Oral Surgery

Oral surgery encompasses a variety of procedures, such as tooth extraction and dental implant placement. Smile Naples prioritizes patient comfort during oral surgery, so we offer a variety of sedation options to meet patients’ needs.

For the best outcomes of your oral surgery, it is beneficial to be prepared before your appointment and to know how to care for the surgical site after the procedure.

If you need to have impacted teeth extracted or dental implants placed to restore your smile, contact our office to schedule a consultation.

Types Of Oral Surgery Procedures

At Smile Naples, we have an oral surgeon who comes to our practice to provide various oral surgery procedures to patients. The most common procedures performed here are:

Tooth Extraction

Teeth that have failed to erupt properly and are surrounded by bone, or impacted, must be removed surgically so that the surrounding bone can be excised to access and extract the tooth. Wisdom teeth are the teeth at the greatest risk for being impacted.

Dental Implant Placement

Dental implants must be surgically inserted into the patient’s mouth.

Smile Naples streamlines the process of restoring the smile through dental implants, as we have an oral surgeon available for dental implant placement and we can provide the restoration supported by the dental implants, as well. Your entire treatment can take place at a single convenient location.

The following types of restorations can be supported by dental implants, depending on the number of teeth the patient must replace:

Single Crowns
Dental Bridges
Overdentures (A full set of dental implant-supported dentures that can be removed from the mouth as needed)
Hybrid dentures (A prosthetic arch that is fixed in the mouth when placed atop dental implants)

What Are My Sedation Options?

Most patients in need of oral surgery will opt for some form of sedation for optimal comfort. Smiles Naples offers oral sedation.

Oral Sedation

The patient takes an anti-anxiety medication by mouth before coming to the appointment. The patient will not be able to drive to or from the appointment, so a responsible adult is needed to accompany them.

Because we offer conscious sedation, the patient remains awake, although deeply relaxed, throughout the appointment. The airway continues to function normally and the patient can respond to commands from the oral surgeon.

Also, our team closely monitors your vital signs throughout the appointment to identify any signs of distress.

Dr. Dennis will discuss the sedation options with you and answer any questions that you may have so that you can choose the sedation method that best meets your needs.

Oral Surgery Sedation | Dr. Garrett Dennis | Smile Naples | Naples FL

Preparing For Oral Surgery

For the smoothest oral surgery process possible, it is helpful for the patient to know how to prepare for the appointment. Here are some tips to get ready for your oral surgery.

Have any prescriptions filled before the procedure and get any needed supplies so that you don’t have to worry about running errands during your recovery.
Coordinate your arrangements for someone to bring you to and from our office on the day of your surgery.

Additional pre-operative instructions may be provided at your initial consultation.

Home Care After Oral Surgery

Taking care of the surgical site after you get home is also an important step to ensure an uneventful healing process. We will give you a complete list of written instructions before you leave our office, but here are a few highlights of proper home care after oral surgery.

Keep the site clean as instructed.
Take pain medications as directed, along with your preventive antibiotics if they are prescribed.
Stick to soft foods in your diet for the first few days after your procedure so that chewing your food doesn’t interfere with the healing process.
Avoid smoking, which can cause inflammation and derail your healing.
If you’ve had teeth extracted, don’t use drinking straws for a few weeks after the procedure to avoid dry sockets.

If you have any questions about your post-operative care, don’t hesitate to ask. We want to make sure that you understand everything clearly to minimize your risk of complications.

FAQs

How long will my recovery take? When can I return to work or my normal routine?

The length of your initial recovery period will depend on the type of oral surgery being performed. For example, patients can often get back to their normal routines within a few days of having wisdom teeth removed or dental implants placed. They may be advised to scale back more rigorous activities for a longer period.

How long do the holes in my jaw stay after extractions?

The soft tissues at the extraction site will begin to heal within a few weeks of wisdom teeth removal, while the bone takes several weeks longer to regenerate.

How much does sedation dentistry cost?

Sedation dentistry costs differ based on the type of sedation offered. You may have some insurance coverage, either through your medical or dental insurance, for sedation. As a courtesy, we will help you take advantage of any insurance benefits that may defray these costs by filing dental claims to your insurance carrier, so you can be reimbursed.

Is it normal to have pain while swallowing after wisdom teeth removal?

Patients may notice some discomfort when swallowing the first 24-48 hours after wisdom teeth extraction. Pain that persists beyond that point might indicate a problem and warrant follow-up with our office.

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