Chances are you may not hear the term “sinus lift” until you talk to your dentist or an oral and maxillofacial surgeonabout having dental implants to replace missing teeth in your upper jaw. A sinus lift (or sinus lift bone graft or sinus augmentation) is a surgical procedure that is done to add bone to the […]
Nerve repositioning, or nerve lateralization, is reserved for the rarest cases involving dental implants in the lower jaw. This technique is performed when a patient has missing teeth in the lower jaw and does not have enough jaw bone above the jaw nerve (inferior alveolar nerve) to accommodate the implant. The lack of jaw bone is usually […]
Cleft palate, or separation of the roof of the mouth (palate), is a treatable birth defect which occurs during the early development of the fetus. In normal development, separate areas of the face are formed individually and then join together. A cleft palate occurs when the tissues of the roof of the mouth does not […]
Maxillofacial surgery focuses on problems concerning the mouth, jaw, face and neck. A dentist or orthodontist may refer a patient to a maxillofacial surgeon if an issue with the mouth is too difficult to correct with dental procedures alone. There are many reasons for maxillofacial surgery such as overbites, underbites, jaw asymmetry and other jaw deformities […]
Let’s face it– no one looks forward to going to the dentist, let alone having oral surgery. The patient tends to worry most about the pain and discomfort of the procedure. The good news is that today’s advancements in anesthesia make it possible to perform both simple and complex oral surgery with little or no discomfort […]
The American Cancer Society estimates that over 34,000 new cases of oral cavity cancer (mouth cancer) and oropharyngeal cancer (throat cancer) will be diagnosed in 2011. Even though the number of new cases has been dropping over the past three decades, there has been a recent rise in cases of oral cavity cancer in men […]
A chemical peel is a great way to improve the appearance of your skin. A chemical peel uses a chemical solution to rejuvenate the texture of your skin by removing the damaged outer layers, thus revealing softer and smoother skin underneath. After a thorough cleansing, the solution is applied to the affected area of the face, neck, […]
Corrective jaw surgery, also known as orthognathic surgery is performed by oral and maxillofacial surgeons when one or both jaws need to be realigned. Jaw growth is a gradual process and, in some instances, the upper and lower jaws may grow at different rates. The result can be a host of problems that can affect chewing function, […]
Our mouths can fit 28 teeth comfortably. Unfortunately, when our four molars start coming in during our teen to young adult years and push that total to 32 teeth, they often cause an overcrowding problem. Why Are our Mouths Such a Poor Fit for our Teeth? Our wisdom teeth, known as our third set of […]
What is Sleep Apnea? The Greek word “apnea” means “without breath.” People who have untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during the night, sometimes as often as hundreds of times during a single night. Often they stop breathing for a minute or longer. The combination of a bad night’s sleep, night after night, and not […]
