Oral surgery and digital radiography
What is an oral surgeon?
Oral surgery encompasses all of the physical operations that help improve your teeth, for example, extracting wisdom teeth or pulling teeth that are too damaged to be restored. Clinique Dentaire Richard Landry offers superior-quality oral surgery services in Montreal, as well as digital radiography, which not only emits 90-percent less radiation than traditional x-rays but also displays an instantaneous on-screen image so the patient can better understand the diagnosis.
Wisdom teeth
As a result of evolution and a softer diet than that of our prehistoric ancestors, 89 percent of the current population’s wisdom teeth are extracted. There’s often a lack of space in the jawbone to accommodate the volume of these teeth.
Wisdom teeth normally appear between the ages of 18 and 25. Most people have four, while some may have fewer or perhaps none at all. They may emerge only partially or they may be impacted or poorly positioned, resulting in a proliferation of bacteria that can lead to infections and cavities, especially in the lower teeth.
When there’s insufficient room for the wisdom teeth, it’s preferable to have them extracted by an oral surgeon in Montreal to prevent any potential problems. Because of their position, they’re especially difficult to clean.
We recommend the following:
- Have regular checkups with your dentist starting at age 16.
- Following extraction of your wisdom teeth by an oral surgeon, to ensure that the wound heals properly, stay on a liquid diet for the next four to six hours. For the next week, eat soft foods that are either lukewarm or cold.
- Maintain good oral hygiene without directly brushing the area where the extraction occurred.
- You shouldn’t smoke for at least one week before the surgery and two weeks afterwards.
- Avoid alcohol and other possible irritants.
- For one week following the extraction, avoid exercising vigorously or lowering your head excessively
Tooth extractions
At the office of your dentist in Montreal, having a tooth pulled can be simple. If the teeth are visible and aren’t excessively damaged by cavities, the dentist can extract them easily and without complications. After applying a topical gel to numb the injection site, the practitioner will administer a local anesthetic.
Surgical extractions (oral surgery)
If a dentist can’t extract a tooth using traditional methods, an oral surgeon will have to extract it surgically. This may be necessary because the tooth is difficult to access, the roots may be divergent or curved (in the case of molars) or the tooth may be heavily damaged by cavities. After applying a deep local anesthetic, the practitioner will make an incision in your gum to expose the bone and extract the tooth.
Once the oral surgeon in Montreal has removed the tooth, the area will generally bleed for 3 to 4 minutes, although there may be some bleeding for up to 48 hours following the procedure. You can usually control it by applying cotton gauze or a tea bag (as the tannin in tea helps reduce bleeding) to the site of the extraction and biting down on it for approximately 30 minutes to exert gentle pressure on the wound. We advise sleeping with an extra pillow for the next 48 hours.
There may be some mild temporary swelling and, with time, a slight change in the color of your face. You can reduce the swelling by applying ice wrapped in a wet cloth for 10 minutes at a time, every hour during the first 2 days following the extraction.
To help with the pain, you can take anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen (one tablet every 4 to 6 hours, not to exceed 3,200 mg per day). If the pain persists, you can add a pain reliever like acetaminophen (500 mg, 1 to 2 tablets every 4 to 6 hours, not to exceed 4 grams per day for a maximum of 1 week).
Risk of infection following oral surgery
If necessary, the practitioner may administer an antibiotic after performing the extraction.
NAvoid spitting for the first 24 hours; otherwise, the blood clot can become dislodged from the bone cavity, making the area extremely sensitive. After this, you can rinse out your mouth three to four times a day with a glass of water with a pinch of salt.
You should be on the lookout for the following:
If you’re a smoker, you may face potential complications because smoking reduces the number of blood vessels, as well as the number of cells that can defend you against bacteria.
If you’re undergoing or have recently undergone chemotherapy or radiation treatments or if you’re taking medication for osteoporosis, you should avoid extractions.
Digital radiography at Clinique Dentaire Richard Landry in Montreal
Before extracting teeth in Montreal, the practitioner must take x-rays in order to view the form of the roots and the proximity of the extraction zone to nearby nerve structures. Clinique Dentaire Richard Landry in Montreal offers digital radiography, which emits 90-percent less radiation than traditional x-rays. In fact, you’re exposed to more radiation each day from the sun than you’ll receive from digital radiography.
It offers an instantaneous on-screen image so you can better understand your diagnosis. The amount of radiation you’d receive from one conventional x-ray is equivalent to what you’d receive from nine digital x-rays. Furthermore, there’s only a fifteen-minute wait for development and there’s less pollution to the water supply resulting from discarded developing and fixing solution.
Digital imaging also enables us to detect cavities before they reach the nerve and become painful. It’s preferable to have regular x-rays taken at your dentist’s office in Montreal to prevent problems that could eventually necessitate more costly treatments, such as root canals, crowns and extractions. Catching problems earlier makes it easier and less expensive to treat them.
