Oral Surgery

Alveolar Onlay grafts are often used to replace the area where teeth have been missing for a long time, usually after an infected tooth has destroyed all or part of a bone. The Alveolar Onlay graft is done to prepare for dental implants.

At Family Dentistry of Short Pump our safe procedure will use the bone from your chin or wisdom tooth areas and fit the graft to lie over the area of bone deficiency.

Damage to the jawbone can occur in areas where there are missing teeth. The jawbone can deteriorate and change the facial structure and make it unsuitable for a dental implant. Luckily, today’s technology can repair the inadequate bone in preparation for dental implants through bone grafting, restoring functionality and esthetic appearance.

While the use of a local anesthetic to prevent pain is sufficient for many dental patients, sedation or general anesthesia may be appropriate to ensure the safe and efficient delivery of dental procedures. Most commonly given by means of an injection or as an inhalant, general anesthesia describes a mixture of potent drugs that are used to induce a sleep-like state. Sedation and general anesthesia are safely and effectively used for thousands of dental procedures each year. 

A strong and healthy jawbone is essential for activities such as talking and eating food. Additionally, a strong jawbone is necessary to keep all of your teeth in place. With preventative care, you can keep your jaw healthy and functioning properly well into your golden years. 

Depending on the dental procedure, your dentist may determine that you only need a relatively small area to be numbed during surgery so that your visit is comfortable and pain-free. There are two kinds of numbing injections

When performing oral procedures that require numbing, dentists employ two kinds of local anesthesia, block injections, which numbs an entire region of your mouth, such as one side of your lower jaw, and infiltration injections, which numb a smaller area.

Oral pathology is the specialty of dentistry and discipline of pathology that deals with the nature, identification and management of diseases affecting the oral and maxillofacial regions (the mouth and jaw areas). The practice of oral pathology includes research and diagnosis of diseases using clinical, radiographic, microscopic, biochemical or other examinations.

Orofacial pain is caused by a number of clinical problems, including issues with the chewing muscles and joints. Orofacial pain can include migraines, headaches, muscle spasms, tooth pain and more. Your Family Dentistry of Short Pump dentist can use skills learned from the American Academy of Orofacial Pain (AAOP) to treat orofacial pain with several treatment options.

A ridge expansion is a common dental procedure often performed following a tooth extraction to help recreate the natural contour of the gums and jaw that may have been lost due to bone loss. The ridge bone is a special type of bone surrounding and supporting your teeth. As soon as a tooth is removed, this bone begins to deteriorate and lose density due to breakdown from age or disease.

When a tooth is extracted, the procedure leaves behind a small hole where the tooth once was. This socket can be very sensitive at first, which is why your provider may recommend socket preservation to go along with your extraction.

A socket or alveolar ridge preservation procedure involves placing a bone graft into the socket, where the tooth once was. The goal of socket preservation is to improve the appearance of the remaining teeth and gums and to make the process of getting a dental implant at a later visit less complicated.

Soft tissue grafting is often necessary to combat gum recession. Periodontal disease, trauma, aging, over-brushing, and poor tooth positioning are the leading causes of gum recession, which can lead to tooth-root exposure in severe cases. Recent developments in dental technology have made soft tissue grafting more predictable and less intrusive.

Sometimes trauma, gum disease, cracked or broken teeth, and tooth decay can be too significant, and despite our best efforts to save the tooth, extractions may be the best option. Here at Family Dentistry of Short Pump, we will make the process as comfortable and pain-free as possible.