Jaw Surgery and Dental Implants in Singapore Blog

I came across this article about vestigial body parts today and it struck a chord with me. I just reviewed an old patient who has been working deep in the Kalimantan forest for the past year. Before he left, we checked his oral condition thoroughly and did everything that needed to be done before he embarked on his new job in the jungle. Once inside, access to medical care is an 8-hour road trip. While his oral condition was fine the past year, he told me that he had a perforated appendix which needed emergency care. He endured the road trip and made it to hospital in time but it was a most harrowing experience. The wisdom tooth, like the appendix, is also a vestigial organ and is fully capable of causing an emergency that needed evacuation.

Pain is one of the pain concerns of patients contemplating surgery. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as “An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.” However, we don’t need an association to tell us what pain is. Everybody knows what it is. Pain is often a symptom that tells us that something is wrong and that prompts us to find out what caused it. With experience we model our behavior to avoid or minimize pain. So, why do people choose to undergo elective surgeries such as corrective jaw surgery? Breaking of bones seems like a rather painful thing to do. So, how painful is it?

The wisdom tooth removal is probably the most commonly removed anatomical part of the body. No doubt it is a rudimentary structure that does not serve much function. In fact, more often than not, it fails to erupt properly and ends up causing trouble to the adjacent teeth. As such, not only do problematic wisdom teeth gets removed, even the non problematic ones are often extracted to prevent possible future problems. Herein lies the one of the major controversies around wisdom tooth surgery. Should non-problematic wisdom teeth be remove? I’ll illustrate the complexities with a case.

If you have a cracked tooth, you probably already know that it be the cause of dental pain and sensitivity to heat or cold. However, you may not be aware that, left untreated, decay and infection can become an issue in a cracked tooth and surrounding ones, and risk of periodontal disease can rise. Just how your Singapore dental professional will repair a cracked tooth depends upon a number of factors, including the cause, depth, severity and location of the crack, as well as your overall dental health. Here we'll go over the most common options for repairing a cracked tooth and the situations for which each options may be most appropriate.

Do you have a loose dental bridge that is causing mouth pain? That's a common complaint, since the average conventional bridge needs replacement every 7 to 10 years. While the difficulties and pain associated with loose bridges and the hassle and expense of replacing them regularly were once issues patients simply had to live with, dental implants have changed that. Today, your Singapore oral surgeon can provide a more stable and comfortable foundation for replacement teeth that, with proper oral hygiene and care, can last a lifetime.