Oral Surgery Procedures
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons manage a wide variety of problems relating to the mouth, teeth, and facial regions. Select any of the links below to find out more about the services we offer at Oral & Facial Surgery of Pittsburgh.
What is Oral Surgery?
Oral surgery refers to a surgical procedure performed in or around your mouth and jaw. These surgeries are performed by a dental and maxillofacial surgeon who is trained in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery from an accredited university.
When a tooth needs to be replaced, a dental implant might be an option. The implant is a titanium post that replaces the root of a missing tooth. It’s inserted into the socket and fuses with your jawbone naturally over time. This procedure can be used for replacing one tooth or all of your teeth and maintaining facial structure.
If missing teeth are not replaced, the jaw bone begins to atrophy over time and causes changes to a person’s facial structure. Bone grafting is the process of growing new bone which gives us the opportunity to place dental implants and restore functionality and aesthetic appearance.
If you do not have enough room in your mouth for your wisdom teeth, or third molars, to fully erupt, many problems can happen such as infection, cyst formation, crowding, and tooth damage. Dr Bauer provides oral examinations, x-rays, and oral surgery.
Correct jaw surgery, or orthognathic surgery, is necessary when your top and bottom jaws don’t meet correctly and/or teeth don’t adequately fit within the jaw. This procedure helps people with an improper bite, or jaws that are positioned incorrectly resulting in issues with chewing function, speech, or long-term oral health and appearance.
Teeth might need to be removed for a number of reasons such as decay, disease, or they are broken beyond repair. An oral surgeon can remove that tooth while avoiding future complications from the extraction.
If you experience pain, bleeding, or unusual symptoms in your mouth, oral pathology helps identify the potential diseases responsible.
Impacted teeth get “stuck” in the back of the jaw (think of wisdom teeth) and can develop painful infections, among a host of other problems. Treatment may require an oral surgeon for extraction of baby teeth and/or selected adult teeth that are blocking eruption.
At OFS Pittsburgh, we use a 3D imaging system with cone beam CT technology which provides precise, crystal-clear digital images while minimizing your exposure to radiation. This helps our maxillofacial practice diagnose potential issues more accurately and provide treatment with confidence.
We use several methods of anesthesia. Most depend on the nature of your surgery and your comfort level. Learn about your options and the typical applications for each.
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