Common Oral Surgery Procedures in Alexandria & Vienna
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When you need a dental team that is skilled in standard and complicated surgical procedures, you need a qualified oral surgeon from Drs. Delgado and Kuzmik in Alexandria & Vienna. A maxillofacial and oral surgeon operates on your jaw, teeth, and other structures in your face. Oral surgeons have to undergo years of specialized training far beyond basic dentistry, which typically includes anesthesia training.
Tooth Extraction
Wear and tear or decay can cause teeth to become infected or break, and if severe enough, you have to have these teeth extracted by a qualified oral surgeon in Alexandria and Vienna. When you schedule an appointment in our office, our oral surgeon will remove the problem tooth, clean out the socket, and they may place a suture to ensure the wound heals properly. Extracting it is usually the best solution when you have a tooth so infected that you can’t save it with other treatment methods. Also, it's common to extract teeth to make room if you’re getting a dental implant or denture placement.
Removing Wisdom Teeth
Between ages 17 and 20, you will start to get your wisdom teeth. These additional molars give you extra chewing power and may come in without complications.
However, some people commonly have problems when they start getting their wisdom teeth. You may need a wisdom tooth or two extracted if they fail to erupt fully or if they crowd the teeth already in your mouth. Most people recover from this common oral surgery within a few days with minor discomfort.
Dental Implants
When you lose a tooth, even if it’s not in a visible location, dental implants are a way to replace these teeth. Dental implant surgery can be an extensive procedure, and you may have several follow-up visits. Your oral surgeon in Alexandria and Vienna will implant a post into your jawbone and gum for each dental implant you need. If you have a poor bone structure in the space, you may also require a bone graft to help support the post and make your dental implant surgery successful.
Once you finish this, we’ll snap your custom dental implant onto the post to help restore the correct jaw alignment and improve your smile.
Apicoectomy
This surgical procedure is when your surgeon removes the tip of the tooth’s root and fills the space with a different material. You will need an apicoectomy when your dentist can’t complete a root canal or a root canal has not worked in the past.
Less Common Oral Surgery Procedures
Not every oral surgeon will take on the following cases, and whether or not they do depends on their specialties and training. However, oral surgeons usually perform at least one or two of the following:
Sleep Apnea
When patients get a diagnosis of sleep apnea, one of the standard treatment options is surgery. One popular type of sleep apnea surgery is where the oral surgeon removes tissue from the throat and soft palate, or they may choose to do a tongue advancement or implant in the soft palate.
Facial Reconstruction
Facial trauma can result in broken bones, knocked out teeth, or broken jaws, and maxillofacial surgeons can take steps to reconstruct the face to restore the appearance and function of your mouth, jaw, or face following an accident or trauma. These surgical procedures typically involve getting general anesthesia and may require you to stay overnight in a hospital for monitoring. Some severe cases that require facial reconstruction surgery may need several surgical procedures over the course of months or years.
Cleft Palate or Lip
While it’s common for plastic surgeons to perform cleft lip or palate surgery on children, oral and maxillofacial surgeons receive specialized training that allows them to fix it when it causes speech development or problems eating. Even though this isn’t nearly as common, it’s an excellent example of how a maxillofacial or oral surgeon is part of the larger health team.
Bone Repair
If you have a broken or fractured jaw, many doctors recommend oral surgery as a treatment method for your broken bone. Severe jaw injuries can increase your risk of eating or breathing difficulties, so you need to address them right away. Oral surgeons are specialists that can help determine how severe your fracture or break is and fix them during surgery.
What Happens Before, During, and After Oral Surgery?
Your oral surgeon will perform an extensive and complex evaluation to check your gums, teeth, jaw joints, and the surrounding bones. It’s also common to get dental x-rays and scans to get a much clearer picture of your jawbone, teeth roots, nerves, and other critical oral landmarks. Then, they’ll use the results to tailor a custom treatment plan.
Sometimes, your oral surgery will take place as an outpatient procedure at a dental office. It’s common for oral surgeons to offer sedation options to keep you comfortable and relaxed, including IV, oral sedatives, or nitrous oxide to help you achieve moderate to deep sedation. In more complex cases, you may go to a hospital and have general anesthesia for your oral surgery.
Following the surgical procedure, you’ll get detailed post-operative instructions. You want to adhere closely to the guidelines outlined in these instructions to reduce your risk of infections, bleeding, or other complications.
Drs. Delgado and Kuzmik Offer Oral Surgery in Alexandria and Vienna
Your oral surgeon in Alexandria and Vienna is ready to assist with your specialized dental needs. For example, if you need dental implants to replace missing teeth, need your wisdom teeth removed, or you have had trauma that requires oral surgery to address, our dedicated oral surgeons in Alexandria and Vienna are ready to help.
Our oral surgeons will guide you through the procedure step-by-step, helping to give you peace of mind and ensure your comfort. With our patient-centered care and our medical expertise, we’re excited to welcome you as a patient.