Many people are already hesitant of going to the dentist. Combine that with surgery and a trip to the oral surgeon can make a patient nervous. But for people living in the Anchorage, Alaska, area, an appointment at Oral Surgery Associates doesn’t have to be scary.

The board-certified oral surgeons are experts at everything from wisdom teeth removal to teeth extraction and jaw surgery. Armed with state-of-the-art technology, the doctors at Oral Surgery Associates perform quick and safe procedures.

Here are some of the most common oral surgery procedures:

• Impacted Teeth: Wisdom teeth are the most common teeth to become impacted. The last set of teeth to develop, wisdom teeth often emerge haphazardly or not completely, becoming impacted and causing pain and swelling. The average mouth is big enough for 28 teeth, so when the four wisdom teeth, or third molars, emerge, the mouth gets crowded.
• Dental Implants: Dental implants, or artificial teeth, are a good option for patients who have lost teeth due to an accident or disease. Titanium posts are surgically inserted into the jawbone, acting as a strong foundation for the implants.
• Jaw Surgery: Some jaw problems, such as improper teeth alignment, can be corrected with braces. However, more severe problems, such as unequal jaw growth, require oral surgery to move the jaws into proper alignment. Individuals who experience any of these issues should ask their oral surgeons about jaw surgery:
  • Difficulty chewing or swallowing
  • Open bite or protruding jaw
  • Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders
  • Speech or breathing problems

Other procedures oral surgeons perform include face injury repair, cleft lip and cleft palate repair, snoring and sleep apnea treatments, and bone grafting, requiring oral surgeons to be experts in emergency care. The doctors at Oral Surgery Associates receive extensive hospital-based training in anesthesia and surgical procedures. They are also on staff at Alaska Regional and Providence hospitals and are part of the emergency room team when a patient has facial injuries.

For people living in the Anchorage, Alaska, area, whether they need a dental implant or their wisdom teeth removed, Oral Surgery Associates has the expertise needed to make an oral surgery procedure safe and comfortable. For more information about the procedures offered, visit the Oral Surgery Associates website, or to make an appointment call (907) 561-1430.