What Is Oral Surgery? Everything You Need to Know

What Is Oral Surgery? Everything You Need to Know : Your dentist may have informed you that you need to have oral surgery, but — what is oral surgery?

Many people go without important treatment because of a lack of knowledge, or lack of money. We are here to help you understand more about oral surgery, so you can make an informed decision about whether you need it or not.

Continue reading this article to learn more about oral surgery and how to take care of your teeth for a healthier dental future.

The Basics of Oral Surgery

Oral surgery is any surgery done in or around the mouth area. Most of these surgeries are done by a specialist like an endodontist, prosthodontist, or periodontist. Depending on the situation, the surgery might require someone with specialized knowledge, and your dentist will refer you out to someone in their network.

Types of Oral Surgeries

There are a number of cases where you might need an oral surgeon. Some of those cases are for common jaw and mouth surgeries like:

Gum grafts
Impacted wisdom tooth removal
Root canals
Jaw and teeth repair
Maxillofacial surgery

You may find other instances when you need an oral surgeon as well, but these are some of the most common situations. Just because of the word surgery, you shouldn’t be wary of getting your procedure done as long as you choose a professional you can trust.

How to Do It’s Time to Go

If you aren’t sure if you need to go to an oral surgeon, your first stop might be at your dentist. If you don’t know if you need an oral surgeon, your dentist can look over the issue and determine how serious it is.

You might be having severe pain in your tooth and aren’t sure why it hurts so badly. The first thought that comes to mind might be that you need a root canal, but in reality, you only have a cavity that is simple to fix.

An oral surgeon is usually more expensive than going to the dentist, so a stop at the dentist can save you some money.

How to Prepare for Oral Surgery

If you do find out that you are in need of oral surgery, there are some simple things you can do to prepare yourself. Depending on your situation, your oral surgeon might have some specifics you need to keep in mind, but the following information falls under general best practices.

Prepare Your Home

Before heading off to your appointment, make sure space where you’ll be recovering is clean and neat. The last thing you want to do when you come home from oral surgery is to have to clean and tidy up.

Set your bed up in a way where you can lie down or sit up without a lot of rearranging.

Follow Directions

Follow any pre-surgery instructions you were given. One of the top things on most pre-surgery lists is not having anything to eat or drink 8 to 10 hours before your procedure.

Find out what type of anesthesia you will be getting, so you’ll know if you can drive home or if someone else needs to come to get you.

Even if there are things that don’t make sense to you, follow directions. If you have questions about why you need to do something, ask to get the understanding you need and then follow the directions.

Reducing Recovery Time

Once your surgery is over, you might start feeling better pretty quickly and want to shorten your recovery time. Keep in mind that recovery takes as long as it takes. You can’t make your mouth heal faster than it wants to.

You can do things to make sure that you reduce the recovery time by avoiding certain activities like smoking and drinking alcohol.

If you notice your face is swelling, you can use an ice pack to get the swelling under control. To keep from causing swelling or irritation, you shouldn’t brush your teeth. Just use salt water to rinse your mouth out every couple of hours.

Don’t skip out on your follow up appointment. Making sure everything is healing nicely will put your mind at ease, and if there is anything that needs to be addressed, they will let you know.

The recovery process might last as short as 48 hours, or you might find yourself still experiencing pain for a month. If it lasts much longer than that, you need to speak to your dentist or oral surgeon to see if there is something more serious going on.

Eating After Oral Surgery

If you aren’t interested in drinking blender food after your surgery, there are some post-surgery friendly foods you can eat. The best thing to do is avoid anything crunchy, chewy, or hard right after your surgery.

Eat foods that are room temperature, so they won’t burn or freeze your mouth. Try eating yogurt, bananas, avocados, and other foods that aren’t going to hurt your mouth after the procedure.

What Is Oral Surgery? – Now You Know

When you hear the words oral surgery, you don’t have to be worried anymore. You have your answer to your question, “What is oral surgery?” and you can get started on your treatment.

Do you need more help with dental questions or other issues? Our site is full of articles that can help you as you’re working on your overall health.

Browse our site, find your favorite oral care articles, drop a bookmark, and come back soon for more.