Oral Surgery Associates

Our patients often wonder why we recommend wisdom tooth extractions, or what the purpose of wisdom teeth even is. We are eager to help you better understand the benefits of removal and the extraction process! Read on for the answers to some frequently asked questions about those tricky third molars.

Why do we have wisdom teeth?
Human ancestors used their wisdom teeth to grind up food that was hard to digest. They had large jaws and powerful teeth with plenty of room for a third set of molars.

Modern humans, however, eat cooked foods and have a more effective digestive system, so we have evolved smaller jaws and teeth. This means less room in our mouths for wisdom teeth.

Why do I need to have my wisdom teeth removed?
There are several reasons why you may benefit from having your wisdom teeth extracted, as wisdom teeth can cause a variety of short-term and long-term complications.

• Impaction: If there is not enough room for your wisdom teeth to erupt, they can become impacted, causing them to grow in at an angle. You may experience pain or discomfort while eating due to impaction.
• Damage to other teeth: Impacted wisdom teeth can push against your second molars, potentially damaging them and making them more susceptible to tooth decay.
• Disease: Narrowed spaces between molars due to impaction also allows for bacteria to form more easily, putting you at risk of inflammation, cysts, and periodontal (gum) disease.

When should I get my wisdom teeth out?
Wisdom teeth usually erupt between the ages of 17 and 25, which means that many people get their wisdom teeth extracted before they graduate high school. The longer you wait, the more complications may arise. The roots of your wisdom teeth continue growing as you get older and may eventually come in contact with a nerve. At this point, nerve damage is a possible outcome of wisdom tooth extraction.

When are wisdom teeth okay to keep?
Sometimes, wisdom teeth have room to erupt healthily and do not need to be extracted. If this is the case, your dentist may recommend you keep your third molars.

Make sure you are coming in for regular check ups so our team can keep an eye on your wisdom teeth. Consult with our practice about the right course of action for your wisdom teeth, because everyone’s teeth are different.

You may have noticed a shift in the smoking world over the past few years. Smokers have been seemingly taking a step in the right direction. Smokers are transitioning away from the traditional cigarette to the e-cigarette, this act is also known as: vaping. Transitioning to an e-cigarette from a chemical-filled cigarette that decades of research have proven is deadly seems like a good thing, right? Think again. There are many people venturing into the world of e-cigarettes blindly. While e-cigarette advertisements and companies are currently unregulated, we wanted to uncover a few potential dangers of this popular fad.

The e-cigarette anatomy consists of a battery, a heating element and a cartridge that holds the nicotine, liquid and flavoring. If anyone has tried to convince you that e-cigarettes are not addictive, they’re wrong. Nicotine is highly addictive, and while many teens and young adults believe that vaping is harmless, nicotine is known to negatively affect brain development in this age group. The act of holding an e-cigarette and the presence of nicotine has indicated that it could be a very strong gateway to smoking real cigarettes for these young adults. That correlation has big tobacco firms excited for the future. Tobacco companies have been severely restricted in their advertising campaigns. In the recent past, they were forced to rely on the ‘cool-factor’ of smoking, something they hoped that celebrities and young adult’s peers would embody. E-cigarettes present a gateway to becoming addicted to the real thing. This is just what tobacco companies had been hoping for! Speaking of advertising, while tobacco companies are highly restricted in their advertising campaigns, no one is regulating e-cigarette companies. In fact, these companies can make any claims they wish. With regard to the manufacturing aspect of the e-cigarettes and their cartridges, there is also no regulating body that creates standards for the products.

We have talked about the anatomy of the actual e-cigarette, but what makes up the vapor that is exhaled by the smoker? The cloud that you see consists of aerosol, nicotine, propylene glycol, flavoring and fine particles. The hotter the body of the e-cigarette gets, the more harmful the chemicals contained in them becomes. This means that the deadly carcinogens present in a traditional cigarette are also present in their electronic counterpart.

Research is currently underway to determine the long-term effects of vaping. While current research indicates that an e-cigarette is safer than smoking an actual cigarette, research also proves that e-cigarettes are far from harmless. If you are looking to improve your mouth and lung health, experts agree that quitting smoking devices altogether is still the only 100% risk-free option available.

