Maxillofacial Surgery
It is a branch of dentistry that is specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of soft tissues in the oral cavity (cheek, lip, tongue, palate), pathologies and joint disorders in the teeth and jaw bone. Buried tooth removal, wisdom teeth removal, implant surgery, fracture treatment, prostheses, and soft and rigid tissue provisions in preparation for orthodontic treatment, root-end resection (apical resection) cyst operations, graft operations, and arthrosynthesis are included in the duties of this branch of surgery.
Soft and cooked foods are consumed more often nowadays, due to changes in the nutritional routines of individuals. As a result of this, inidividuals’ jawbones started to shrink with wisdom teeth being embedded in the bones.
Embedded wisdom teeth can cause compression and pain as well as carrying the risk of developing a cyst and infection. An infected wisdom tooth may cause pain in the throat, ear, neck, and head area while also leading to limitations in the mouth opening.
To prevent such problems, routine follow-up should be done every six months and any existing problems should be solved before further progression.
Teeth develop in follicles during formation. When wisdom teeth cannot grow properly and remain buried, the follicle surrounding the teeth may cause the formation of cysts. During formation, cysts may not demonstrate any noticeable symptoms and may even keep growing/spreading without any observed symptoms at all. As they grow, cysts would cause thinning of the surrounding jawbone. Cysts are surrounded by a membrane of epithelial cells, which also contains the cyst fluid. Based on the level of pressure applied by the cyst fluid, jawbone may melt, and the melting would result in increased spread of the cyst. This spread may push the roots of the neighbouring teeth and cause the teeth to swing. In cases where the cyst is too wide, the anatomical points may be reached and symptoms such as tingling, and numbness may occur around the jaw nerves. In addition, abnormal growth of the follicle cells surrounding the teeth may lead to malignant pathologies. In order to keep these conditions under control, routine 6-month check-ups should not be neglected.