Measures to Take Before Oral Surgery

Oral surgery procedures can range from tooth extractions to receiving dental implants. Just like there are precautions to take after surgery, you’ll need to prepare yourself for your appointment. Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS of Bayberry Dental Care is here to make you feel as comfortable as possible throughout this entire process.

If you have an illness, such as a cold, flu, or an upset stomach, please notify the office of your appointment. If you take routine oral medications, please notify us of these as well. If you are ready to have a tooth removed, or dental implant surgery, you may not eat or drink anything (including water) eight hours prior to surgery. There is also no smoking up to 12 hours before. Because oral surgery requires heavy anesthesia, a responsible adult will need to accompany you to your appointment to drive you home. When arriving at the office, please be sure to wear loose-fitting clothes, no nail polish, and no makeup. If you are wearing jewelry, it will need to be removed during the procedure.

If you have questions about oral surgery, don’t hesitate to give us a call. To learn about services we provide at our practice, visit www.bayberrydentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS in our Tinley Park, IL office, call Bayberry Dental Care at 708-802-8300.

Fixing Loose Teeth

Once you’re an adult, you’ll hopefully never have a loose tooth again. But when permanent teeth do start wiggling, Bayberry Dental Care is here to help. Secondary occlusal trauma is the term used by doctors to describe damage to the gum ligaments, and loose teeth due to periodontal disease, instead of sudden blows, are the focus of this week’s post.

When periodontitis reaches its most severe state, it’s not just soft tissue that is affected. The tissue of the jaw bone, like the gum pockets and ligaments, may lose mass and recede. This will cause teeth to come loose and put them at risk for falling out. While the loss of any adult tooth is bad, the loss of the molars will oblige the front teeth to take on biting forces they cannot sustain, pushing them out of place and making them even looser.

Dr. Falsey is trained in periodontal therapies to get patients’ gum disease under control, which must be done if any fix for the teeth is to be permanent. A splint can be applied to the teeth in order to distribute bite forces more evenly among them during the periodontal treatment or on a permanent basis, and bone grafts can rebuild lost jaw tissue.

Kathleen M. Falsey, D.D.S., operates Bayberry Dental Care at 8014 West 171^st St, Tinley Park, Illinois, 60477. To schedule an appointment, call 708-802-8300 or visit BayberryDentalCare.com and fill out a contact sheet.