Oral Surgery

Wisdom Tooth

A wisdom tooth, in humans, is any of the four third molars. Wisdom teeth usually appear between the ages of 17 and 25. Most adults have four wisdom teeth, but it is possible to have fewer (oligodontia), or more, in which case they are called supernumerary teeth. Wisdom teeth commonly affect other teeth as they develop, becoming impacted or “coming in sideways.” They are often extracted when this occurs. About 35% of the population do not develop wisdom teeth at all.

Bone Grafting

Bone grafting is a surgical procedure that replaces missing bone in order to repair bone fractures that are extremely complex, pose a significant health risk to the patient, or fail to heal properly.

Bone generally has the ability to regenerate completely but requires a very small fracture space or some sort of scaffold to do so. Bone grafts may be autologous (bone harvested from the patient’s own body, often from the iliac crest), allograft (cadaveric bone usually obtained from a bone bank), or synthetic (often made of hydroxyapatite or other naturally occurring and biocompatible substances) with similar mechanical properties to bone. Most bone grafts are expected to be reabsorbed and replaced as the natural bone heals over a few months’ time.

The principles involved in successful bone grafts include osteoconduction (guiding the reparative growth of the natural bone), osteoinduction (encouraging undifferentiated cells to become active osteoblasts), and osteogenesis (living bone cells in the graft material contribute to bone remodeling). Osteogenesis only occurs with autografts.

Apicoectomy

A root end surgery, also known as apicoectomy (L. apex, apicis: a summit or a tip), is an endodontic surgical procedure whereby a tooth’s root tip is removed and a root end cavity is prepared and filled with a biocompatible material.

This is usually necessitated when a conventional root canal therapy had failed and a re-treatment was already unsuccessful or is not advised. State of the art procedures make use of microsurgical techniques, such as a dental operating microscope, micro instruments, ultrasonic preparation tips and calcium-silicate based filling materials.

Removal of the root tip is indicated to remove the entire apical delta ensuring no uncleaned missed anatomy.

Additional Surgical Procedures Include

• Extractions and Ridge Contoring for Dentures
• Ridge Augmentation or Preservation
• Membranes