Surgical Orthodontics
How Surgical Orthodontics Can Help
Because children’s bones are still developing and their issues can often be addressed with less invasive treatments such as wearing an appliance or headgear, jaw surgery is most often performed on adults. However, assisted eruption procedures are most typically performed on children. This type of procedure is commonly performed to uncover impacted canine teeth so that they can emerge successfully into the dental arch. To learn more, or to find out if surgical orthodontics is right for your or your child’s smile, please contact our practice to schedule a complimentary consultation with our trusted orthodontist, Dr. Warren.
LEARN ABOUT JAW SURGERY
Jaw surgery, also known as orthognathic surgery, may be needed if your oral health or appearance is affected by problems that cannot be corrected through more conservative orthodontic treatment alone. This type of surgery can correct abnormalities in the teeth, jaws, or facial bones and is generally performed by a qualified oral surgeon. Dr. Warren and his team will work closely with your oral surgeon to complete jaw surgery when it is recommended. Because moving the jaws also moves the teeth, Dr. Warren may also recommend wearing braces as part of your treatment to ensure that your teeth remain in their correct positions throughout the process.
It is especially important to receive care for jaw alignment problems if you are suffering from difficulties with speaking, chewing, eating, or sleeping. If you are suffering from any of these issues, we encourage you to contact our practice to schedule a consultation appointment with Dr. Warren so that he can carefully assess your condition and determine if jaw surgery is recommended for you. In addition to making daily activities easier and more comfortable for you, jaw surgery can help to improve your appearance, restore your confidence, and increase your self-esteem.
Assisted Eruption of Impacted Teeth
Permanent teeth that are trapped below the gums by bone or soft tissue and are unable to grow into the mouth are considered to be impacted. Wisdom teeth and canines are the most commonly impacted teeth, but incisors, premolars, and molars are all vulnerable to impaction.
A tooth can become impacted by the following reasons:
- Overcrowding or the presence of extra teeth
- Lack of normal adult teeth
- Abnormal growths in the oral cavity that block the teeth
Dr. Warren and his experienced team work closely with your oral surgeon to complete treatment for impacted teeth with a process called assisted eruption. This technique is used to carefully guide impacted teeth into their proper positions.
HOW DOES ASSISTED ERUPTION WORK?
The first step in the process is seeing Dr. Warren for your braces treatment. The braces create room for the impacted tooth to move into its correct position. We then work closely with your oral surgeon or periodontist to perform the surgical procedure to expose the trapped tooth. This is done by surgically moving the overlying gum and/or bone tissue that is covering the impacted tooth. Once that is complete, Dr. Warren uses your braces to anchor the impacted tooth and move it into place very gently over time using a small orthodontic bracket and chain that is attached to the newly uncovered impacted tooth.
WHY WOULD I NEED ASSISTED ERUPTION OF AN IMPACTED TOOTH?
Several complications can arise from untreated impacted teeth, such as
- Jaw pain
- Shifting or crowding of teeth
- Root damage of adjacent teeth
- Tooth loss
- Infection
- Misalignment of the teeth (also called malocclusion)
We encourage you to contact our Springville, Utah, practice to learn more about how the Warren Orthodontics team works closely with your partnering specialist on completing treatment using surgical orthodontics, such as orthognathic surgery/jaw correction surgery or procedures such as the assisted eruption of impacted teeth. Please feel free to ask us any questions you may have about these treatments or any of the services we offer at our practice—we are always happy to help!