There’s more to treating facial trauma than stitching your wounds and preventing scarring. We have many more concerns about the functionality and long-term health of your facial structures, and our treatment methods go above and beyond to make sure that your injuries are healing properly. Here’s a behind the scenes look at what goes into treating facial injuries!

• When treating soft tissue injuries, such as burns, lacerations, bruises, abrasions and avulsions, we have to protect your nerves, salivary glands and salivary ducts from harm so that your injury doesn’t produce permanent damage.
• It’s important for us to make sure your airways are not damaged or obstructed. Compromised airways can be caused by bleeding, swelling of tissues, damage to facial structures or presence of foreign objects. Our team can remove foreign objects either manually or by using suction tools to free up your breathing passages. For bone injuries, moving bones back into place can also relieve airway obstruction.
• Because traumatic injuries make you more susceptible to infection, we may prescribe antibiotics as a preventative measure. Patients who haven’t been immunized for tetanus within the past five years may require a tetanus shot along with their treatment.
• We have to treat bleeding before we can get you on the road to recovery. We may have to drain hematomas to promote healing because, unlike bruises, hematomas don’t always repair themselves. In rare cases we may have to control severe bleeding to prevent the body from going into shock, although less than 10% of patients experience profuse bleeding from facial injuries.
• Trauma can affect the function of your facial structures, including your jaw function, breathing and sense of smell. Instead of using casts, which are only effective for extremities, our team stabilizes facial structures for proper healing by wiring the jaws together or through the surgical placement of small metal plates and screws.

Whether you’ve sustained a facial injury from a fall, motor-vehicle or sports accident, or violent interaction, we treat every aspect of facial trauma to make sure we leave you with results that eliminate all reminders of your injury!

Oral cancer has a bad reputation for being more deadly than some other forms of cancer that you hear of more commonly. We are here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way. Oral cancer goes unnoticed, not because it is difficult to see or feel, but because the idea of regular oral cancer screenings (either at home or in our office) is rather new. It simply has not been on the public health radar until now.

That is why we want to get the word out, and we need your help! Examining the neck, throat and oral cavity is a relatively simple task when compared to other parts of the body such as internal organs. Early diagnosis leads to better prognosis!

We recommend that once a month, you give yourself the following exam. It should only take 2-3 minutes and could save your life, or the life of a loved one!

First, a word about the ever-changing mouth: We know that many patients avoid self-exams because the mouth is one area of the body that has constant change going on. For example, you may have a recent burn, bite or cold sore and probably don’t want to bother us every time you notice these things! That is why we offer this rule of thumb: any suspicious area that is not better after 14 days should be brought to our attention.

How to perform an Oral Cancer Self Exam:

1. Use a mirror and a bright light.
2. Remove dentures.
3. Look and feel lips and front of gums. Grasp lips with your thumb and forefinger and feel for lumps.
4. Tilt your head back and inspect the roof of your mouth
5. Pull your cheek out to see the inside surface and gums in the rear.
6. Pull out your tongue and look at all surfaces.
7. Feel your neck and under the lower jaw for enlarged lymph nodes, swelling or lumps.

What are you looking for?

1. White patches
2. Red Patches
3. Combination of red and white patches
4. Sores
5. Abnormal lumps or thickening
6. Chronic sore throat/hoarseness
7. Difficulty chewing/swallowing
8. Masses or lumps in the neck

It’s estimated that 125 million Americans are missing at least one tooth. If you are one of them, you may be considering dental implants for tooth replacement. We think it’s important for you to know what factors make a person a good candidate for such a procedure. Here are a few things to consider.

Most People Are Good Candidates. Dental implants can replace one, several, or all of your teeth. They can be used in place of bridges or dentures. Good candidates have healthy gums and are old enough so that their jawbone has stopped growing. You should also have enough bone to support and anchor the implants. Even if you have lost bone in your jaw, however, you may still be a good candidate for implants. In fact, dental implants may be recommended to prevent further bone loss. In these situations, bone can actually be rebuilt with grafting procedures as part of the implant process.

