Many procedures are carried out on a daily basis inside our dental practice. A majority of these procedures are minor oral surgeries, as opposed to major oral surgeries which include treatment and reconstructive surgery for oral cancer, skeletal correction and neck trauma to name but a few.
Minor oral surgery procedures include the following:
- Simple extractions of the root or the whole tooth, where no soft tissue or bone removal is required.
- Surgical extractions of the root or the whole tooth, where soft tissue alone, or with bone, has to be removed to gain access to the root or tooth.
- Operculectomy. This is the surgical removal of the gingival flap overlying a partially erupted tooth.
- Alveolectomy. This is the surgical adjustment and removal of bone spicules from the alveolar ridge after tooth extraction, to produce a smooth base for denture seating.
- Gingivectomy and gingivoplasty. This is periodontal soft tissue surgery, aimed at adjusting the shape of the gingivae to aid oral hygiene measures.
- Periodontal flap surgery. This is the surgical raising and replacing of periodontal flaps, to enable subgingival debridement to be carried out.
- Soft tissue biopsies. This is the partial or complete removal of soft tissue oral lesions, for pathological investigation and diagnosis.
Most patients find these surgical procedures to be worrying or unnerving. That is because these types of procedures tend to involve bleeding and possible postoperative pain. To ensure that our patients are comfortable and at ease in our practice, we offer sedatives before any minor or major oral surgery.