About Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Dentoalveolar surgery Includes extraction of teeth, smoothing of bone and other soft tissue procedures needed prior to denture or partial fabrication. Most common extractions are wisdom teeth removal because of disease or associated symptoms.   

Dental implants are artificial tooth roots that are placed in the jaw bone and allowed to integrate in the bone prior to having your dentist place a crown on top. All implants require a consultation to ensure that implants can be placed in your bone. From time to time bone grafting is required for an implant to be placed. Bone grafting are additional procedures that our clinic provides but at an additional cost. Dental implants require a team approach and your dentist will provide the final crown.

Expose and Bond – Occasionally teeth do not erupt into the arch in a timely manner. An orthodontist may ask for these teeth to be exposed and have orthodontic bracket and chain placed to help the orthodontist guide the eruption of the tooth into the arch. 

Frenectomy – Frenectomies are removal or excess tissue found between certain teeth then attached to the lips and are requested to help close gaps in teeth or because of difficulty with speech. 

Facial Surgery – Otherwise known as orthognathic (ortho = move, gnathic = chew) surgery, this procedure is performed at the request of orthodontist as sometimes braces cannot move the teeth far enough to correct a poor bite or poor tooth relationship. 

Usually the result of trauma or tumors, defects in the jaws and teeth can be corrected utilizing bone and soft tissue grafting procedures. University of Minnesota Oral and Facial Surgery incorporate modern technology by combining years of experience and modern surgical planning techniques to provide the best possible outcomes to patients suffering from defects in the oral cavity and facial skeleton. 

When having a procedure performed in our clinic you may have several options to make your experience more comfortable. Listed below or the different types of anesthesia. What is appropriate for most patients is different and must be a discussion between doctor and patient. 

Local anesthesia – Local anesthesia “numbs” the tissues around the procedure site. Lidocaine and similar medications are injected in the surrounding tissues to provide pain relief during a procedure. Lidocaine can remove pain but cannot remove pressure felt during the procedure. 

Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) and local anesthesia – the patient breathes a gas through the nose that helps relax the patient and also alleviates some pain. This is performed in conjunction with local anesthesia and is available to almost all patients. 

Sedation – Medications are delivered through an IV that place a patient in a twilight sleep and are used in conjunction with local anesthesia to provide a pain free and relaxing experience. Each level of anesthesia has different requirements and a discussion with your provider will allow you to tailor the right and safe options for you. 

There are many different types of lesions that oral surgeons can help patients with.

BOTOX, future facial resurfacing, injectable fillers, scar reduction.