Midwest Oral Maxillofacial Surgery

Consultation

It is generally a good idea to request a consultation appointment. This allows you extra time to better understand your planned surgery. You can become familiar with our staff, physical plant and feel more comfortable with your future treatment. A consultation is mandatory if you have multiple or serious medical problems.

Often we have to contact your physician to see if you will need any special precautions prior to your treatment. If you need extensive oral surgical procedures a consultation is necessary. You should also request this appointment if you have a lot of questions about your surgery, costs, or need a cost pre-estimate for insurance purposes.

While most of our patients are referred by dentists, physicians and hospitals, the ultimate complement is when a new patient comes to us at the recommendation of someone we have already treated. If you’d like, you are welcome to contact us directly, even without a referral. 

Anesthesia

At Midwest Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery we offer a variety of anesthetic options to make your visits as comfortable and relaxing as possible.

Local Anesthesia:
If you choose to have a local anesthetic your mouth is numbed with a dental injection, just like at your dentist. Topical anesthetic is placed in your mouth, prior to the injection, to minimize injection discomfort. Once you are numb you should feel no sharp pain, but you will feel pressure and hear noises. You will be fully aware of your surroundings.

Laughing Gas/Nitrous Oxide:
If you have a local anesthetic with nitrous oxide, laughing gas, you cannot have anything to eat or drink for four hours prior to your appointment. You must also have a driver to take you home. You may take any medications you normally take with a sip of water. Laughing gas is administered through a mask placed over your nose. The laughing gas helps to relax you and sometimes makes you less aware of your surroundings. You still feel pressure and hear noises.

Sedation/General Anesthesia:
If you decide to have a sedation/general anesthetic you cannot have anything to eat or drink for eight hours prior to your appointment. You must also have a driver to take you home. You can take your normal medications, except diabetic medications, with a sip of water. With this procedure you should have no or minimal awareness of your surgical procedure, depending on the level of anesthetic. The anesthetic is administered through an intravenous line, like a blood test through the skin. With some small children the anesthetic is administered through an intramuscular injection into the arm or the thigh. If you are nervous about these injections, laughing gas can be administered first.

Additionally, oral sedatives can be prescribed prior to your appointment if you are nervous. We require that you take these medications at our office 45 minutes prior to your appointment.

If you have severe medical problems you may not be able to have the laughing gas or sedation/general anesthetic.
If you have any questions contact us.

Tooth Extraction

You may need to have teeth removed for a variety of reasons; dental decay, gum disease, trauma, a tumor or cyst in the surrounding bone, a cracked tooth or failed root canal treatment.

Sometimes teeth can be removed easily, a simple extraction. At other times it is necessary to reflect the gum tissue away, surgically divide the tooth, and or remove bone. This is a surgical extraction. If you are to get partial or complete dentures we also smooth the bone surrounding extraction sites so that there are no sharp spots. Sometimes those areas may still heal sharp and about a month later we have to repeat this bone smoothing procedure.

Regardless we will do everything in our power to make this procedure as pain free and pleasant for you as we can. If your have any questions please contact us.

Wisdom Teeth

The average adult has 32 teeth. Unfortunately, most of us only room for 28 teeth in our mouth. The last teeth to erupt in your mouth, the molars farthest back in your upper and lower jaw, are the wisdom teeth. Due to our small mouths, wisdom teeth may remain under the gum tissue, impacted teeth, or only partially erupt or grow in sideways.

There are a variety of problems that can occur with retained wisdom teeth. Cysts or tumors can grow around wisdom teeth and destroy bone. The gum between the second and third molars can become infected and cause pain, jaw stiffness and swelling. If the wisdom tooth grows sideways into the second molar it can cause part of the second molar to dissolve. Many orthodontists want wisdom teeth removed to increase the long term success of proper tooth alignment.

There is of course the possibility of you keeping a non-erupted or erupted wisdom tooth without any problem for the rest of your life. Unfortunately, this does not usually happen. Most patients generally do better having their wisdom teeth removed in their teens or early twenties. With impacted wisdom teeth you usually have as much post-operative discomfort removing four wisdom teeth as a single wisdom tooth. We therefore recommend that you have all your wisdom teeth removed at once.

If you are having problems or concerns about your wisdom teeth you can contact your dentist. You can also contact us directly.

Dental Implants

Dental implants are designed to replace natural teeth. The implants are made of titanium and inserted into the jaw bone. The bone grows into the implant. Your dentist can place a crown on top of the implant that looks like a natural tooth. The dentist can also place an attachment on the implant which helps support and stabilize a removable partial or complete denture.

Midwest Oral & Maxillofacial surgery specializes in immediate load implants. These are implants which can have temporary crowns, which also looks like natural teeth, placed on the implant at the time of surgery. A permanent crown is placed on the implant eight weeks later.

In order to increase the chances of success, Midwest Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery uses all the latest technology including bone grafts, tissue, rich plasma and materials like bone morphogenetic protein which assists your body to grow bone.

