Oral Surgery

Depending on the dental procedure, your dentist may determine that you only need a relatively small area to be numbed during surgery so that your visit is comfortable and pain-free. There are two kinds of numbing injections

When performing oral procedures that require numbing, dentists employ two kinds of local anesthesia, block injections, which numbs an entire region of your mouth, such as one side of your lower jaw, and infiltration injections, which numb a smaller area.

When a tooth is extracted, the procedure leaves behind a small hole where the tooth once was. This socket can be very sensitive at first, which is why your provider may recommend socket preservation to go along with your extraction.

A socket or alveolar ridge preservation procedure involves placing a bone graft into the socket, where the tooth once was. The goal of socket preservation is to improve the appearance of the remaining teeth and gums and to make the process of getting a dental implant at a later visit less complicated.

Soft tissue grafting is often necessary to combat gum recession. Periodontal disease, trauma, aging, over-brushing, and poor tooth positioning are the leading causes of gum recession, which can lead to tooth-root exposure in severe cases. Recent developments in dental technology have made soft tissue grafting more predictable and less intrusive.

Sometimes trauma, gum disease, cracked or broken teeth, and tooth decay can be too significant, and despite our best efforts to save the tooth, extractions may be the best option. Here at Harrisonburg SmileMakers, we will make the process as comfortable and pain-free as possible.