ORAL, DENTAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY
Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery is a branch of dentistry that includes many different applications and concerns all branches falling within the scope of oral and dental health.
Treatments with Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery
Tooth Extraction: The most common procedure performed by maxillofacial surgeons is tooth extraction in adults and children. Teeth may need to be extracted due to problems such as dental caries, impacted teeth, gum diseases, infections etc.
Extraction of Impacted Teeth: An impacted tooth is a tooth that, for reasons such as position misalignment or lack of sufficient space, has been blocked from breaking through the gum. In addition, the teeth may remain impacted as a result of the early loss of milk teeth or cystic lesions. Wisdom teeth, canines and first premolars are among the teeth that frequently remain impacted. Impacted teeth are either fully impacted or partially impacted, i.e. semi-impacted. Impacted teeth usually do not cause obvious symptoms and are only detected during a routine radiographic examination.
Symptoms of impacted teeth: The impacted tooth can sometimes damage the roots of adjacent teeth. It may cause difficulty in biting or chewing, tenderness, or pain. It can cause bad breath and a bad taste in the mouth. In case of such problems, your Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Surgeon may recommend the extraction of the impacted tooth. Tooth extraction surgery is usually performed as an outpatient procedure in an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon’s clinic. This means you can go home the same day immediately after treatment. The procedure usually takes a short period of time and is mostly performed under local anaesthesia. In case of anxiety, sedation or general anaesthesia can be applied.
Jaw Cysts: Cysts are pathological spaces that contain liquid or semi-liquid material inside and are surrounded by soft tissue called epithelium. The growth rate of the cysts, which expand and grow in the region they are located, is slow. Although cysts can occur in every part of the human body, they are most common in the jaw. Jaw cysts are a very insidious disease and do not show obvious symptoms in the first stage. For this reason, many people consult a doctor in the later stages of the disease. However, if the cysts are diagnosed late, serious damage may occur in the jaw bones. Since jaw cysts do not cause symptoms and pain in the early stages, they are not noticed for many years. Surgery is essential for surgically treated jaw cysts. Jaw cysts that are not intervened in time can cause serious problems such as swelling in the face area, inflammation, deformation in the jawbone, benign or malignant tumour formation.
Jaw Tumours: Jaw tumours that occur in the mouth are sometimes benign and sometimes malignant tumour formations. Generally, they are caused by the disruption in tooth development. This is the most common cause of occurrence.
The jaw tumour needs to be surgically removed. This procedure can be performed under local or general anaesthesia depending on the size of the tumour.
Thanks to pathological examinations, it can be understood whether the jaw tumour is benign or malignant. After these procedures, which are also called microscopic examinations, it becomes clear how the patient will be treated.
Apicoectomy (Apical Resection): In cases where a tooth is infected for a very long time and no treatment is given, a serious infection can develop at the tip of the tooth root. In such cases, an apicoectomy can be performed. In this procedure, the gum tissue is opened to view the underlying bone and remove infected tissue. The infected part of the root tip is also removed and the root canal is completely sealed to ensure there is no leakage of infection into the canal.
Treatment of Abscess and Maxillofacial Infections:
Tooth abscess refers to a buildup of pus that forms inside the teeth or gums and causes significant discomfort and pain for most patients. An abscess is caused by a bacterial infection below the skin surface. Tooth abscess, which resembles an acne in appearance, is divided into two as periapical and periodontal.
1- Periapical abscess (abscess on the tooth): This type of abscess forms at the tip of a tooth root and is usually caused by untreated dental cavities, an injured or broken tooth, and sometimes, previous treatment.
2- Periodontal abscess (abscess in the gums): This abscess is caused by untreated cavities, injuries, or previous treatments. A tooth with a periodontal abscess is alive and healthy, without cavities or damage. When food gets stuck between the gum and tooth, this can lead to a buildup of bacteria under the gum and in the bone. As a result thereof, periodontal abscess may occur.
Tooth abscesses are a symptom indicating a gum or tooth infection. Tooth abscess symptoms are quite obvious and similar for most patients. However, it should be noted that some acute abscesses may be painless, but may cause swelling of the gums and cheeks. However, if the abscess occurs on a tooth as a result of a root canal treatment, it may not cause any pain because the nerve is dead.
SYMPTOMS OF A TOOTH ABSCESS
• Extreme, sharp or throbbing pain,
• Pain that increases when pressure or heat is applied to the affected area,
• In extreme cases, swollen lymph nodes and facial swelling,
• Bad breath,
• Fever,
• Trismus (Difficulty in opening the mouth),
• Insomnia,
• General discomfort and distress.
Gum Diseases (Periodontal Diseases): It is an infectious disease that affects the tissues surrounding and supporting the tooth, not the tooth. Even teeth that have no caries can be lost due to this disease. Periodontal diseases are the most common chronic diseases in the society that can affect one or more teeth and can be seen in children, adolescents, adults and old people. Since they are usually painless, the symptoms are hardly noticed by patients and in most cases, a late referral to the physician is made.
Supporting tissues around the teeth, known as “periodontium”, are the fibres that connect the gum, tooth root and the tooth root to the jawbone. Conditions where the infection only affects the gums are called "gingivitis". The symptoms of gingivitis are red, swollen, shiny, spongy and easily bleeding gums. Bleeding is the most important symptom of gingivitis.
In more advanced cases, the gingiva and other tissues mentioned above are affected from the disease and this is defined as “periodontitis”. Bleeding in the gums, red/bluish-purple discoloration, gingival recession, gingival enlargement, tooth displacement, tooth gaps, elongated and loosened tooth, abscess formation, sensitivity and bad breath may be regarded as symptoms of periodontitis. Pain usually occurs due to abscess formation. As a result, a diseased infrastructure that has infections and aesthetic defects, causes loss of chewing, cannot support the prosthesis to be applied occurs in the periodontium.
Periodontal Surgery: In some cases, a periodontal surgery is required to treat gum diseases and problems. This type of surgery is known as gingival surgery. In these surgical procedures, the goal is to treat gum disease or regain lost bone tissue and soft tissues, prevent tooth loss, eliminate bacteria, infection, and shape the gums.
Periodontal surgery is not a routine procedure applied for every gum disease. With periodontal surgery, it is possible to gain new bone tissue and gingival tissue in some cases. Oral hygiene should be very good before periodontal surgery. Maximum level of oral hygiene after periodontal surgery ensures a much better healing process.
Periodontal surgical procedures cover various applications such as flap operations, bone graft applications, guided tissue regenerations, soft tissue transfers. Periodontal surgical procedures can usually be performed easily under local anaesthesia. In some cases, these operations can be performed under sedation or general anaesthesia