Evaluation. Successful implantation starts with a thorough evaluation of your jaw, teeth, mouth and overall health. You will receive a mouth X-ray and possibly a Computed Tomography (CT) scan. This will help us identify areas of bone loss and carefully see the shape of your sinuses and nerve location to make accurate assessments for your treatment. We will also do a thorough medical evaluation, as your overall health and history plays a big role in how well your implant will heal and fuse to the bone.

People At Risk of Poor Outcomes. Uncontrolled diabetes, cancer, radiation to the jaws, smoking, alcoholism, or uncontrolled gum disease are all risk factors that can adversely affect your outcome. You may still be a good candidate with one of these diseases, but we’ll want to thoroughly assess your situation and work with you and your doctor to increase your overall health and functioning. People who take certain medications, such as steroids or drugs that suppress the immune system may not be suitable candidates, either. And people with certain habits, such as people who severely grind or clench their teeth may put too much pressure on the implants, causing long term damage.

Overall, dental implants have a very high rate of success and patients tell us how happy they are with the outcome. If you are considering implants, we can complete a careful examination to determine what options are best suited for you. Call us today to make that appointment!

It seems like something out of a science fiction movie, but with our help, you can easily re-grow bone to treat many common disorders in the mouth and make it dental-implant ready! Bone grafting is a common procedure done right in our office. Here is a simple explanation of this effective treatment option.

Reasons for Bone Grafting. There are many different reasons that a person loses bone support in the jaw. Sometimes it is due to injury, sometimes it because of missing teeth, and other times it is a due to a developmental defect or periodontitis. Bone graft surgery, also called regenerative surgery, is used to replace bone and soft tissue by actually stimulating the body’s natural ability to re-grow the lost tissue.   If your jawbone is inadequate to support dental implants, bone grafting can be used to build a sturdy foundation for implant-supported teeth.

It’s A Natural Process. With bone grafting surgery, a piece of bone is removed from another area of your jaw or your body, often the hip, and is transplanted into your jawbone. Sometimes we may use donor or synthetic graft material. Your body uses the implanted bone graft material as a frame on which it can grow new bone. Over time and with your body’s own healing mechanisms, the grafted bone fuses and becomes an integrated part of your existing bone. Bone grafting is a safe and very successful procedure that can be done in the office under local anesthesia. After the procedure, you will be given antibiotics and pain medication if needed. Swelling can be treated with ice packs applied to your face. Most patients proceed with their normal life the next day. Be sure to follow medication instructions and keep your mouth as clean as possible while you heal.

Healing Times. Healing time following bone grafting depends on the amount of bone loss and the location of the graft area. Maintaining a healthy amount of bone tissue around your teeth is crucial to keeping up your oral health. We are more than happy to explain different materials and techniques that can be used for an optimal outcome.

Bone grafting allows your body to rebuild itself. It can be a great way to restore your natural jaw line and smile. Let us help you decide if bone grafting is the right procedure for you!

Injuries to the face and mouth are emotionally upsetting as well as physically damaging. It’s extremely important to have medical and dental care by experts who know how to address the psychological, medical, and aesthetic elements of recovery. This blog will cover the most common causes of facial trauma and the types of injures that may occur. As with most injuries, prevention is the best medicine, so we will cover tips in avoiding facial trauma all together!

Most Common Causes of Facial Trauma: There are many ways in which the face can be damaged. Accidents, falls, automobile crashes, work related injuries, and interpersonal violence are among the most common causes for adults. For children, sports related injuries are the leading cause. Children who participate in contact sports, cheerleading, and gymnastics are especially at risk, especially for dental trauma. Dental trauma accounts for 17% of injuries to the body for children, according to the American Dental Association, compared to 5% across all ages. It is most frequently observed in males compared to females, and usually involves the front teeth.

Types of Injuries: Every year about 3 million people are treated for facial trauma according to the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Soft tissue trauma includes any cuts to the face or gums. Avulsed, or knocked out teeth are another type of injury, and must be dealt with immediately to increase the chances for reimplantation. Bone injuries, such as fractured jaws, cheekbones, and noses can also occur as well as damage to the nerves in the eyes, face and salivary glands. It is extremely important to have facial trauma assessed and treated by an expert in facial trauma. Besides the aesthetic reasons, serious health complications can occur, even from a small amount of damage. Depending on the location of the injury, speech, swallowing, and breathing can be affected. For dental injury, teeth that are loose in their sockets can make eating difficult and cause speech impediments. Chipped, broken, or misaligned teeth can cause TMJ and other functional problems, in addition to the loss of confidence in your appearance.

