Oral Surgery May Be Necessary As Part of Your Orthodontics Procedure

We perform oral surgery for patients with a variety of oral health concerns. What many people don't realize is that when getting an orthodontics treatment, surgery is often part of the overall process. When straightening your teeth, there are multiple aspects that we need to address. In our Placentia office, we can help you to straighten your teeth with a smile makeover or work with your orthodontics provider to address any challenges that they are unable to correct.

The procedure is different for each patient

In order to understand why it helps to understand what we must address when using orthodontics to straighten teeth. First, we must move the teeth into position. If the patient has crooked teeth, gaps between the teeth or teeth growing behind other teeth, braces or aligners can typically move them into position. Before doing so, however, there must be enough room in the mouth for all of the teeth. At times, we must expand the palate using an oral appliance.

As a provider of oral surgery, we often work with orthodontics offices when a tooth is simply not responding to braces or aligners. There are times where certain teeth simply are not moving into position and in this situation, the only choice is to leave the tooth intact or replace it with a dental implant. An implant functions like a natural tooth and by securing a titanium post into the jawbone, it will behave like one as well.

In fact, the body will think that the post is a natural root due to the process of osseointegration. While we typically do not recommend replacing teeth for no reason, if the patient undergoes years of orthodontics, leaving one crooked tooth can be beyond frustrating. If this happens, we can finish the process by replacing the tooth with a straight and beautiful one.

We can correct a large number of oral health issues

The second aspect of straightening teeth involves correcting the jaw. If the patient has a misaligned jaw, it will negatively influence the smile and even the facial appearance. For example, if the patient has a severe overbite, underbite or crossbite, it will not matter how straight the teeth are since the entire appearance will be affected. We can often align the bite with an orthodontics provider using oral appliances. This is a non-invasive method and by using things like rubber bands strung from an upper to lower bracket, the jaw can start to move into position. However, if the jaw is too far misaligned, it may not respond to oral appliances, creating the need for oral surgery.

Correcting your jaw is more important than simply improving your appearance. A misaligned jaw, can place undue pressure onto your teeth and cause damage, irritation, and even headaches. For this reason, many people will seek to correct their jaw and oral health issues, regardless of whether or not they like their smile. As an oral surgeon, we can examine your mouth and provide a recommendation for the steps you should take to correct your smile.