Frenectomy

Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania can perform a frenectomy to correct a number of issues patients may have with their teeth, lips, and tongue. A frenectomy can increase the range of motion of the tongue to allow a child to position the tongue normally in the palate, if they weren’t able to do so before. This surgery will also help improve eating habits and speaking, over time.

A frenectomy is a procedure to remove the frenum, or muscular attachment between two tissues, from the mouth. The frenum found between the front teeth (either upper or lower) connects the inner aspect of the lip with the gum. Removing this attachment is called a labial frenectomy. Patients who have receding gums can benefit from this procedure, because a strong frenum from the gum to the lip can cause extra pulling on the gums and lead to further recession.

Another frenum in your mouth is underneath your tongue, and removing this is called a lingual frenectomy.  Patients that have an enlarged frenum underneath their tongue will not be able to move their tongue freely, which can interfere with speech. Lingual frenectomies are typically performed on young patients, who can recover quickly and continue to develop their speech.

To learn more about frenectomies and all the services we provide at our practice, visit www.oralsurgerypa.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with one of our doctors at Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, call 215-463-4141.

 

Tooth Extractions

At Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania, we know finding out you need a tooth extracted is stressful. We want patients to feel comfortable and confident that an extraction is a standard procedure and they can expect the best care. Tooth extractions are performed for various reasons.  Some patients with advanced periodontal disease or serious decay to a tooth may need extractions. Teeth that are broken or impacted may also need to be removed.

During an extraction, the patient is numbed with anesthetic and should not feel pain.  The patient will only feel pressure around the tooth.  This pressure is from the tooth being rocked back and forth in its socket, in order to widen the socket and make removal easier. Some extractions may require sectioning the tooth. If a tooth has a curved root or a particularly tight socket, your doctor will cut the tooth into sections and remove each section rather than the entire tooth at once.

To learn more about extractions and all the services we provide at our practice, visit www.oralsurgerypa.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with one of our doctors at Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, call 215-463-4141.

Extracting Wisdom Teeth

The relative ease at which the Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania can extract your wisdom teeth depends on their position and their stage of development. Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars that most people get in their late teens or early twenties. Sometimes these teeth can be a valuable asset to the mouth when healthy and properly aligned, but more often, they are misaligned and require extraction.

Not all wisdom teeth need to be extracted, but sometimes the wisdom teeth cause pain. If there is swelling, infection or intense pain, then priority needs to be addressed to getting those wisdom teeth extracted as soon as possible. Wisdom teeth are often impacted. An impacted tooth is one that gets blocked as it is pushing through the gum into your mouth. An impacted tooth can be painless, but it can also lead to a bacterial infection.

If your wisdom teeth are impacted and causing you pain, give us a call today to discuss your treatment options. To learn more about the services we provide at our practice, visit www.oralsurgerypa.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with one of our doctors at Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, call 215-463-4141. 

Bone Graft for Dental Implants

If you’re missing one or more teeth and decide on dental implants to restore them, then you’re already on your way to a more aesthetically pleasing smile. For a successful implant surgery, you must have healthy gums and adequate bone to support the implant. If your bone is too thin or soft, you may require a bone graft. At Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania, we would like to explain this process.

Bone grafting is a safe and highly successful procedure that involves adding bone to the jaw. During the bone graft procedure, one of our surgeons may use a special bone grafting material and graft it into your jaw bone. This process is likely to take a few months because the transplanted bone needs to grow in order to support the dental implant that will be placed. Once the bone graft is complete, the rest of the implant surgery can proceed. In some cases, you may only need minor bone grafting which won’t take as long and can be completed during the same time as your implant surgery. Your oral surgeon is the one who will make the final decision on which type of bone graft you need.

To learn more about the services we provide at our practice, visit www.oralsurgerypa.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with one of our doctors at Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, call 215-463-4141. 

Computed Tomography

At the office of the Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania, our ability to provide patients with implants and maxillofacial surgery is thanks in large part to our computed tomography (CT) machine. This kind of x-ray allows us to observe bone tissue inside the patient’s body in fine detail and to create a 3-dimensional digital image to use with our software.

Older x-rays required a patient to hold film inside their mouth while a series of photographs were taken. That is not the case with a CT scanner. After the patient has removed jewelry and other metal objects from their person, they will clamp a bite adjuster with their front teeth and rest their chin on a ledge. The machine’s panels will then rotate around their head, taking an image from every possible angle. The scan process usually only takes twenty seconds, at most.

The CT scan can be done with very little preparation on the patient’s part and minimizes the amount of radiation they are exposed to. The information we gain from CT allows us to ensure patients are retaining jaw bone tissue following placement of implants, monitor the attempted eruption of teeth, and detect whether a bone graft or sinus ridge augmentation is necessary.

Drs. Ramin Braham and Brad Richman operate the Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania at 2546 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19145. To schedule an appointment, call 215-463-4141 or visit OralSurgeryPA.com and fill out a contact sheet.

Dry Mouth

Dry mouth is a common condition which complicates people’s oral health. To protect our patients at the Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania, we want them to be aware of how this common medication side-effect can hurt them and what they need to do about it.

The drugs which cause dry mouth include those used as part of chemotherapy, as well as medications used for mood disorders, high blood pressure, and pain. Therefore, dry mouth is most commonly seen in the elderly. Of course, smoking is also a major contributor. (Older people, especially women, are also at risk of developing an auto-immune disorder called Sjögren’s syndrome which causes dry mouth and eyes.) When the mouth isn’t producing enough saliva, patients have difficulty chewing and swallowing, which harms their nutrition. Food particles also tend to remain stuck, contributing to plaque build-up, and patients are less able to fight off bacterial infections which cause sores. A dry mouth also makes it difficult to get restful sleep.

If possible, patients may want to change medications. If this is not worth the tradeoff, there are products that can act as artificial saliva and additional medications which can make the mouth produce more moisture. Patients should also drink plenty of water and stop using caffeinated and sugary beverages which dry out the mouth faster.

Drs. Ramin Braham and Brad Richman operate the Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania at 2546 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19145. To schedule an appointment, call 215-463-4141 or visit OralSurgeryPA.com and fill out a contact sheet.

 

Exposure of an Impacted Tooth

When a tooth is impacted, this simply means that it is stuck underneath the gum and cannot erupt into function. This typically occurs with wisdom teeth and when they are impacted, this can lead to infection. Since wisdom teeth really have no use in the mouth, our doctors at the Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania recommend extraction. Various surgical techniques can be performed to uncover impacted teeth, but we will explain our most common.

The techniques involved to aid in eruption can be applied to any impacted tooth in the upper or lower jaw. If the patient is passed a certain age, the chances of the tooth erupting naturally are slim to none. Once dental x-rays have been taken, the location of the impacted tooth and the amount of gum surrounding it will determine the appropriate technique your oral surgeon will use. In a simple surgical procedure performed in our office, the gum on top of the impacted tooth will be lifted to expose the hidden tooth underneath. You can expect a limited amount of bleeding once the surgery is complete and we will provide you with thorough post-op instructions.

To learn more about the services we provide at our practice, visit www.oralsurgerypa.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with one of our doctors at Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, call 215-463-4141.