Treatment: Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Oral Surgery

This branch is about surgical treatment in facial and oral region. The following procedures are carried out using local anesthesia.

Extractions (removal of teeth) – are carried out under strict aseptic precautions and sterilizations for those teeth, which cannot be saved or are indicated for removal.

Impacted Wisdom teeth extractions – The wisdom teeth that are stuck or locked inside the bone, are a frequent cause for pain and swelling in the age group of 18-25. These are removed by a tiny surgery under strict sterilization. The procedure takes 30-45 minutes to complete and is painless, followed by stitches that dissolve in 7 – 10 days. Prior appointment is necessary.

Treatments of Oro-facial infections – infections that spread to regions of face, causing pain, swelling, difficulty in opening the mouth, difficulty in swallowing / Breathing, fever are vigorously treated by admission to the hospital, injections, drainage of pus when necessary and nutritional supplements. Few blood and urine investigations are necessary

Pre-prosthetic surgeries – Many patients need alteration in the gums or the supporting bone to improve the fitting of artificial teeth. These alterations are made by various small surgeries. The time needed can vary between 30 – 60 min.

Treatments in Maxillofacial Surgery– The following procedures are carried out using General anesthesia.

Treatment of Cysts and Tumors – Large Cysts (space filled with fluid, blood or pus) and benign (good) tumors (swellings) are usually treated by removing the corresponding part of the jaw and reconstructing it with the bone from other parts of the body. The malignant tumors (Cancer) are treated according to their stage and spread; this can range from moderate to extensive surgery of the jaws and/or neck. Hospital stay varies from 7 to 10 days or more.

Treatments of Facial Bony Deformities – Occurrence of abnormally large or small jawbones is not rare. These can be corrected for better cosmetic appearance and also to improve the functions of the jaws. It is achieved by either moving the whole or part of the jaw in the desired direction (Orthognathic Surgery) , or by increasing the size of the bone/s by gradually separating the fragments of the bone after fracturing it (Distraction Osteogenesis). The hospital stay for the former is 7-10 days the latter can vary from 10-15 days.

Treatment of Facial Clefts – Commonly called as Harelip, this is common congenital (at birth) deformity. The lip is divided into two or three fragments. The treatment starts immediately after birth (parent-nutritional counseling). The surgical correction of the lip is performed at the age of 5- 6 months depending upon the general condition of the child. The correction of the cleft palate is performed 8 months after the lip surgery or at the age of 1 year if it occurs independently .The child receives speech therapy at 3-8 years of age.