What You Can Do to Prevent Injuries: Using a mouthguard during sports or other high-risk activities is the most effective way to prevent injury. Studies in high-risk populations for facial trauma show relatively low compliance in using mouthguards. We can also recommend helmets, face shields, and protective eyewear that can further reduce your risks. The spring season seems to bring an increase of children to the emergency room as kids are eager to get on their bicycles, skateboards, and swing sets. As a parent, educate your child in safety measures and supervise their activity.

When facial trauma does happen, quick action is important. Please call us as soon as possible so we can best advise and support you in your recovery. Accidents happen, and when they do, we want to help!

When compared to the costs of other tooth replacement options, boy do dental implants seem expensive! Yet you may be surprised to learn that, in the long run, dental implants can be more affordable than their traditional counterparts. Understanding this procedure and the factors that determine the costs can help you decide if dental implants are a good investment for you!

What is a Dental Implant? A dental implant is a permanent replacement for lost teeth. It is made of an artificial tooth firmly held in place by a tooth root made of titanium (which is biocompatible) that is surgically placed into your jaw. Dental implants help stabilize the jaw and the bone around it to avoid future bone loss and maintain the shape of your jaw. They never have to be removed and feel more natural and comfortable than dentures. And unlike bridges or crowns, which are cemented in, the chances of slippage or shifting are eliminated. With implants, talking and eating become worry free.

Steps In a Dental Implant Procedure. We will first use extensive imaging to determine bone health, height, and thickness to assess your bone and teeth structure carefully. The surgery itself is done in our office in separate stages. First, the implant is surgically placed into your jawbone, completely hidden within your gum tissue. Once the implant has integrated into your bone, a healing process of about 4 to 6 months, the next stage is the placement of the abutment, or the post that penetrates the gum and will connect the replacement tooth to the implant. The final stage involves attaching your artificial tooth (made from impressions of your natural tooth) to the abutment. If more than one tooth is being replaced, a removable bridge is used, as it is more affordable than implanting each tooth separately. For a bridge, it takes only one implant on either side to span an area holding several teeth. The bridge snaps into place for a more permanent and natural fit than dentures.

Factors That Affect the Cost. While dental implant surgery is a safe and routine option, it is a complex procedure that takes time and expertise to be done effectively. There are many factors that will influence the final costs including what X-ray and CT scans are necessary to evaluate and assess the implant area and the brand and material of the post, abutment and artificial teeth. However, the biggest cost factor is the complexity of the surgery itself. For example, how many teeth are we replacing and what is the location? Will additional procedures, such as bone grafting or sinus elevation be required? We do our best to make sure that your estimate includes all of the possible costs of each of the steps of your procedure.

While dental implants may seem expensive, they are often more affordable in the long run than traditional restoration methods such as crowns and bridges, which are more vulnerable to damage and usually require repairs or replacement every few years.

Dental implants are known to have a 95% success rate when completed by professionals with the right experience and training, such as us! Because dental implants offer a permanent solution, are natural and comfortable, and require little maintenance, they are a cost effective choice for most of our patients.

Facial lacerations can be a scary situation for anyone. That is why it’s best to visit experts, like us, who have expereience in treating and repairing facial injuries and trauma. However, we know that your recovery doesn’t end the moment you leave our doors. We want you to have the best outcome following surgery which is why we’re writing this to answer some of your most common questions and to give you our best tips for treating your wound as it heals.

