Surgical Orthodontics in North County San Diego (Carlsbad, Vista, Oceanside, Encinitas, San Marcos, Escondido)
Occasionally braces or orthodontic treatment cannot be completed without the help of surgical treatment. This can be due to a variety of factors, including a discrepancy in the size and/or shape of the jaws or teeth. Some of the most common procedures necessary to assist with orthodontic treatment include: dental extractions, exposing (uncovering) impacted teeth, grafting gum tissue over roots, or repositioning the jaw altogether. As always, we will coordinate treatment with your orthodontist to ensure the best outcome possible.
Extraction of Teeth for Orthodontic Reasons
In certain cases, the size of the jaws do not allow adequate space for alignment of all the teeth. Permanent teeth may require extraction to create sufficient space to align the others. Occasionally baby teeth (deciduous teeth) do not become loose and fall out. In these cases, these teeth may require extraction to allow proper eruption of the permanent teeth.
Wisdom teeth can prevent the orthodontist from achieving the best bite possible. Sometimes wisdom teeth even contribute to crowding of the teeth after completed treatment. Waiting too long after braces to remove the wisdom teeth may result in relapse and crowding, and even the need to re-do the orthodontic treatment. We strongly encourage you to come see us for a consultation if you are considering, have started, or have completed orthodontic treatment.
Missing Teeth
Some people fail to develop all the permanent teeth. In these cases, closing the space with braces may be possible. Other times, a dental implant is planned to fill the space left by the missing tooth. At the conclusion of orthodontic treatment, dental implants may be placed to fill in for missing teeth.
Extra Teeth
Rarely, extra teeth (supernumerary teeth) are present. In such cases, the extra teeth are often malformed and may cause problems with other normal teeth. They may cause impaction, crowding and sometimes erosion of the permanent teeth. Occasionally, a cyst can form on these supernumerary teeth, just as it can on wisdom teeth. Early extraction of extra teeth, even as young as age 6-8, is advisable to minimize these risks.
"Expose & Bond" Procedure for Unerupted Teeth
Teeth which are critical to the orthodontic success may, at times, fail to erupt properly into the mouth. If the tooth remains impacted, then a surgical procedure called “expose and bond” will be required to uncover the tooth and attach (bond) an orthodontic bracket with a short gold chain. The orthodontist will usually see the patient about 2 weeks after this procedure and begin to use the chain to move the tooth into the proper position.
