Why We Suggest Extractions

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Have you recently found out that you need a general extraction to protect your smile? If so, you may feel a bit surprised that the removal of your tooth is the best solution – perhaps there’s some restorative option that will allow you to keep your tooth, you may think to yourself. We understand your concern and would like to shed some light on extractions. First, keep in mind that we make conservative treatment suggestions and will always strive to assist in saving your tooth. However, your oral health and comfort are our top priority. In some cases, an extraction is the best option for achieving these goals. To find out more about why we suggest the removal of your tooth, take the following information into consideration:

Protecting Your Smile

In some cases, your tooth may become highly problematic and a threat to surrounding teeth and gums. For instance, imagine you have an infected tooth. The tooth itself will become extremely uncomfortable. When neglected, the tooth may abscess and the infection may leave its isolated area and spread to nearby tissues. The result will include widespread damage requiring complex, costly treatment. To protect your smile, we will remove the tooth with a general extraction, which may prevent serious damage, while returning you to comfort.

Prepping For Orthodontic Treatment

Do you have overcrowded teeth or another type of malocclusion requiring orthodontic treatment? If so, your personalized care plan may require the removal of teeth to make room to properly align your teeth.

Addressing Significant Damage

Have you broken your tooth? Perhaps you bit down on something that resulted in breakage. Some patients may suffer from significant tooth decay that leaves a tooth in serious condition too dire for a filling, crown, or other treatment. If your tooth is too damaged or unhealthy to remain standing on its own or with the coverage of a crown, we may suggest an extraction. Then, we will discuss tooth replacement solutions to restore your smile. 

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Digital X-Rays: Reasons To Get Excited

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The idea of visiting us for an exam may not be the first thing you come up with when you prioritize your list of fun activities for the day. However, when you get down to the specifics of what you can expect from your dental care with us, you may find yourself feeling a bit more enthusiastic than you had expected. Fortunately, we offer digital X-rays for efficient visits in addition to a host of other benefits. Perhaps you have wondered what makes digital imaging so different when compared with conventional X-rays you may have experienced in the past. Ready to learn a bit more? Consider the following information:

Exciting Aspects of Digital X-Rays

  1. They’re Safer For You Than Conventional X-Rays. Does the emission of radiation from conventional X-rays make you nervous? Choosing digital means you can enjoy a greatly reduced exposure to radiation – typically less than half the amount of radiation than you experience with conventional imaging, to be more specific.
  2. They’re Better For The Environment, Too. Conventional X-rays require a lot of physical material, including chemicals to process the images as well as film. Digital X-rays simply require the use of computers, which means little to no waste for a much more environmentally conscious approach to imaging.
  3. You Can Expect Greater Efficiency. Digital X-rays rely on electronic sensors. Capturing the details of your oral cavity is quite quick. We will almost instantly upload the images to our computer system. This means the process of having your X-rays taken is faster and more comfortable for a more efficient visit.
  4. We Can Enjoy Greater Efficiency, Too. We will be able to pull up your digital X-rays on a computer screen, while using special software to zoom in and manipulate the images. This improves our ability to diagnose concerns, explain your structures, and complete precise case planning.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

I Have A Bump – What Do I Do?

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We encourage you to visit us once every six months, so we can keep a close watch on your oral health. This will allow us to detect problems as they arise and often well before you even notice something is not quite right. However, if you notice a bump in your mouth, we urge you to visit us for oral pathology services. With our trained eye and advanced technology, we can efficiently and accurately determine the cause of your sore, while creating a customized treatment plan if you need one. Save yourself the frustration and visit us the moment you recognize a change for an improved ability to prevent long-term damage.

Do You Have A Sore?

We refer to the lesions or sores you’re seeing as “oral pathology.” This term includes diseases that occur within your mouth – or oral cavity – that may also affect surrounding structures like your jaws. A lesion may be accompanied by pain or may feel completely comfortable. Neither points definitively to whether the sore is or is not something to cause concern. A sore may occur in your mouth as one of a wide variety of types, potentially including:

  • An ulcer – or a raw tissue area
  • A red lesion
  • A white lesion
  • Lumps
  • A swollen area

Visit Us For Oral Pathology Services

A bump, lump, lesion, cyst, or other sore may be completely harmless – or, it may be the symptom of an underlying problem. Rather than attempting to self-diagnose or causing yourself unnecessary stress, it’s important that you visit us for a professional diagnosis. We will thoroughly examine your mouth and ask questions about your health – your exam may include digital imaging. We may also take a biopsy of the sore. The sooner you visit us, the quicker we may determine the cause of your sore. Early detection allows us to provide you with necessary treatment before an issue progresses, yielding a wonderful success rate.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Anesthesia: How To Choose?

