3rd Molar & Surgical Extractions
Your third molars are more commonly called "wisdom teeth." Usually appearing in the late teens or early twenties, third molars often lack the proper space in the jaw to erupt fully or even at all. This common condition is called impaction. When any tooth lacks the space to come through or simply develops in the wrong place of your jaw and becomes impacted, problems can arise. Primarily, damage to adjacent teeth and crowding occur.
In certain cases, the wisdom tooth that cannot come through becomes inflamed under the gums and in the jawbone, causing a sac to develop around the root of the tooth that then fills with liquid. This can cause a cyst or an abscess if it becomes infected. If either of these situations goes untreated, serious damage to the underlying bone and surrounding teeth and tissues can result.
To potentially stave off this result, an extraction of one, several or all of the wisdom teeth may be advised. If that is the case, we have the equipment and training needed to perform such extractions, with an absolute minimum of discomfort. Ask our staff for more information regarding tooth extractions if you feel you may need one.
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Dental Implant Placement
Dental implants are artificial tooth replacements that were first developed half a century ago by a Swedish scientist named Per-Ingvar Branemark. Implants arose from the patient’s need to secure loose-fitting dentures. Since the advent of the implant, engineering and enhancements to the implant have enabled dentists to expand the implant’s usefulness, including the replacement of missing or lost teeth. Today, implant techniques provide a wide range of tooth replacement solutions including:
- Single Tooth Replacement
- Anterior Replacement
- Posterior Replacement
- Full Arch Replacement
The modern dental implant is a predictable and ideal treatment option because it restores the patient’s missing dentition to maximum aesthetics and function. Implants can be placed to restore a single missing tooth or to support and stabilize a full arch removable or fixed denture.
Placement of dental implants is a complex process. Detailed planing and evaluation of the patient's available bone and surrounding anatomy is essential for implant success. It is recommended that 3-D surveys should be taken prior to implant placement to determine if bone augmentation or soft tissue grafting would be required for treatment success. Depending on individual anatomy and circumstances, different number and sizes of implants will vary for each treatment plan.
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Conservative Extractions for Implant Placement
A method of extracting teeth used to minimize damage to adjacent hard and soft tissue and preserve as much bone as possible to facilitate future dental implant placement.
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Socket Preservation & Ridge Augmentation
Bone grafting procedure used at the time of extraction or before dental implant surgery to preserve bone for immediate or future implant placement. Bone is placed inside the extraction site to prevent resorption of the alveolar ridge.
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Autogenous Block & Particulate Bone Grafting
A bone grafting procedure performed before dental implant surgery to increase the volume of bone to create a necessary foundation of bone for dental implant placement. Bone can be donated from the patient, cadaver, bovine specimen, or synthetically fabricated. The graft is fixated and implant placement can generally occur four to six months after grafting occurs.
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Sinus Grafting & Sinus Lifts
Procedure utilized to increase the foundation of available bone in the posterior area of the upper jaw at or prior to implant placement. Bone can be donated from the patient, cadaver, bovine specimen, or synthetically fabricated.
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3D CBCT Implant Surgical Guides
A surgical guide generated from a 3D dental CT image that incorporates CAD software and X-rays to predictably place dental implants.
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