Oral or Maxillofacial Surgery and Its Applications

Oral and Maxillofacial surgery (OMS) is a branch of dentistry specializing in diagnosing and treating injuries, diseases and defects in the face, jaws, neck, head and soft tissues of mouth, jaws and neck region.

It’s an internationally recognized surgical specialty and in most countries, it’s a recognized specialty of dentistry. Whereas, in most of Europe, it’s recognized both as a specialty in dentistry and medicine, and requires a dual degree in both dentistry and medicine.

Maxillofacial and Oral surgeons are trained alongside other medical residents in aspects of emergency, anesthesiology, pain control and general surgery, and are the only one besides anaesthesiologists to have the expertise to administer all the levels of sedation until general anaesthesia.

A Maxillofacial and Oral surgeon is a region-specialist surgeon performing surgery on the craniomaxillofacial complex, i.e. anatomical portion and associated structures of mouth, jaws, face and skull.

When might you need an Oral Surgery?

It’s not necessary for an oral and maxillofacial surgeon to perform every type of oral surgery. Many a tome, general dentists are experts at common procedures like simple tooth extraction. However, if you’re referred to an oral surgeon, it doesn’t mean that you have a complex case, it simply is an indication that there’s a specialized surgeon who can treat your case better.

The following conditions can require an oral surgeon:

Tooth Extractions
Tooth extraction is one of the most recognized forms of oral surgery and involves:
– Impacted teeth, i.e. partially erupted wisdom teeth, cuspids and bicuspids
– Decayed/fractured tooth

Dental Implants
Dental implant is a procedure that’s used to replace missing teeth, provide stability to a denture and as an alternative to bridges and dentures.

Corrective Jaw Surgery
Known as Orthognathic surgery, it’s a surgical procedure performed on the jaws by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

– Misaligned Jaw: The upper and lower jaws sometimes do not grow in sync causing complications in speaking, eating, and breathing. Such cases, if complex, require oral surgeries.

– Improve Dentures: Oral surgery can be required to correct any irregularities in the jaws prior to molding the dentures for a perfect fit. It’s also used to add bone graft to areas where the supporting bone is deteriorating

– TMJ or Temporomandibular Joint Pain caused by trauma or deformation is treated with oral surgery, physical therapy, splints and medications.

– Bruxism, or extensive teeth clenching
– Malocclusion, i.e. incorrect bite

Other Conditions
– Lesion removal
– Facial injury
– Cleft lip and cleft palate

Fixed Prosthodontics Dentistry Course

Fixed Prosthodontics is the area of restorative dentistry that is focused on permanently attached dental prostheses. It is concerned with restoring teeth using restorations that are fixed inside the patient’s mouth and cannot be removed by the patient. It is sometimes also referred to as indirect restoration and includes silver fillings, tooth-coloured composite resin, crowns, bridges (fixed dentures), inlays, onlays and veneers. Fixed Prosthodontics is used for restoring single and multiple teeth and the gaps between the teeth. Compared to direct restoration, it provides superior strength if used in large restorations and can be used to create aesthetically pleasing teeth. If planned and executed correctly, indirect restorations can easily last for 10-12 years.

Preparing a tooth for a crown involves removal of a significant amount of a tooth structure. It should be noted that restorations are compromised structures with limited functional integrity when compared to a natural tooth. Restorations are typically created in laboratories after taking moulds (impressions).

The main types of restorations are:

1. Crown: Commonly referred to as cap, they are prepared by the dentist and provide what is known as full coverage. There are several methods of crown fabrication and are constructed using different materials ranging from gold to high-strength porcelain.

2. Bridge: Bridges are constructed to restore the gaps between teeth, i.e. edentulous area, using fixed restorations on adjacent teeth.

3. Inlay: A conservative alternative for crown, an inlay is a restoration that lies within the cusps and is used when a small amount of tooth tissue is missing within the confines of the cusps.

4. Onlay: Similar to inlays, an onlay covers or protects one or more cusps. They are particularly useful in strengthening the tooth, and when there’s damage due to trauma or caries.

5. Veneer: A veneer is a thin layer of restorative material glued onto the tooth’s surface that is used to restore a damaged or rotated tooth and to improve the aesthetics. Composite and porcelain are the most common materials used for veneers.

At Dentalcoursesindelhi, we provide an intensive and comprehensive course on Fixed Prosthodontics. Considered one of the best private dental institutes in Delhi, our aim is to make the procedure easier and faster for you to learn. As much as 30% of the revenue your practice would generate would be coming from Fixed Prosthodontics. Join this hands-on course to increase your knowledge and skills in this particular procedure and see your practice enjoyment increase. With limited class sizes, we ensure that all your personal queries are answered. We make sure that you leave the premises with complete mastery over the subject.

The objectives of this course are:
– Criteria that necessitate crowns and fixed prostheses
– Whether the tooth should be extracted or restored
– Ridge augmentation
– Preoperative tooth bleaching
– Soft-tissue management
– Conservative periodontal therapy
– High-end tools required for Fixed Prosthodontics procedure
– Different elements for fixed prostheses
Ceramic restorations
– When are implants preferred over fixed prostheses and why
– Buildups, and post and core

Skills you’d acquire with our course:
– Training in diagnosis
– Optimum treatment plan acceptance
– Treatment planning
– Impression techniques
– Different post systems
Cementation
– Impression techniques
– Shade selection
– Build-up techniques

How To Become A Dentist/ Prosthodontist

I came across a question on Yahoo! Answers the other day, from apparently a school student/ pupil, enquiring about the length of education one requires in order to become a ‘Prosthodontist’.

(A Prosthodontist is a dentist specializing in restoration and replacement of teeth. Patients visit them for dentures, dental implants, dental caps/ dental crowns and dental bridges.) Since the blog of the best dentist in Delhi, Dr. Deepak Bhutani (Oral & Maxillofacial Prosthodontist and Implantologist), who also provides dental courses in Delhi to improve your working skills & boost confidence, is a resource on all things dental education, I decided to address the query here.

Please note, this blog post is in context to the Indian education system.
To start, a career in dentistry requires school graduation with a medical sciences background. For CBSE students, this means, physics, chemistry, biology, and English. The 5th subject is Math but can be substituted with an option like Physical Education, or Informatics Practices. (IP) Post class 12th, one needs to apply for Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS). It is a 5-year course, including a 1-year rotary internship.

Then, in order to become a Prosthodontist, the BDS graduate can pursue Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) in Prosthodontics and Crown & Bridge. Likewise, if one wants to be an Endodontist (Endodontists are specialists in treating dental pulp. Patients usually see these experts for root canal therapy.), MDS in Conservative Dentistry & Endodontics is to be chosen.