Wisdom Teeth Surgery

In most cases, wisdom teeth need to be removed anyway, so you may have already had this done.

If not, the surgeon and orthodontist not only need the extra room for hooks and devices, but if your wisdom teeth are still coming in, they could cause crowding or movement that interferes with the rest of the process.

While I’ve heard a few cases of patients getting their wisdom teeth out at the same time as their actual facial reconstructive surgery, most people, including myself, get them taken out a few months before the jaw surgery.

You need at least a few months for your mouth to fully heal before your surgeon can perform the main operation.

I loved the fact that my maxillofacial surgeon was the same one that performed my wisdom teeth surgery, so it was kind of like a trial run for me, especially since I had never been put under before.

The surgery went great and gave me even more confidence in my orthognathic surgeon.

What To Expect With Wisdom Teeth Surgery

The morning of the surgery, my Dad drove me to the surgeon’s office. You will definitely need a ride to and from, because even if you aren’t put fully under, you will probably at least have some type of laughing gas, and you will be out of it afterward.

For my first time being put under, it was pretty uneventful. He told me to count backward from 10, and I don’t even remember getting past 9, then I woke up and it was over.

I was definitely a little out of it, but I felt fine. My cheeks were very swollen for the first week or two, and it’s important not to use a straw during that initial period either, or you risk infection of the sockets where your wisdom teeth used to be.

I followed the instructions and stayed away from straws, but my cousin didn’t and said infected sockets are a very uncomfortable and painful hassle, so please follow your surgeon’s instructions.

Once your wisdom teeth are history, your orthodontist will continue to tweak things with your braces, while you heal up.

The wisdom teeth surgery itself wasn’t a big deal at all, and other than being a little sore and swollen for a week or two, it’s a small bump in the road on the path to your new smile and bite!

Oral Maxillofacial Surgery is a unique discipline that marries medicine and dentistry. It entails a whole wide range of diseases and procedures from simple ones like impacted wisdom tooth and wisdom tooth surgery to complex complicated ones like jaw abnormalities and corrective jaw surgery. Complex reconstructive work like in a fibula free transfer graft also falls under the arm of oral maxillofacial surgery and may be done with the proper support and expertise.

Oral maxillofacial surgery as the name suggests refers to disease and procedures of the oral cavity and the region immediately surrounding it. It may even stretch as far up as the eyes and as low down as the neck. Simple diseases that falls under the branch of oral maxillofacial surgery includes tooth decay warranting tooth extraction and impacted wisdom tooth or an impacted or buried tooth that requires wisdom tooth surgery in the case of a wisdom tooth or just dento- alveolar surgery in the case of other teeth.

Soft tissue lesions such as a lump on the lip e.g. mucocele and the management also falls under the care of oral maxillofacial surgery. The excision of the mucocele or any other soft lesions is done under local anesthesia and sometimes general anesthesia. And very often, the tissue is sent to the pathology lab for a routine histology to confirm the diagnosis. Biopsies be it an incisional biopsy or excisional biopsy is also done.

Bigger lesions and pathologies like a dentigerous cyst, odontogenic keratocyst or an ameloblastoma are also routinely managed under oral maxillofacial surgery. Managements includes simple enucleation of the cyst to resection of the pathology.

Facial trauma also falls under the management and care of oral maxillofacial surgery. Lacerations of the lips and face and fracture of the jaw bones and facial bones are common place in the hospital and the management is normally handled by the oral maxillofacial department. Toilet and suture of the lacerations may be done under local anesthesia or general anesthesia depending on the extent of the injury. And more often than not, if there is an associated fracture, the open reduction and internal fixation of the jaw or facial bones are done together with the lacerations under general anesthesia.

Dental and oral maxillofacial implants are another area where oral maxillofacial surgery is involved in. The placement of dental implants to replace missing teeth in the jaw is gaining popularity and is offered by oral maxillofacial surgery. Besides dental implants, the oral maxillofacial surgical team also do maxillofacial implants such as orbit implants and otic or ear implants. They also offer answers to complicated or difficult cases such as those with bone deficiencies.

Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) also falls under the care and management of oral maxillofacial surgery. Jaw joint pain is a common problem and is normally attributed to stress or trauma. It may even be due to normal physiological wear and tear. But whatever the cause, it can be a worry for the patient. Most of the time though, the jaw joint pain or TMD pain is caused by myalgia which involves the inflammation of the muscles of mastication.

Dental infection or facial infection leading to swelling is also commonly treated by oral maxillofacial surgery. Many a times the swelling of the face is attributed to a dental cause and the prompt identification of the cause and removal of the source together with antibiotic therapy is adequate treatment. Incision and drainage (I&D) is also commonly instituted.

Corrective jaw surgery and reconstructive jaw surgery is also commonly carried out by the oral maxillofacial surgical team. In cases of jaw abnormalities requiring corrective jaw surgery, the oral maxillofacial surgical team will work together with the orthodontist to co manage the patient. In reconstructive surgery, after a major trauma or pathology removing surgery, the oral maxillofacial surgical team will decide the graft to be used and place it appropriately and reconstruct the face.

Cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery are also commonly done. Treatments such as botox administration for the treatment of wrinkles and use of fillers for the facial region is gaining popularity and more and more oral maxillofacial surgeons are venturing into this department due to the demand. Other treatments offered are rhinoplasty and blepharoplasty.

This article is written by an oral surgeon in government practice. Click on the links to learn more about wisdom tooth surgery, corrective jaw surgery and Beverly Hills cosmetic dental surgery.