Improving Your Smile’s Health With Jaw Surgery
October 9, 2019
When discussing oral surgery, we often talk about wisdom tooth extraction or even dental implant placement. But sometimes, we may need to offer surgery and treatment for your jaw, whether to address tooth loss or treat TMJ disorder. How does your Kansas City, MO, dentist improve jaw health with surgery?
Bone Grafting
When we lose one or more of our natural teeth, the body takes notice and no longer provides the jawbone around the missing tooth with doses of calcium and phosphorus. Without these nutrients, the bone tissue begins to deteriorate and break down, a process that could lead to further tooth loss and an aging appearance. If a patient has lost jawbone density but is interested in dental implants, then we may need to perform a bone grafting procedure, which rebuilds the broken-down jawbone tissue to enable it to support one or more dental implants. This restores the density and structure, and allows people to enjoy strong and lifelike replacement teeth, replacement teeth that can last decades with proper care and attention!
Jaw Surgery
When people have an imbalanced bite, the jaw joints are not symmetrical, which could lead to severe discomfort and the onset of TMJ disorder or bruxism (chronic teeth grinding). Over time, trouble opening and closing the mouth could occur, as well as jaw pain, headaches, facial discomfort, or even tooth sensitivity and toothaches. The pressure from bruxism could begin to wear down enamel and damage the teeth as well. With jaw surgery, we can correct the jaw joints’ symmetry and restore balance to the bite, preventing further symptoms of TMJ disorder and bruxism and protecting the smile from serious complications!
Sedation and Recovery
Prior to these procedures, we will discuss them in detail and let you know what to expect. We will administer a local anesthetic to the surgery site, and also provide dental sedation to help you enter a calm and relaxed state. A trained anesthesiologist will monitor you throughout the process. Once the procedure ends, a friend or family member can bring you home, as the sedation will take time to wear off. We will provide detailed aftercare instructions, including recommendations to hold off on strenuous activity and to eat soft foods for the first couple of days. We will also schedule follow-up visits to monitor the surgery site and ensure proper healing is taking place. If you have any questions or concerns about these treatment options, then please contact or team today.
Do You Need Oral Surgery?
We would like to help return your smile to a whole and healthy state, and can do so with oral surgery. To learn more about grafting and surgery, then please schedule a consultation by calling Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry of Kansas City, MO, today at 816-427-4018.