Surviving The Oral Surgeon: A Few Reasons Why You Should Be Thanking Him Or Her Instead Of Running Scared
There are not many things in this world that put more fear into the hearts of mankind than the words "You will need oral surgery." A lot of people tend to wonder if they really need it or if the dentist is just trying to torture them. Usually though, if the dentist suggests it, then you really do need it. But if you're concerned, here is a list of diagnoses that really do require dental surgery and why.
Impacted Wisdom Tooth: Sometimes your teeth don't have the room they need to grow. When a wisdom tooth gets entrapped, it can cause swelling and pain, and if you don't fix it soon enough, it can cause permanent damage to your gums and surrounding teeth.
Tooth Loss: When you have a tooth that you just can't save, sometimes you'll lose it. If this is the case, you will need dental implants to replace it. But if your dentures are not fitting the way they're supposed to, whether it's because your other teeth moved the dentures or because you have an irregularly shaped jaw, you'll need oral surgery to fix it.
Unequal Jaw Growth: When your jaws don't grow equally, it affects several aspects of your life: breathing, eating, talking, etc. If you have a minor inequality in the top and bottom jaws, then braces may do the trick. If it's more than a minor inequality, you will need oral surgery.
Diseased Teeth: One thing that oral surgeons see a lot of is diseased teeth. Using general anesthesia, an oral surgeon can remove a diseased tooth, preventing it from affecting the surrounding teeth and easing your pain.
Facial Trauma: When your face has undergone some sort of trauma, your jaw and facial bones can break or you can have severed nerves. Oral surgeons set these fractured bones and reconnect the severed nerves. There are also several other injuries your face can experience, and oral surgeons are experienced in fixing those too, including injuries to your nasal bones, forehead and eye sockets.
Sleep Disorder: If you are diagnosed with a sleep disorder and behavior modifications are not working, you will need an oral surgeon. There are several procedure options for sleep disorders that are used to correct any issues you may have with a soft palate, closed breathing passages, and a closed airway.
Oral surgery isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. General anesthesia is used for most procedures, and if your dentist suggests it, then there's a good reason why. The benefits of having oral surgery and preventing the pain that comes with not having it far outweigh any reason you have to be scared of oral surgery. So the next time a dentist (such as Drs. Phipps, Levin, Hebeka, & Associates Ltd.) tells you that you need oral surgery, you'll understand what may happen if you don't, and setting that appointment won't be nearly as hard.
Share