This is a particular branch related to extraction of teeth and other surgical procedures. Oral and maxillofacial surgery is a surgical process to treat many diseases, injuries and defects in the head, neck, face, jaws and the hard and soft tissues of the oral (mouth) and maxillofacial (jaws and face) region. It is an internationally recognized surgical speciality.
Oral Surgery
Third Molar Removal
Third molar, also known as wisdom tooth, usually appears at the age of 17 to 25. Third molars become impacted or ’come in sideways’. They are often extracted when this occurs.
Impacted wisdom teeth (i.e. those that have failed to erupt through the gum) fall into one of several categories: mesioangular, vertical, horizontal and distoangular.
Removal of cysts of the jaws
A cyst is a closed sac, having a distinct membrane and division, from the nearby tissue. It may contain air, fluid or semi-solid material. A collection of pus is called an abscess, not a cyst.
Symptoms
- Missing tooth
- Displacement & irregularity of the teeth
- Pathological fracture
- Pain & swelling, if infected
- Non-vital tooth
- Displacement of the denture
- Salty taste
Generally, cysts are diagnosed by X-rays, but may require biopsy, in which a small tissue is sent for examination to a pathologist or by taking fluid from the cyst and sending to the pathologist for examination.
Reasons for treatment
- Progressive increase in size
- Likely to get infected
- Constitute an area of weakness
- May result in pathological fracture
- To confirm the benign nature
- Encroachment on neighbouring structures
Operative Treatment Procedures
Removal of the entire cyst with closure or cavity packed open; decompression of the cystic cavity by making a small opening and evacuating the cystic content.