• Know the general time table of healing. Within 2 days the cut should seal, and by 5 to 10 days it should be strong. In the first 3 months you may notice the skin around the scar may thicken and have a red or purple tint. By 4 to 6 months this process should reverse and the scar will flatten and the discoloration will fade. Usually by 6 months the scar will be completely healed, but there can be continued improvement for up to a year.
• There are many factors that impact your healing. How deep your cut is, its location, your age, and the way your skin heals all determine how visible a final scar will be. Younger skin actually produces thicker scarring.
• Apply ointment frequently to keep the wound moist. This can increase the speed of healing considerably and reduce scabbing, which actually increases the build up of scar tissue.
• Apply antibiotic ointment to prevent infection. An infected wound will make a bigger scar. Be sure to continue to apply antibiotic ointment or cream as directed by our team to keep the wound moist and fight off any infection.
• Make sure you know the signs of infection. Antibiotics will often be prescribed to prevent infection, especially if the wound is a result of injury. Contact us immediately if you see any signs of an infection including:
  • A large amount of pus coming from the wound
  • Increased redness or swelling
  • Fever
• Massage the wound gently to increase blood flow. Sutures are usually removed between 5 and 8 days. Massage the wound after sutures have been removed using a moisturizing lotion with Vitamin E or Aloe. Gently massage the skin around the wound twice daily for the first two weeks, and then once a day for a month. This will increase the blood flow in the area and prevent scar tissue build up.
• Be gentle and avoid scrubbing your wound. It is usually okay to allow clean shower water to wash over the wound as long as you don’t scrub it. If crusts of blood accumulate, lightly dabbing with clean gauze moistened with hydrogen peroxide is best.
• Avoid sun exposure. It is extremely important that you do your best to avoid sun exposure. The scar may tan a much darker color than the skin around it, and this may become permanent. Cover the area as much as possible or use sun block of SPF#50 or greater.

Whether you have had elective surgery or surgery to repair a facial injury we hope that these tips help answer your questions. If you or your loved one ever requires a trip to the emergency room involving a facial injury or laceration, be sure to seek our consultation as soon as possible and please contact us with any additional questions that you may have.

When compared to the costs of other tooth replacement options, boy do dental implants seem expensive! Yet you may be surprised to learn that, in the long run, dental implants can be more affordable than their traditional counterparts. Understanding this procedure and the factors that determine the costs can help you decide if dental implants are a good investment for you!

What is a Dental Implant? A dental implant is a permanent replacement for lost teeth. It is made of an artificial tooth firmly held in place by a tooth root made of titanium (which is biocompatible) that is surgically placed into your jaw. Dental implants help stabilize the jaw and the bone around it to avoid future bone loss and maintain the shape of your jaw. They never have to be removed and feel more natural and comfortable than dentures. And unlike bridges or crowns, which are cemented in, the chances of slippage or shifting are eliminated. With implants, talking and eating become worry free.

Steps In a Dental Implant Procedure. We will first use extensive imaging to determine bone health, height, and thickness to assess your bone and teeth structure carefully. The surgery itself is done in our office in separate stages. First, the implant is surgically placed into your jawbone, completely hidden within your gum tissue. Once the implant has integrated into your bone, a healing process of about 4 to 6 months, the next stage is the placement of the abutment, or the post that penetrates the gum and will connect the replacement tooth to the implant. The final stage involves attaching your artificial tooth (made from impressions of your natural tooth) to the abutment. If more than one tooth is being replaced, a removable bridge is used, as it is more affordable than implanting each tooth separately. For a bridge, it takes only one implant on either side to span an area holding several teeth. The bridge snaps into place for a more permanent and natural fit than dentures.

Factors That Affect the Cost. While dental implant surgery is a safe and routine option, it is a complex procedure that takes time and expertise to be done effectively. There are many factors that will influence the final costs including what X-ray and CT scans are necessary to evaluate and assess the implant area and the brand and material of the post, abutment and artificial teeth. However, the biggest cost factor is the complexity of the surgery itself. For example, how many teeth are we replacing and what is the location? Will additional procedures, such as bone grafting or sinus elevation be required? We do our best to make sure that your estimate includes all of the possible costs of each of the steps of your procedure.

While dental implants may seem expensive, they are often more affordable in the long run than traditional restoration methods such as crowns and bridges, which are more vulnerable to damage and usually require repairs or replacement every few years.

Dental implants are known to have a 95% success rate when completed by professionals with the right experience and training, such as us! Because dental implants offer a permanent solution, are natural and comfortable, and require little maintenance, they are a cost effective choice for most of our patients.