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Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Clinical Expertise

The Division of Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery provides care to healthy and medically compromised individuals in both outpatient and inpatient settings, and also serves patients in the Emergency Department. Since the Division is based in an academic medical center, our faculty also draw on the resources of multiple specialists in fields such as plastic and reconstructive surgery, neurosurgery, otorhinolaryngology, and others as needed. From routine dental care on teeth and gums to innovative arthroscopic surgery on jaw joints and major reconstructive facial surgery, our specific areas of expertise include:

• General dentistry – preventative, restorative, and cosmetic
• Implant dentistry
• Endodontics (root canal procedures)
• Periodontics – surgical and non-surgical – for the treatment of gum and other tissue diseases
• Complex prosthodontics
• Pediatric dentistry
• Oral and maxillofacial medicine and pathology
• Dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia
• Non-surgical care of temporomandibular joint disorders
• Orthodontics to correct teeth alignment and other abnormalities
• Diagnosis and management of acute, chronic, and atypical head, neck, facial, and oral pain syndromes
• Surgical management – arthroscopic, open, and replacement – of temporomandibular joint derangements
• Surgical management for benign diseases of the mouth and jaws. We also team with head and neck surgeons and plastic and reconstructive surgeons for management of malignant diseases of the mouth and jaws.
• Surgical management – orthognathic and reconstructive – for congenital and growth deformities and management of facial trauma

With experts in each of these areas, patients are assured continuity of care for any level of dental concern.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

The Division's oral and maxillofacial surgeons have extensive experience in a full range of surgical procedures for mouth, head and neck pathologies – including routine removal of teeth, placement of dental implants, surgery for arthritis of the jaw joint, and reconstructive procedures for correcting deformities of the jaw and face caused by disease, trauma or injury. For example, they perform some 60 major elective facial skeletal reconstructive procedures a year.

In addition, a member of our surgical team is world-renowned in the arthroscopic diagnosis and treatment of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction. These joints, located on each side of the face just in front of the ear, connect the lower jaw and skull and allow all the actions associated with moving the jaw. For the TMJ to operate properly, it must interact with the surrounding muscles, ligaments and nerves. Arthroscopy has proven to help reduce pain and increase motion in patients with persistent TMJ symptoms and joint pathology.

Restorative Implant Dentistry

Dental implants can provide an alternative to dentures or bridges for replacing missing or diseased teeth. Implants are small titanium screws that are inserted into the jaw bones to replace the roots of teeth. They are then used as a base onto which prosthetic crowns can be attached or as a supportive base for crowns, bridges and dentures. Our general and restorative dentists, periodontists, and oral and maxillofacial surgeons are skilled in comprehensive care involving dental implants from diagnosis to placement to restoration. We follow patients through every stage of the process, beginning with preparing the mouth to receive the implants, including any needed bone augmentation or reshaping. Next the implants are surgically inserted during an office procedure using local anesthesia, often with moderate sedation. Several months of healing time is then allowed for the implants to fuse (integrate) with the surrounding bone. Once integrated, the implants are uncovered and the process of building the new teeth – removable or permanent – begins.