Oral Surgery FAQs
What’s oral surgery?
It is any surgical procedure a dentist performs in or around your mouth, teeth, gums, and jaw.
The mouth houses teeth, gums, nerves, muscles, and tissues, which are prone to damage and bruising. But, getting oral surgery near you, you can treat these issues.
Curious to know what dental conditions require surgery? Keep on reading.
1. Impacted Teeth
Impacted teeth occur when the tooth does not erupt through the gums or emerge in the wrong position. Several factors can cause the teeth to get impacted, such as inadequate jaw space and genetics. Entrapped teeth cause symptoms such as:
- Swollen, red or bleeding gums
- Bad breath
- Bad taste in the mouth
- Difficulty opening the mouth
- Pain opening the mouth or when chewing or biting
Wisdom teeth are the most common teeth to be impacted, followed by maxillary canines. If you experience, the mentioned symptoms visit our dental facility. After a physical dental exam, our dentist may recommend an oral surgery in Flower Mound.
2. Missing teeth
You can miss a tooth due to gum disease, injury, tooth decay, or a genetic condition. Losing one or more teeth may impact speech, eating, and change the shape of your face. If you have a missing tooth, consult our dentist on the options available. Oral Surgery in Flower Mound, TX, is a solution to replace a lost tooth and improve your overall appearance of the mouth.
3. Jaw- Related Problems
Jaw pain can be caused by various factors such as abnormality or an injury to the jaw, temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD), cluster headaches, sinus problems, and tooth pain.
TMD refers to health conditions that affect Temporomandibular joints (TMJ), jaw muscles, and facial nerves. Temporomandibular joints connect the jaw bone to the skull. You have two joints, one on each side of the jaw. The TMJ allows the jaws to open and close, enabling you to speak, yawn, eat, and drink. The tasks performed by TMJ may become painful when the jaw is misaligned from crooked teeth or trauma.
Our dentist may examine the jaw to check for swelling or tenderness. But, for proper diagnosis, different imaging tests such as an X-ray and CT scan of the jaw are used.
Jaw-related problems can be treated using self-care practices such as eating soft foods or prescribing medications, depending on TMD symptoms.
If need be, our dental team may recommend oral surgery to correct the disorder.
How To Prepare for Oral Surgery
Oral Surgery in Flower Mound can be easy if you prepare in advance, as explained below:
- Before surgery, schedule time with our dentist or oral surgeon to understand the risks and the benefit of the procedure.
- Plan for a ride to and from the dental office. Most dental surgical treatments require sedation, so it is unsafe to operate a car.
- Fast from eating and drinking after midnight of the evening before the surgery to reduce the risk of aspiration.
- Dress appropriately for surgery by wearing short-sleeved and comfortable clothing. This will help our nurse take your vitals or put blood pressure cuffs.
- Arrive at least 20 minutes before the surgery – to help you relax and complete admission forms if any.
Post – recovery instructions
After oral surgery, give yourself time to recover. For every oral surgery, there is a specified period for recovery. Take the medications given as instructed by our dental team.
Observe oral hygiene and brush gently and rinse with a warm salty water solution. Brushing will keep the surgical site clean and help in the healing process. Do not spit forcefully to prevent dislodging the blood clot that forms in the socket.
Eat soft foods and drink cold liquids such as yogurt, milkshakes, smoothies, and pudding. After some days, you may eat warm and soft-foods, but this will depend on the type of oral surgery and the dentist’s directives.
Take Away
The best thing you can do after oral surgery is to follow the post-operative instructions as carefully as possible. Get adequate rest and focus on recovery. Remember to come for a follow-up appointment after two weeks. Visit Smile Craft Dental for more information on oral surgery and the risks involved.