Alternatives to Oral Surgery

Coronectomy – An Alternative to wisdom tooth extraction

Coronectomy, according to a report published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, is the better oral surgery alternative for patients above the age of 40. Since they are more prone to suffering nerve damage, using oral surgery to extract wisdom teeth is not the best choice. To prevent molar damage and nerve injury, experts suggest that wisdom teeth should be removed at an early age before the tooth roots have fully developed.

Coronectomy Procedure

The treatment entails extracting only the crown of the root and allowing the roots to remain in the jaw. While the roots may still contain healthy pulp tissue, performing pupal therapy is not crucial since bones will eventually cover the root and cause them to recede from the nerve. Usually, when roots are close to the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN), performing a coronectomy is better to avoid neurological injury.

A study has explained that only a few patients require the removal of the retained root because they have started erupting. In such cases, the root will not be close to the IAN enough to harm it during extraction.

Laser treatment – Alternative to gum surgery

Yearly, thousands of Americans are recommended by their dental professionals to have oral surgery, predominantly due to gum recession and gum diseases caused by infections. The most common culprit for the loss of healthy gum tissues is connected to long-term results of severe periodontal disease.

If periodontal disease is neglected, the connective tissues in the middle of the jawbone and the tooth weakens and degenerates, eventually causing tooth loss and making the teeth more vulnerable to decay. When necrosis occurs in the injured tissues, they become thriving ground bacteria colonies, which may cause very bad breath and severe gum diseases.

Bacteria colonies tend to develop sporadically until all the healthy soft tissues holding the teeth in position are all gone, thus increasing the chances of permanent loss of healthy teeth.

If the dentist has suggested oral surgery, involving the conventional scalpel and suture to repair tissue loss or treat complicated cases of periodontal disease, you may have an alternative option.

Laser dentistry is an oral surgery alternative that allows maximum accuracy and minor invasiveness. If laser surgery is performed by a team of professional to repair gum loss or treat periodontal disease, the results are rapid and remarkable.

Benefits of laser dentistry

In contrast to oral surgery, laser therapy has the following advantages:

• Reduce swelling and bleeding
• Only the dead tissue will be removed. All health and functional tissues will remain unaffected and untouched from laceration and stitching.
• It is much easier to target and eliminate bacterial colonies.
• Improvement in the rate of recovery.
• The procedure is less painful since living, healthy tissues are not cut, but necrotic and dying tissues. Meaning there is only minimal sedation needed or pain blocker is necessary.
• More healthy teeth can be preserved.
• Faster healing times
• The procedure has higher success rates and the results last longer.
• There are significantly fewer diet restrictions.
• The process is less invasive and requires less treatment period.

What is the take here?

Discuss with your dentist to know if the alternatives to oral surgery would be suitable for you. We are always available to help you decide on the best option for your situation. Contact us today! 

Request an appointment in our Virginia Beach dentist office here: http://grayperiodontal.com.