower jaw, or both into a new position which is more balanced, functional and healthy.

Specific factors must be considered when choosing an oral surgeon to avoid complications. These factors include:

Years of practice:

A patient wants to select and be referred to an oral surgeon who has built a successful practice through years of experience. The more oral surgery an oral surgeon has performed, the more experience and expertise he can offer.

Continued Learning

An excellent oral surgeon must have taken continuing education courses to keep him up-to-date on the latest procedures and technological advances in the field.

Things to Know Before Getting Teeth Whitening

Smile is an important social asset. An attractive smile makes a person more appealing to members of the opposite sex. Some people feel an unattractive smile can hinder a person’s career opportunity. In our society today, many people suffer from dental discoloration to...

Looking For The Cure To Dental Phobia?

Dental phobia can also be termed dental fear or odontophobia, dentophobia and dental anxiety. Dental phobia is the fear of dentistry and of receiving dental care. However a distinction has been made between dental anxiety, dental fear, and dental phobia. Dental...

Scaling And Polishing Of Teeth In Singapore

Even after regular brushing and flossing, there could still be the accumulation of tartar, plaque, and biofilm from both the tooth surface and underneath the gum line. Also, Tobacco, caffeine, wine and other such foods tend to stain teeth over time, and the counter...

Getting a Tooth Extraction? Here’s What You Need To Know

Tooth extraction is the removal of a tooth from its socket in the bone. If a tooth has been broken or damaged by decay, a dentist will try to fix it with a filling, crown or other treatment. However, sometimes, there's too much damage for the tooth to be repaired. In...

Different Types Of Tooth Replacements Available.

In the past, it may not have mattered if people lost their teeth, especially those in the front. Never the less, attempts were made in the past to replace missing teeth, and archeological evidence suggests that indeed people in antiquity did wear “artificial” teeth,...

Laser Teeth Whitening Explained

In today’s world, whitening of teeth is a prevailing restorative procedure that is non-invasive and produces beautiful very attractive white teeth. When we begin to advance in age, it is logical for our teeth to darken and it is caused when the mineral structures in...

Dental Pain Management

General medical practitioners are quickly called upon to manage acute dental pain in emergency situations, for example, domestically or in the rural areas, where it may not be possible for a dentist to provide immediate treatment. Common acute oral problems are...

What Exactly is General Dentistry?

What Are Digital Dental X-Rays?

It's quite obvious right now in the radiology field that old-school, analog image acquisition and processing using films are about as inefficient as imaging can get. Most people also know that there are multiple ways to take your imaging into the digital age. Digital...

Ways To Fight A Gum Infection

Gum Infection or disease is an inflammation of the gum line that can progress to affect the bone that surrounds and support the teeth. The three stages of gum infections from least to most severe are: gingivitis, periodontitis and advanced periodontitis. There are...