What does an oral and maxillofacial surgeon do?
Finding a solution to dental issues that cause facial, neck, and jaw complications is easy thanks to oral and maxillofacial surgeons. An oral and maxillofacial surgeon works to correct issues within the neck, face, and jaw. Any defects or diseases within these areas can be expertly treated and corrected with the help of the right surgeon.
Oral and maxillofacial surgery is recognized as one of the nine specialties of dentistry by the American Dental Association. Hence, it is a reliable option for those dealing with a wide spectrum of issues that cause facial, neck, or jaw problems.
What Do Oral And Maxillofacial Surgeons Do?
Being a specialty variation of dentistry, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon has a lot to achieve before they can perform treatments on patients. As well as learning about their journey, here is some information on what they do during facial and oral surgery and how they can help.
School And Further Training
An oral and maxillofacial surgeon will attend dental school just like any other dentist. Yet, after completing their degree, they will move on to attain specialist training for four years. All specialists will train alongside experts in an American Dental Association-accredited hospital-based residency program.
During this training, the students will learn about internal medicine, general surgery, plastic surgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, and otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat). Attaining this extensive knowledge will ensure that they are prepared for all types of surgery that they will go on to perform.
They will specialize in training for hard and soft tissue areas – including the face, mouth, neck, and jaw.
What They Can Treat
After training and qualifying, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon can help treat the following conditions:
Orthognathic Surgery
Corrective jaw surgery, or orthognathic surgery, can be treated by an oral and maxillofacial specialist.
This can help to correct minor and major skeletal irregularities, which could happen in the upper and lower jaw, as well as the chin.
Surgery on these areas can improve chewing, realign the teeth, and also help with daily necessities such as speaking and breathing.
Wisdom Teeth
Should someone experience issues when their wisdom teeth come through, then they might require surgery to remove them.
Tooth decay and infections can be a result of erupted or impacted wisdom teeth. To treat these issues or prevent them from happening, a specialist can help.
Cleft Palate
A cleft lip or palate occurs when the mouth and nasal cavity do not grow together how they should. An oral and maxillofacial surgeon can correct this, which can help with correcting speech, hearing, and eating – all issues that can occur with a cleft palate.
Other facial treatments an oral and maxillofacial can offer include:
Facial trauma - injury to the mouth, jaw, and face can be fixed, such as fractures.
Temporomandibular surgery (TMJ) - to correct jaw functioning.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons can also help to treat oral cancer and work on dental implants.
Graff Orthodontics is happy to provide these services to our patients. To request an appointment, you can book online or call our team at (505) 327-4884.