Before, dental surgeries immediately sent off negative perceptions to patients. They always thought surgeries were painful and expensive. However, oral surgery in Greenville, SC, is a normal and necessary dental procedure to correct issues and restore your beautiful smile.  

Each patient and the dental problem are unique; thus, it requires the expertise of oral surgeons to check what the patient is suffering from and recommend solutions accordingly. Thankfully, patients don’t have to endure long hours of agonizing treatments because of recent dental advancements.  

Today, patients can benefit from sedation techniques to feel comfortable and at ease during the dental procedure.  

dentist and patient smiling prior to an oral surgery in Greenville, SC 

What are Dental Procedures that are Considered Surgery?

Dental Implants

Dental implants require the insertion of a titanium post to the jawbone through the missing tooth’s socket. After which, the false tooth is placed over them to serve the same functions left by the missing tooth. Further, your dentist will put a dental crown over the false tooth to assimilate the strength, appearance, and function of a natural tooth.  

Since the entire procedure is invasive, this entails oral surgery. Dental implants are great in replacing missing teeth in that they are permanent and can last a lifetime when given proper care. Dental implants replace missing teeth due to injury, decay, disease, oral cancer, or progressive causes like smoking or alcoholism.  

Wisdom Tooth Extraction

Typically, between the ages of 17 to 25, your wisdom teeth will appear. However, sometimes there is not enough room for the wisdom teeth to grow, meaning they get impacted. In this case, they grow sideways and may damage nearby teeth. Therefore, impacted wisdom teeth need to be removed.  

Your dentist will perform an incision first to expose the teeth then stitch the wound to heal. It also ensures that the wound won’t get infected as harmful bacteria can easily attack it.  

In some cases, your oral surgeons will recommend extracting your wisdom teeth even if they are not impacted as a preventative measure.  

Root Canal Treatment

Root canals are typically the most common type of dental surgery that patients get. When the tooth faces decay, bacteria can attack the tooth’s soft spot, also known as the pulp. An infected tooth pulp can cause occasional dental pain, swelling, or pain in the neck or jaw.  

However, you can treat this by undergoing root canal treatment, which is typically pain-free and tremendously effective. Your oral surgeon drills a hole to get into the tooth’s core, remove the decayed portion, and extract the infected pulp. Root canal treatments can save the tooth from getting extracted, making them a famous dental procedure.  

If you lose a tooth, you will have to undergo restorative oral procedures to replace it, which may be more invasive than getting root canals.  

Regular Tooth Extraction

This dental procedure is common to many patients. There can be a wide range of reasons why a tooth has to be extracted. Some suffer from severe tooth decay to the point of irreparability. Others underwent trauma to the mouth, periodontal diseases, or other infections.  

Some extractions can’t be completed using a simple procedure and will need an oral surgeon to perform the work instead. In this case, the oral surgeon will make an incision to expose the tooth and pull it out of its socket.  

Although the first option of dentists is to save the tooth, some dental issues are too severe that no other treatments can save the tooth anymore.  

Bone Grafting

There can be a few reasons for the need for bone grafting. For example, a bone grafting procedure is needed when you suffer from periodontal disease. This disease is progressive and is the result of failure to exercise good oral health habits.  

Another reason why bone grafting is necessary is when a person has not enough jawbone tissue. Because of this, the patient cannot have dental implants should they wish to. Therefore, bone grafting is a significant surgical procedure because it attaches other bone material to the jaw, preparing it for tooth replacement and other treatments.  

While the thought of needing to undergo oral surgery can be disheartening, patients don’t have to fret too much. For instance, you don’t face this on your own. Your dentist and oral surgeon will recommend the best procedure for your dental needs and ensure you enjoy a positive experience, despite how scary the process may seem.  

Oral surgeons underwent extensive training to gain substantive knowledge of all procedures. 

dentist and patient checking X-ray result before an oral surgery in Greenville, SC  

Do You Need Oral Surgery in Greenville, SC?

At Pelham Links Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, your dental health is our utmost priority. We have a pool of talented and skilled dentists and oral surgeons and state-of-the-art technology. With this, the surgeries we operate on don’t take long, so you can eventually smile confidently again after a few days of healing. If you’re ready to have a stunning smile again, give us a call.