Most people associate the term “surgery” with medical procedures in a hospital setting. While some oral surgery procedures require that type of treatment, the most common oral surgery in Fargo, ND requires only an appointment at the office of a local surgeon.
An oral maxillofacial surgeon—commonly referred to as an oral surgeon—is a dentist who specializes in surgical dental procedures. Oral surgery is one of nine specialty areas in dentistry that deals with diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injuries in the mouth and in the area surrounding the mouth (face, teeth, and jaw, or the “maxillofacial area”).
The most common oral surgery in Fargo, ND is a tooth extraction. Patients may need a tooth extraction for a variety of reasons, including wisdom teeth removal, teeth that cannot be repaired due to trauma or decay, primary teeth that did not fall out when they should have, or teeth extraction in preparation for upcoming orthodontic procedures.
Since wisdom teeth are the last set of teeth to develop in a person’s mouth, they do not generally develop like normal teeth. They may come in at an angle, or remain under the gums and cause pain and swelling, or they may threaten to cause problems with the alignment of other teeth. As a result, oral surgery is often utilized to remove wisdom teeth to avoid complications.
Another common reason patients get oral surgery in Fargo, ND is for corrective jaw surgery. A person suffering from temporomandibular joint pain (TMJ) may need oral surgery to correct prior trauma or deformation. Accidents or other traumatic events may have caused injury to the jaw that requires correction. Patients who frequently clench or grind teeth, or who have an overbite or an underbite may also be candidates for corrective jaw surgery. In addition, a person who has difficulty chewing, eating, talking or performing other daily tasks that involve the jaw may benefit from a surgical procedure.
Additional procedures commonly performed by oral surgeons include dental implants for patients with missing teeth and adjustments for first-time denture users. A regular dentist may refer a patient for oral surgery if he or she detects something suspicious that may be cancerous in the face, neck, or mouth when performing a routine check-up. And oral surgeon will conduct a biopsy, removing tissue from the suspicious area to be tested for oral cancer. If the biopsy results come back positive, an oral surgeon may conduct a surgical procedure to remove the affected tissue in combination with other treatment options.
If you have one of these conditions, talk to your dentist about whether oral surgery is the right option for you.