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An uneasiness about scheduling your dental appointment is not something you should feel the need to hide. In fact, we encourage you to let us know how you’re feeling, so we may accommodate your needs. Whether you are visiting us to plan your dental implants, for oral surgery, or for any other service, your comfort is of the utmost importance. To ensure you feel relaxed every step of the way, we offer anesthesia options to our patients. Ready to learn more about how you can avoid anxiety, while enjoying a truly tranquil visit? Discover more with the following:

Your Anesthesia Options

Your anesthesia options are diverse, spanning from “laughing gas” to take the edge off of your nerves all the way to general sedation for the deepest form of relaxation available. Wondering what your options include? Look over the following list and accompanying explanations for a better understanding:

  • Local Anesthesia: This includes a numbing agent that we will gently inject at the target site to numb your tissues.
  • Nitrous Oxide: Often referred to as “laughing gas” because of the euphoric effect it often has on patients, this sedation solution is also known as “nitrous oxide.” Safe for most patients, we will administer nitrous through a mask that we place comfortably over your nose. You will simply breathe as usual and quickly enjoy the relaxing effects.
  • Oral Sedation: Like it sounds, this anesthesia option is administered by mouth. You will take an anti-anxiety pill by mouth, such as Valium or Ativan, to relax your nervous system. You can expect to feel a bit groggy and quite tranquil throughout your visit.
  • IV Sedation: This is the deepest form of sedation we offer, commonly known as “general sedation.” We will administer the sedative intravenously through a tiny needle placed into the back of your hand or your arm. You will remain conscious but may forget a good portion of your visit once the medicine is out of your system.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Correcting Jaw Balance with Orthognathic Surgery

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The significance of balance is paramount throughout many aspects of your dental health. If your teeth are not straight, then they can cause problems with your whole bite’s alignment, which in turn can lead to a host of subsequent issues, like tooth damage. If your jaw is out of alignment, then the consequences can be more pronounced and more serious than crooked teeth. If not treated, you may require orthognathic surgery to correct your jaw’s symmetry and improve your smile’s function and appearance.

What is Orthognathic Surgery?

Orthognathic surgery is essentially corrective jaw surgery. Depending on the case, it may mean fixing an issue that disrupts your bite’s symmetry, correcting abnormalities resulting from an injury, or treating obstructive sleep apnea. Often, an imbalanced jawbone can noticeably affect the rest of your facial features, and orthognathic surgery may help improve your overall appearance by restoring harmony to your oral health.

Reasons for Jawbone Imbalances

Jawbone deformities are often congenital, meaning they are present even before birth. Even if you were born with a strong, healthy, even jawbone, however, you might experience a number of situations that could call for corrective jaw surgery, such as;

  • A serious injury that has broken or fractured your jaw
  • Deterioration in your jawbone, either from an oral disease or as a consequence of tooth loss
  • TMJ disorder is present, and is too complicated to alleviate through general dentistry measures

The Benefits of Orthognathic Surgery

Once your jawbone is corrected, you may enjoy a number of benefits to your quality of life, including a more appealing smile and more symmetrical structures around it. If you haven’t already developed more serious subsequent issues, then your risks for doing so will decrease, and your bite’s function will improve significantly.

ABOUT YOUR ROHNERT PARTK ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the experts at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery are ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles across the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Understanding Oral Pathology – Oral Cancer

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In the realm of dental surgery, oral pathology describes detecting, treating, and educating patients on serious oral health concerns – one of the most significant being oral cancer. As experts in complex oral health issues, we help explain the importance of oral pathology, particularly oral cancer detection, and how it can help you overcome the long-lasting effects of oral diseases on your overall health.

Oral Cancer

Oral cancer is a collective term that can involve cancer of the lips, gums, tongue, and other mouth tissues, and is part of a larger group of illnesses described as head and neck cancers. Though they differ in the area they affect, oral cancers are typically treated in the same manner, and share many similar risk factors, including tobacco use, too much sun exposure on your lips, and the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV), among many others. The exact causes are unclear, but the early warning signs are often easily identifiable, although sometimes hard to detect without a professional examination.

