You’ve been smiling since before you were born. Did you know that? The advances in Ultrasound technology over the years have shown that babies smile, starting in the womb. Talk about starting life off on a good note!
But smiling is just as important after birth. A study by Wayne State University showed that baseball players who were shown smiling in pictures more often than their non-smiling counterparts lived seven years longer, on average. That’s the power of a smile!
And if you’re struggling with your smile, you also know the negative impact not loving it can have on your life. If you’re reading this, that means it’s impacting your daily life enough to consider oral surgery – which probably sounds scary.
Thankfully, oral surgery has become one of the safest and most common outpatient procedures in Kentucky, which means you’re in good hands. Still, have questions about it? We’re going over the basics, below.
What is Oral Surgery?
The category of “oral surgery” contains everything from smile procedures, to root canals, to the removal of wisdom teeth. And while most of us have experienced at least wisdom teeth surgery in our lives, the idea of smile-correcting surgery is still new.
And there’s not one specific “smile surgery” out there. The approach to improving each patient’s smile is different and is based on their specific needs. While we know you’ll be happy with your surgery results, there are no guarantees and everyone’s result will be slightly different than another.
Every time you choose to go under general anesthesia and have any sort of surgery, medically necessary or not, you assume some level of risk. There’s the risk involved with the anesthesia itself, the risk of infection, and the risk of unknown and unseen factors during surgery. The risks are small, especially when you’re dealing with highly experienced surgeons like the ones at our clinic, but talking about the risks is part of the required informed consent that all patients must acknowledge.
Now that we’ve covered that, let’s get into the fun part!
Types of Oral Surgery for Smile Improvement
By far the most common surgery we do for a smile improvement is placing dental implants. Dental implants are medically designed teeth replicas that get placed into your jawbone, replacing a missing or damaged tooth (literally) at the root.
They can be color-matched to the rest of your teeth and multiple implants can be placed in one session.
Not only are implants a more long-term solution than caps or veneers, but they can also improve your oral health. Replacing damaged teeth can treat everything from mouth pain to oral cancer, to even cardiac issues. Your oral health is directly related to every other large-scale organ in your body.
Dental Extractions and Implants
If there’s a tooth that needs to come out, not only can our team remove that tooth for you, but our surgeons will counsel you on what the best option for replacing/covering that lost tooth is – which may very well be with a dental implant.
Jawbone Infections, Atrophy, or Other Issues
Like we said, your oral health has a huge impact on your overall health. That’s true when it comes to the health and quality of your facial bones, too.
If you previously lost a tooth or had an extraction procedure that wasn’t handled correctly, there may be damage to your jawbone, which needs to be restored carefully, with bone grafting or other surgical methods.
We also handle jawbone reconstruction from facial injuries or other emergencies, in the same vein. And if it’s an old injury, don’t assume we can’t help you – you’d be amazed what our surgeons are capable of, so go ahead and call for a free consultation appointment!
Wisdom Teeth Crowding
While most of us got our wisdom teeth out while when we were young, some wisdom teeth don’t grow until later in life. And if that happens, you may start experiencing crowding pain or be at risk for teeth movement, based on how your wisdom teeth are growing in.
Or, maybe you’re looking at wisdom teeth surgery for your adolescent. Most wisdom teeth surgeries are done between 16 and 20 years old, depending on when the teeth in question finish growing in. Our surgeons have done thousands of wisdom teeth removal surgeries and will be happy to meet with you and your teen to go over the specifics.
How We Serve You
We have two offices, one in Lexington and one in London, to better serve you. We offer all the available and approved options in pain management and have staff on-call at all times to answer whatever questions you may have before or after your procedure.
We accept a large range of insurance plans and offer flexible pricing options if you need a payment plan, including online payment. It’s our mission to make sure everyone has a smile they can be proud of, so we do our best to provide services to as many people as possible.
Making an Appointment to Discuss Oral Surgery Options
Everything we do at our clinic is based on the individual needs of our patients, so we will need to see you at a consultation appointment before deciding on any specific oral surgery services. Please call our patient care coordinators to get started, or request an appointment online.
We can’t wait to work with you to create the brilliant, dazzling smile you’ve always dreamed of.
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