Oral and maxillofacial surgery is a specialty of dentistry concerned with the diagnosis and surgical treatment of congenital or acquired diseases, dysfunction, defects or injuries of the mouth, jaws, face, neck and associated regions.

Some of these issues are:

When Teeth Are Lost

When a tooth must be extracted due to trauma, bone loss or other reasons, implants can be placed into the bone if you are determined to be a good candidate for implants.  Please see our tooth fractures page to see the different types of fractures that occur with teeth.

Impactions

The wisdom teeth, or third molars, are the most frequently impacted teeth because of a lack of space in the jaw.  In most cases, wisdom teeth that do not erupt into proper

alignment should be extracted.  Please see our wisdom teeth page to see the different types of impactions that can occur.

Jaw Alignment

Oral surgery can correct cases where the jaw bones are underdeveloped or overdeveloped.  Cases where the upper jaw grows too much or too little and/or the lower jaw growing too much or too little can be surgically corrected.  

TMJ - Temporomandibular Joint

Otherwise known as the TMJ, this joint in front of the ear where the lower jaw pivots is a common problem area.  Problems with this joint can cause headache and pain that never goes away.  Lesser cases can be corrected with medication, therapy, and splints.  However, a more serious case would require reconstruction of the joint.

Biopsy

When there is a suspicious growth or appearance to the tissue in the mouth, a biopsy will be perform to determine the origin of the lesion.

Facial Trauma

Oral surgery can help in cases of facial trauma that results from accidents or facial genetic malformation of the jaw and face.