The majority of oral surgery performed in an oral surgery office revolves around the surgical repair and treatment of the supporting structures of teeth, namely the bony alveolar ridge. Extractions, removal of impacted teeth, cysts, tumors, repair of injuries to ridge, and reconstruction of ridge when it has become atrophic due to considerable bone loss, all involve dentoalveolar surgery.
At times people will call specialists for care of a fractured tooth. If the tooth is restorable, the oral surgeon will move the patient on to a general dentist for care. Oral surgeons are best trained in the diagnosis of diseases and injuries that affect the jaws.
Another common area seen in dentoalveolar surgery is the treatment of impacted teeth. By impaction we mean teeth that are partially or totally imbedded beneath the gum tissue and bone and don't have the proper space to erupt fully into the mouth. The most common of all impacted teeth are the so-called "wisdom" teeth, or third molars. The second most common impacted teeth are the cuspid teeth or "eye" teeth. A large volume of courses of study have been done to point out the need for the early removal of impacted third molars in the teenage years around 16-17 years of age. Why? Most simply, at this age the root structure has not developed fully and radiographs can tell whether someone has enough room for them to enter the mouth and function normally. There are many serious side effects from surgery done on older patients who are "waiting for something to hurt." If the roots begin to develop they can get hooked and anchored well into the jaw, particularly near main nerves and blood vessels that supply the jaws and teeth. The older patient may then develop postoperative numbness or altered sensations of the lips and tongue if the nervous tissue has been disturbed. It naturally takes longer to heal and recover from this kind of surgery as we get older.
Well, what about the other impacted teeth like the cuspids(eye teeth of upper jaw)? When one is approaching the early teens the cuspids should already be in position. An alert dentist will advise a young person to seek orthodontics if crowding occurs and if retained unerupted cuspids are present. These teeth can be exposed surgically at the young age of 10-13 and guided in with orthodontic treatment.
There is one other important matter when it comes to impacted teeth. Generally there is a developmental cyst surrounding the crown of the imbedded tooth. As the tooth erupts this cystic tissue becomes part of the gingival (gum) tissue that lines the oral cavity. However, when teeth are imbedded, this cyst has the potential of expanding with fluid within and cause considerable damage to the bone and adjacent teeth.
Make sure you have
the benefit of good early treatment and special care. Most often one will
receive sedation or twilight sleep or general anesthesia to provide ultimate
comfort.