Extractions and Pre-prosthetic Surgery

Teeth may be removed for many reasons including extensive decay, severe gum disease or traumatic injury.

Pre-prosthetic surgery refers to minor oral surgery done before fitting a partial or complete denture.  A denture rests on a bone ridge; the proper shape and size of this bone is critical to the ultimate comfort of the dentures. The effort invested in pre-prosthetic surgery can pay off in many years of enhanced comfort.

The following procedures are sometimes needed to prepare your mouth for dentures:

• alveoplasty to smooth and reshape the bone
• removal of bone projections (exostosis, torus)
• reduction of the alveolar (jaw) ridge
• removal of excess gum tissue

At Brockton Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, your pre-prosthetic surgery can be done comfortably in our office with a local or general anesthesia. Anesthesia that we offer includes local, intravenous general (asleep), intravenous conscious sedation, nitrous oxide gas anesthesia with a local anesthetic, and oral sedation with local anesthesia. During your consultation appointment, our doctors will fully discuss your options for surgery and anesthesia.

Another choice for replacing missing teeth

Statistics show that the majority of adults ages 35 to 44 have lost at least one permanent tooth and that by age 74, over a quarter of adults have lost all of their permanent teeth.

Twenty years ago, a fixed bridge or removal denture was the treatment choice for adults seeking to replace missing teeth. Fixed bridges and removable dentures are not an ideal solution and bring with them a number of other potential problems including discomfort, bone loss, recurrent decay and peridontal disease. Furthermore, these dental devices typically need to be replaced every seven to 15 years.

For many patients, dental implants are a better solution for tooth replacement. Visit our web page on dental implants or call our office to learn more about implant dentistry.