When do you need to consult a dental surgeon?

If you are suffering from any of the conditions below, then you probably need dental surgery:

Impacted Teeth
The most dreaded wisdom teeth, or the third molars, are the last set of teeth that develops. Different kinds of problems can be caused by wisdom teeth not growing as it should. If you are lucky, they will emerge in an area where there is enough room for them to grow on. However, oftentimes, one or even more of these molars emerge at the wrong place, causing improper alignment. Worse, it can become impacted or entrapped between the gum tissue and the jawbone, causing pain, swelling and infection. Aside from the wisdom teeth, your cuspids, bicuspids and other teeth can also become impacted for a variety of reasons. Impacted teeth can also cause permanent damage to neighboring teeth, the bone, and gums, and can even lead to the formation of tumors or cysts that may destroy parts of the jaw. People who suffer from impacted teeth would most definitely need oral surgery before the condition worsens.

Tooth Loss
If you lose your teeth due to injury, accident, infection or oral problems, dental implants can be your best solution. Unlike dentures, implants are artificial tooth substitutes attached dentally by anchoring the tooth in place in the jawbone. Implants are best for those in good general and oral health.

Unequal Jaw Growth
For some people, the lower and upper jaw fails to grow properly. This can cause trouble in eating, speaking, and swallowing, even in breathing. While improper teeth alignment can be solved by orthodontic braces, more serious cases will need oral surgery to correct the jaw and position it properly to keep it balanced and more functional.

Denture Fitting Purposes
Some first time denture wearers need dental surgery to correct irregularities in the jaw to make sure that the dentures will fit well. Dental surgery may also be required for those who have worn dentures for a while due to deterioration of the supporting bone structures. In serious cases, bone grafting may need to be done on areas where there is only little bone left.

Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
Hard as it may be to pronounce, this dental dysfunction occurs in many people. When you have a TMJ disorder, the tiny joint located near the front of your ear where the lower jaw and skull meet, becomes a source of facial pain and headaches. Although physical therapy, splints and oral medication can treat the problem, advanced cases would need joint dental surgery.

Other Conditions
Aside from those mentioned, there are yet more conditions that can be treated by oral surgery. This includes repair of cleft lip or cleft palate, repairs for facial injury such as fractured jaws and facial bones, facial infections, and even sleep apnea or snoring.

If you are suffering from any of the conditions mentioned above, it is best that you consult with a dentist or dental surgeon. It is best to pay attention to even the slightest problem while they are still manageable.