If you think surgeons only operate on the body of a patient, well, then that is where you are wrong. There are actually some surgeons who specialize in performing surgeries on the teeth or mouth of a patient.
Just like any other surgeons, oral surgeons must get a degree by having an undergraduate study or a pre-medical course. This could be done by going to college which could take 4 years of time before getting a bachelor’s degree in any medical course a student decided to pursue. After getting the degree in college, the person could proceed with additional training or studies in a medical establishment they chose to attend. This is the part wherein they will get their experience and be called as a resident or a doctor in training. Once the doctor in training finishes their years in residency, they can finally become a doctor or the profession they practice.
In this case, an oral surgeon or maxillofacial surgeon will have to undergo two up to four years of undergraduate studies to get your degree in a medical course. Then once the undergraduate acquires their degree, they will proceed to dental study or dental training in a dental clinic which could take up to 4 years. In order to get a medical degree, the person could then proceed with their residency in a medical establishment and start training based on the kind of specialty they choose, since the article is covering about oral surgeons, the resident or doctor in training will train about their specialty revolving the oral system and the face of the human body.
Process of Teeth Removal or Teeth Extractions
Having your teeth removed is one of the scariest things to happen, both replacing the milk tooth with a permanent one, and when you have to go to the dentist or oral surgeon to have them removed.
Some people get their tooth or teeth removed due to some tooth or teeth problems like tooth decay, when it is heavily impacted to the other teeth and has affected their growth, and others get tooth extraction just for the sake of relief. Relief in a way that tooth extractions can actually help minimize or inhibit headaches or migraines as well as jaw problems.
Tooth extraction prices will vary based on what type of painkiller or anesthesia a dentist or oral surgeon uses on their patients. Simple extractions will only cost about $75 up to $200 in every tooth to be extracted. As for impacted teeth, which requires a more complex type of procedure and would totally induce more pain, the cost would be around $800 up to $4000.
It may sound extremely intimidating but the strength of the anesthesia or painkiller could actually induce drowsiness or sleep on the patient which means they would not remember so much about the surgery.
Before starting the procedure, an oral dentist will have the patient for check-up first before proceeding to the tooth extraction and this check-up will be done through a scan in the X-ray. An x-ray gives the oral surgeon or dentist a glimpse of what the teeth of their patient would look like and they would easily spot any complications due to the overview of the imagery.
An oral surgeon will also ask their patient whether they have any underlying conditions or they could be taking some other medication. The process of tooth extractions and the consequences could clash with the type of medication a patient is taking and it would possibly lead to more complications.
Once the screening or preparation for the extraction is finished, the oral surgeon could now proceed with the tooth extraction process. Oral surgeons will numb the patient’s gum through injecting painkillers on their gums, then letting it stay for a while until the patient would start to feel numb in their mouth area.
Once the patient’s mouth is numb, the surgeon could finally proceed with making a small incision on the site or the gum of which tooth the oral surgeon will have to extract or remove. The process of making an incision or slicing the gums or gum tissue could loosen the tooth’s root and it will be easier for the extraction. The surgeon will pull the tooth with dental forceps so that the surgeon could have a nice grip on the tooth without slipping.
After the extraction, the oral surgeon will start to use a tool, or a suction in order to suck all the blood from the patient’s mouth. This process will also help the surgeon get a clearer view for when they start to stitch the gums close. After that, a gauze will be placed over the site of the teeth extraction to stop the blood or immediately soak the blood if the site is still bleeding.
Are Oral Surgeons and Dentists the Same?
Before enumerating the differences and similarities of the two professions, we must define what each profession does or what their expertise is. First of all, oral surgeons or also known as maxillofacial surgeons are surgical professionals who perform surgery specifically on the face, mouth, and jaw of a person. An example of these type of surgeries, first in the face, oral surgeons could perform repair in facial tissues, for the a mouth-related surgery, they could teeth extractions, from simpler ones to complex teeth extraction processes, and lastly, for the jaw, they can perform surgical operations such as jaw reconstructions or even treat a person’s locked jaw problems.
As for dentists, these are professionals or practitioners regarding treating a patient’s dental needs. A dentist is responsible for providing dental care to the patients. This type of dental care refers to giving the person’s teeth a thorough cleanse or deep cleaning, covering up any damaged tooth due to cavity, they are also responsible for extracting the tooth of a patient whenever it is necessary. What does it mean by necessary? Well, a dentist will extract or remove the tooth from a patient if the tooth is showing signs of severe decay and the decay causes so much pain to the person in their mouth. Another reason for teeth extraction is for the purposes of reducing the tension in the jaw. This is why people go to the dentists to have their wisdom teeth removed because some of them might experience severe headaches and locking of jaws due to the cramped space in the teeth.
Sources:
https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/tooth-removal/tooth-extraction
https://penndentalmedicine.org/video-what-is-an-oral-surgeon/
https://www.acoms.org/page/What_is_an_OMS
https://www.salaryexpert.com/salary/job/oral-and-maxillofacial-surgeon/australia
