To provide our patients with the best care available, we use the Galileos 3D Cone Beam Scanner. A high efficiency scan with the lowest radiation does and the quality that rivals a hospital CT Scan. We provide this cutting edge technology in house as a service to our Patients. Patients can now conveniently learn if they are a good candidate for implants without traveling to an outside imaging center.
Wisdom Teeth Extraction
Wisdom teeth may become a problem for you as they grow and develop in each corner of your mouth. Since development normally spans several years, problems often develop gradually. Nevertheless, these gradual changes can cause sudden and severe pain. Understanding why such things can happen may help you to deal with such problems, or better still, to encourage you to take preventive measures before they occur. And the primary preventive measure for wisdom teeth is removal, preferably at an early stage.
The jawbone grows to approximately its adult size by your late teens. Unfortunately, that size is often too small to hold developing wisdom teeth. This happens because our jaws are smaller than those of early humans, who needed large jaws and more teeth for their tougher diet.
Bone Grafting
Bone grafting can repair implant sites with inadequate bone structure due to previous extractions, gum disease or injuries. The bone is either obtained from a tissue bank or your own bone is taken from the jaw, hip or tibia (below the knee.) Sinus bone grafts are also performed to replace bone in the posterior upper jaw. In addition, special membranes may be utilized that dissolve under the gum and protect the bone graft and encourage bone regeneration. This is called guided bone regeneration or guided tissue regeneration.
Major bone grafts are typically performed to repair defects of the jaws. These defects may arise as a result of traumatic injuries, tumor surgery, or congenital defects. Large defects are repaired using the patient’s own bone. This bone is harvested from a number of different sites depending on the size of he defect. The skull (cranium), hip (iliac crest), and lateral knee (tibia), are common donor sites. These procedures are routinely performed in an operating room and require a hospital stay.
Impacted Cuspid
A Wisdom tooth may grow toward your other teeth or away from them, or even in horizontal or vertical positions. When such conditions occur, it’s far simpler and less painful to have them removed early, before they have a chance to firmly anchor in your jaw as the teeth grow and the roots lengthen.
Not everyone has problems with their wisdom teeth. Factors that determine whether you will have problems include the size of your jaw and how your wisdom teeth grow in. There may be pain and swelling, or you may have no symptoms at all, even though the other teeth in your mouth may be at risk of damage. In addition to actual pain, common problems caused by wisdom teeth can include gum disease, crowding, decay, poor position, and cysts.
Since it is not practical for most people to evaluate how their wisdom teeth are developing, the best approach is to visit your dentist or an oral surgeon such as Dr. Ochs for an evaluation. He will review your dental history, take dental X-rays, and perform an examination to determine the general health of your mouth and the condition of your wisdom teeth. If a problem with your wisdom teeth is detected, he may recommend surgery to remove them and eliminate or avoid any unpleasant symptoms. Early removal is best for most patients, as it usually helps to avoid much more serious problems later on.
Oral Pathology
The inside of the mouth is normally lined with a special type of skin (mucosa) that is smooth and coral pink in color. Any alteration in this appearance could be a warning sign for a pathological process. The most serious of these is oral cancer. The following can be signs at the beginning of a pathologic process or cancerous growth:
- Reddish patches (erythroplasia) or whitish patches (leukoplakia) in the mouth
- A sore that fails to heal and bleeds easily
- A lump or thickening on the skin lining the inside of the mouth
- Chronic sore throat or hoarseness
- Difficulty in chewing or swallowing
These changes can be detected on the lips, cheeks, palate and gum tissue around the teeth, tongue, face and/or neck. Pain does not always occur with pathology, and curiously, is not often associated with oral cancer. However, any patient with facial and/or oral pain without an obvious cause or reason may also be at risk for oral cancer. We would recommend performing an oral cancer self-examination monthly and remember that your mouth is one of your body’s most important warning systems. Do not ignore suspicious lumps or sores. Please contact us so we may help.
IV Sedations
Drugs are given through an intravenous catheter to create a state of deep relaxation and amnesia. The patient is free of anxiety, looses the sense of time, and has no memory of the procedure. This is an excellent modality for an extremely apprehensive patient for any dental procedure or a patient undergoing a surgical procedure, such as implant surgery. During the procedure the patient is continually monitored with EKG, carbon dioxide, automatic blood pressure, and oxygen saturation levels. The patient cannot drive after this procedure. This is an in-office procedure.
A large segment of our population is apprehensive about having dental procedures performed. Through conscious sedation for a dental procedure, an apprehensive patient can be treated in a relaxed way, allowing their oral health care to be completed. Conscious sedation also allows a lower stress level to be achieved for the medically compromised patient. Drs Ochs and Dr Dourmas have completed the academic requirements and has received certification from New York State to deliver conscious IV sedation in our office.