Dental implants are designed to restore your normal form and function and let you smile with confidence. Just like your natural teeth they are not removable. They help prevent bone loss that occurs in areas where you loose teeth. They help support your lips so you’re lower face and mouth does not have that sunken in appearance.

As we age one of our greatest pleasures is eating. Dental implants help you regain the ability to eat like you did when you had more teeth.

If you are interested in getting a dental implant you can contact your dentist. You can also contact us.

Bone Grafting

After loosing teeth the jawbone can dissolve or get smaller. It the bone gets too small you may be unable to successfully wear a denture.

Midwest Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery can restore the height and or width of your upper or lower jaw with a variety of procedures. If you have lost a lot of bone, bone from other parts of your body can be grafted or placed on your jawbones. This is usually done with you asleep in the hospital.

If the bone loss is smaller then bone can be taken from other areas of your jaw. Synthetic bone, cadaver bone, platelet rich plasma, tissue barriers, and bone morphogenetic protein can be used to grow new bone. These procedures can be done in the office.

In order to place a dental implant in an ideal position you may need a bone graft to improve the quality and quantity of the bone in your jaws.

If you are having problems wearing a denture you may contact your dentist. You can also contact us directly to arrange dental x-rays and an examination.

Root Canal Surgery

Root canal treatment, endodontics, has a high success rate. Occasionally this treatment can fail and often the tooth can still be saved with a surgical procedure.
With an apicoectomy, the surgeons at Midwest Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery push the gum tissue back and make a small hole in the bone overlying the end of the tooth root. The end of the tooth root is surgically removed. A small hole is placed in the end of the root and a filling is placed in this hole to seal off the end of the root. The tissue is then placed back in its original position and stitched together.

In multiple rooted teeth, sometimes the bad root is surgically divided from the tooth and removed. Often the tooth can still function without any problems. If you have any questions you can contact us.

Tumors and Cysts

The tissues in your mouth are normally pink in color and have no large lumps or bumps. Glands and lymph nodes in your mouth and neck should not be tender, firm, or enlarged. They should also be freely movable and not fixed to the surrounding tissue. If you notice red or white spots in your mouth, a sore that fails to heal or bleeds, a long lasting sore throat, have difficulty swallowing or chewing you should get an immediate exam. Pain is also an abnormal symptom. You are more at risk of developing oral cancer if you have used or are using tobacco and or alcohol or have been overly exposed to sunlight.
Besides frequent self examinations we recommend you see your dentist at least every 6 months. If you have any concerns you may contact your dentist or the doctors at Midwest Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery.

Corrective Jaw Surgery(Orthognathic Surgery)

Your upper and lower jaws may not be in the proper position. If your jaw is not in the proper position, you may notice that your teeth do not meet properly. You may have an under or overbite. You could also have an open bite, where your front teeth don’t come together. In profile your jaw may be too far back, like the cartoon character Beatle Bailey, or be too far forward, like Jay Leno’s jaw.

Since your teeth don’t come together you may also have problems with biting and chewing, breathing and speaking. These problems may be due to heredity, trauma, habits (prolonged thumb sucking) or birth defects (clefts).
At Midwest Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery we can surgically position your jaws into their correct position. Usually you will need orthodontics (braces) before and after your surgery. Besides improving your function this surgery will usually enhance your facial appearance. If you are concerned about the position of your teeth or jaw bones you can contact your dentist or orthodontist. For more information Contact us directly.

Trauma

Injuries to the face and jaws may range from broken bones (fractures), lacerations, to breaking or knocking out teeth.

Lacerations are treated by stitching (suturing), with a special emphasis on getting the best cosmetic result, limiting scarring.

When the jaw is broken often the upper and lower teeth are wired together to reset the correct bite and bone alignment. Sometimes it may be necessary to add plates and screws to the bone to stabilize the result. Occasionally the plates and screws are strong enough that the teeth do not have to be wired together.

If you knock out a tooth place it in milk or salt water. Do not wipe off the tooth. You must see a dentist or oral surgeon immediately. The longer the tooth is out of its socket, the less chance of saving the tooth. Your doctor will stabilize the tooth by attaching it to the adjacent teeth. Additionally, you will probably need a root canal or crown for this tooth. In the event that this tooth can’t be saved, dental implants may be a good alternative treatment.

If you have serious trauma we recommend you go to a hospital emergency room. For more information you can contact us.

TMJ Disorders

The TMJ (TemporoMandibular Joint) is located in front of the ear. It is the jaw joint where the lower jaw meets and moves against the skull.

If you have pain in this area, especially with chewing, difficulty opening or closing your jaw and your bite changes you may have TMJ problems.

The symptoms can be due to a variety of causes; tumors, arthritis, stress, grinding teeth and previous jaw trauma. The problem can originate from the muscles that move the lower jaw, the soft tissues and fluid in the joint, or the bone in the jaw joint.

Treatment options can be simple; muscle relaxant medications, soft diet, bite splints (similar to plastic mouth guards that fit between your teeth). Rarely are more complex procedures necessary; surgically cleansing the jaw joint, joint replacements.

If you have any concerns you may contact your dentist. You may also contact us directly.