What You Can Do

During a regular dental checkup appointment, your general dentist will carefully inspect your oral cavity for signs of oral cancer and other abnormalities. Routine oral cancer screenings improve your chances of detecting the disease early, which in turn improves your chances of successful treatment, if treatment becomes necessary. As oral surgeons, we can also perform biopsies on suspicious tissues to more accurately diagnose oral cancer. In the meantime, however, you should also perform a self-screening at least every month by checking for signs of trouble, such as red or white patches, lumps, growths, sores, or rough areas on your tongue, cheeks, or roof/floor of your mouth.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Are Dental Implants a Necessity?

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When you lose a tooth, or several of them, you might realize that replacing them is necessary to restore your bite’s function, not to mention your smile’s healthy, youthful appearance. However, you might not realize the necessity of securing your replacement teeth to an appropriate number of dental implants. Because your teeth consist of more than just the crowns that reside above your gums, prosthetics that only replace these crowns cannot fully restore your lost tooth/teeth’s functions. The point of dental implants is to provide the stability that your dental crown, partial denture, or full denture will need to more closely mimic your healthy, natural teeth.

What a Tooth Consists Of

Underneath your gum tissues, the root of a tooth extends into your jawbone, anchored into a socket and held in place with the help of strong periodontal tissues. The root’s purpose is two-fold; to supply the tooth’s nerves and tissues with nutrients, and to stabilize the tooth as it’s exposed to the pressures of biting and chewing.

What Dental Implants Provide

When a tooth root is lost and the socket in your jawbone is left empty, the bone becomes reabsorbed so that your body can utilize its minerals and nutrients elsewhere. Over time, the lack of a root to stimulate the jaw can lead to bone degradation, which in turn can lead to further tooth loss. In addition to stabilizing your dental crown or denture, dental implants also provide the stimulation that your jawbone thrives on, thereby helping it maintain a healthy supply of nutrition.

Tailoring Implant Placement to Your Needs

Each dental implant is created as a single post. The number of implants you require will depend on several factors, including how many teeth you’ve lost and how large your prosthesis is. For instance, a single dental implant capped with a crown can be utilized to replace a single lost tooth. If you require a partial denture or complete denture, we can recommend the optimal number of implants after evaluating the state of your jaw and oral health.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA, ORAL SURGEON:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Questions About Bone Grafting

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Jawbone grafting describes a variety of surgical techniques designed to strengthen the upper and/or lower jawbone, often in preparation for dental implant placement. By adding density and volume to the bone, your jaw can better support the implant posts and the restoration attached to them. However, bone grafting does more than prepare your jaw for implant placement; the procedure improves the structural integrity of your smile, reducing your risks of further oral health problems in the future.

What is bone grafting?

The point of a bone graft is to add bone, or a biocompatible bone-like material, to your maxilla (upper jawbone), mandible (lower jawbone), or both. In most cases, it is preferable to utilize your own bone, such as from your chin or other area of your body. Donor bone and synthetic bone materials can also be utilized as an alternative.

How can a jawbone graft help me?

A stronger, denser jawbone is beneficial for many reasons, though you may not realize you need one until you’ve been examined by an oral surgeon. If you’ve suffered from severe gum disease, or if you’ve lost a significant amount of teeth, then your jawbone may have deteriorated, which can lead to further tooth loss and a sunken appearance in your surrounding facial features. Bone grafting may also be recommended if;

  • You have a congenital jaw deformity (meaning you were born with the condition)
  • You suffer a certain type of crack or break in your jawbone
  • You still retain your natural teeth, but the bone around them has grown weak and you are at risk of losing one or more of them

Are bone grafts and sinus lifts the same thing?

Though bone grafting is a broad and general term, a sinus lift is performed particularly on your upper jawbone, or maxilla. Thinner than the mandible, the maxilla may not have sufficient room between the bone and the maxillary sinuses that rest above it. A sinus lift involves “lifting” the sinus floor so we can graft bone to the maxilla, making it longer, wider, and stronger.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA, ORAL SURGEON:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

What are Wisdom Teeth?

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Wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, often require removal once we enter adulthood. What are wisdom teeth? What dangers do they pose to our smile? Our team can help you preserve the health and beauty of your smile by extracting your third molars before they erupt.

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Quiz: Who Qualifies for Dental Implants?

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Do you have missing teeth? A recent study conducted by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons shows that 69% of patients between the ages of 35 and 44 have lost at least 1 permanent tooth. When you lose a tooth you develop an increased risk of further tooth loss, misalignment, and other oral health concerns. In order to replace missing teeth we may recommend dental implants.

Who qualifies for dental implants?

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