A wide variety of accidents and injuries can lead to facial trauma of varying degrees. In addition to severe injuries as the result of automobile accidents or other major trauma, facial injury can occur as a result of falls, sports accidents or even accidents involving skateboards or bicycles.
Oral Surgery and Facial Trauma
Damage to the teeth as well as the bones of the face can lead to functional deformities and dental problems. If facial injuries are not properly treated, severe misalignment can result, leading to long-term discomfort, uneven tooth wear, or even eventual tooth loss.
In many cases, facial trauma can be treated by an oral surgeon rather than in the emergency room. In fact, often an oral surgeon can provide better care since he is able to assess damage directly related to long-term dental health. A skilled dual-degreed oral surgeon will be able to ensure the patient’s comfort, and since he or she is accustomed to dealing with facial and dental injuries, the patient can be assured he is in good hands.
Treating Facial Trauma
Initial treatment for facial trauma plays a major role in how the face heals. If possible, the application of cold compresses can help reduce swelling. If bleeding is severe, use pressure to reduce or stop the flow. Adult teeth, that have been cleanly and fully knocked out, should never be handled by the root and every attempt to replace the tooth into the socket should be made. If the tooth cannot be placed back into the socket for some reason then it should be kept in the mouth or in milk until they can be put back into place by an oral surgeon.
The oral surgeon will determine the best treatments to address specific injuries. Sutures might be necessary for lacerations, or the patient might require surgery to ensure broken bones are set back into place. This is particularly important for children, since their faces are not fully developed. If facial bones are carefully reconstructed after facial trauma, they can continue to grow normally. Improper healing can result in permanent disfigurement.
If you or a loved one has suffered facial trauma, a dual-degreed oral surgeon in the Chicago South Loop area has the experience in jaw surgery and can help ensure proper long-term healing.
I never thought the highlight of my week would be a dentist visit, but this has made it the case. The lobby is modern and relaxing, complete with beverages while you wait. My husband actually willing to drive me just for sitting around in there drinking coffee.
While you may wait for a standard doctor amount of time in one of the rooms, its not so bad- they have massage chairs and satellite tv. The receptions are nice and super helpful, they have even taken the time to explain my insurance to me in easily understandable terms and get into with my company.
Relaxation may not be the first thing that comes to mind when most people think about an upcoming appointment with the oral surgeon, but it is possible to truly unwind while you’re in the chair. Thanks to sedation dentistry, previously skittish dental patients are finding their dentist visits to be more comfortable and even enjoyable.
If you’ve never visited a sedation dentist before, here’s an overview of how the process works. First and foremost, the term sedation dentistry can involve mild, moderate or deep sedation. It can range from having “twilight” with nitrous oxide, to full general anesthesia. The medications used produce a relaxing effect for patients, give a sense of amnesia, and can completely eliminate any phobic feelings. With a highly trained, dual-degreed oral surgeon, office-based intravenous sedation is a safe way to have a stress-free and relaxing experience. Not only does sedation allow an oral surgeon to treat anxious patients, it can also reduce the treatment time for complex procedures and benefit patients with hypertension and other medical problems. When under sedation, an oral surgeon can work in the patient’s mouth for longer periods of time and procedures can often be completed in half the time.
If your fear is so great that you have not been to the dentist in many years, please consider sedation dentistry. Beyond maintaining your pearly whites, removing your wisdom teeth will help ensure your gums and neighboring teeth are healthy. Furthermore, poor oral health has been linked to a number of systemic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and stroke. So let sedation be your ticket to a healthy smile.
Please contact our office in theChicago Loop for more information on sedation dentistry.
The third molars, more commonly known as “wisdom teeth,” helped ancestral humans to chew a rougher entirely vegetarian diet. Although wisdom teeth once served a purpose, they’re no longer necessary. In fact, over time, human jaws have evolved in a way that has left little room for them to erupt and fit into the dental arch properly. Not only are wisdom teeth superfluous, but they frequently cause harm to adjacent teeth with crowding, gum disease, chronic infection and cavity formation.
Because the wisdom teeth are unnecessary and can eventually cause significant pain, most young adults have them removed prophylactically. The wisdom teeth are typically extracted with safe, comfortable sedation when patients are in their late teens or early twenties.
But how do you know exactly when to schedule the removal of your wisdom teeth?
Patients should have their wisdom teeth removed before they begin to cause serious trouble. In fact, if you wait too long to have your wisdom teeth removed and they remain impacted, you will encounter complications, such as inflammation and infection. If untreated, an impacted wisdom tooth can even cause destructive bone cysts and tumors to develop. If you have had orthodontic treatment, waiting too long to get your wisdom teeth out can wipe out the results of that treatment. This is because when wisdom teeth struggle to break through the gum, they can cause other teeth to shift and they can resorb/dissolve neighboring tooth roots.
Unless you have severe complicating factors, your wisdom teeth can be safely removed with an outpatient procedure performed in an oral surgeon’s office. The complexity of your case will determine whether conscious sedation or general anesthesia is used, but most patients opt to be soundly sleeping throughout the entire procedure for a relaxing, stress-free, pleasant experience.
Preferably, you should have your wisdom teeth removed while you’re in your late teens and no later than age 25. However, even if you’re over 30 years old, if you still have your wisdom teeth, you should strongly consider having them removed because they can cause a problem at any age, lead to systemic health issues and your ability for an easy recuperation diminishes with advancing age.
Contact Dr. Steven Koos D.D.S., M.D., a specialist in the removal of wisdom teeth in the Chicago area, for more information and to schedule a consultation.
Dental implants typically are anchored into a patient’s jaw bone, and replacement teeth are then placed on top of them. In the past, patients whose jaw bones had been partially resorbed following tooth loss had to undergo surgeries in which bone from elsewhere was grafted into the jaw to create sufficient bone mass to hold the implants. These surgeries added a significant amount of time to the course of treatment, and patients had to be without teeth or wear unstable dentures in the interim.
Now, the All-on-4 procedure for placing dental implants offers new hope for streamlined treatment to Chicago dental implant patients with bone loss. The All-on-4 procedure, which maximizes use of the remaining bone, is a particularly attractive option in cases of patients who need full upper or lower restorations and have more dramatic bone loss.
The All-on-4 procedure entails the placement of four implants in the front portions of the upper or lower jaw, also known as the anterior region. This section of the jaws tends to retain more bone density even as other parts atrophy and shrink.
The four dental implants are placed with the two rear implants angled in order to allow for them to emerge as far back in the mouth as possible to properly support a full arch attached bridge. In addition, the implants on either end must be angled underneath the gum to avoid having to bone graft the sinuses on the upper jaw and to avoid a sensory nerve in the lower jaw. Above the gum, though, all of the dental implants are straight and parallel. What is unique to this procedure is that immediately after the implants are placed, the implant dentist attaches a complete arch of replacement teeth.
The revolutionary All-on-4 procedure eliminates the need for having to use more than four implants and for bone grafting. Most importantly, an All-on-4 procedure impressively allows for teeth to be attached to these dental implants all during a single appointment. Over time, the implants will integrate into the surrounding bone, and a permanent replacement full arch bridge will be made that will look, feel and function just like the real thing. As long as they are well cared for, All-on-4 implants can last for a lifetime after they are initially placed.
Contact our Chicago All-on-4 practice to see if you are a candidate for this procedure.
