Oral Surgery
Treatment for oral cavity lesions, including small benign mucosal tumours, jaw cysts, and complex wisdom tooth extractions.
Case Examples
Oral surgery: common conditions and treatments
Watch the videos to learn more about the most common conditions treated by oral surgery and how they are addressed.
What is oral surgery
Wisdom teeth — also known as third molars — are the last teeth to emerge in the mouth. This typically occurs between the ages of 17 and 25, a period often called the “age of wisdom.”
A tooth becomes impacted when there is insufficient space in the dental arch for it to erupt fully, leaving it blocked by the overlying gum, the surrounding bone, or an adjacent tooth.
Impacted Teeth: What Are the Risks and When Should You Act?
Impacted teeth can cause significant pain. They may become infected and damage neighbouring teeth and surrounding tissues. In some cases, they can cause jaw cysts.
It is impossible to predict exactly when an impacted tooth will cause complications. However, the longer you wait, the more painful those complications are likely to become — and the more complex the surgical treatment required.
It is estimated that about 85% of people aged 16-20 have wisdom teeth, and some of these patients will experience problems related to them.
When Should Wisdom Teeth Be Removed?
There is no universally agreed protocol for the removal of asymptomatic wisdom teeth, and the international scientific literature does not provide definitive figures or guidelines on this matter. Still, most oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the UK and abroad recommend early removal. Early removal helps prevent the complications associated with impacted third molars and results in a faster, less demanding recovery.
It is also important to note that both intra- and post-operative complications increase progressively with age.
Where wisdom teeth are already causing symptoms or discomfort, removal is always advisable to prevent more serious issues from developing.
Extracting an impacted tooth can be simple or complex. It depends on the tooth’s position and its roots, the patient’s age, and the proximity to adjacent nerve structures.
Wisdom tooth extraction can be performed as an outpatient procedure under local anaesthesia, intravenous sedation, or — in specific cases — general anaesthesia.
Following surgery, some discomfort and swelling are to be expected; the degree will vary depending on the extent of the procedure. These are normal parts of the healing process.
Other surgical areas
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