Modern Dental Care & Surgical Centre

If you've been in an accident or have been injured, you could suffer a jaw fracture. Dr. Weinstein, a Dallas oral and maxillofacial surgeon, is specially trained to respond to injuries such as a broken jaw. If you think you have a jaw fracture, it's very important to see a qualified specialist for diagnosis and treatment.

What is a Jaw Fracture?

A jaw fracture is similar to any other broken bone. A fracture occurs when there is forceful or blunt injury to the jaw bone, breaking the bone into two or more pieces. A broken jaw is often treatable without surgery, but must be treated to avoid potentially serious complications such as infection.

Symptoms of a Jaw Fracture

• Pain
• Swelling
• Inability to open or close the jaws properly
• Sections of teeth that move independently of the rest of the jaw
• Sudden misalignment of the teeth, a drastic change in the "bite".
• Decreased or loss of the ability to chew

A key to implant success is the quantity and quality of the bone where the implant is to be placed. The upper back jaw has traditionally been one of the most difficult areas to successfully place dental implants due to insufficient bone quantity and quality and the close proximity to the sinus. If you've lost bone in that area due to reasons such as periodontal disease or tooth loss, you may be left without enough bone to place implants.

Sinus lift surgery can help correct this problem by raising the sinus floor and developing bone for the placement of dental implants. Several techniques can be used to raise the sinus and allow for new bone to form. In one common technique, an incision is made to expose the bone. Then a small circle is cut into the bone. This bony piece is lifted into the sinus cavity, much like a trap door, and the space underneath is filled with bone graft material. Your periodontist can explain your options for graft materials, which can regenerate lost bone and tissue.

The white shiny part of each tooth is called the crown. The part that fits into its socket in your jaw is called the root. The deepest part of the root is called the apex. The apex of your tooth has an infection with germs in it. The infection may have ended up forming a cyst that possibly has pus in it.

A cyst is a little pocket with some liquid in it. It is about half an inch (1.2cm) across, in the jaw bone, near the apex of the tooth. This is called a dental cyst.

The cyst and infection is cleaned out through a small opening in the gum and bone. The opening is then closed up. This operation is called an apicectomy.

Occasionally, apicoectomy proves unsuccessful at resolving an infection in the tissues near a tooth's roots. That's when a minor surgical procedure called an apicoectomy may be recommended. Because this procedure is often performed with the aid of a microscope and other small specialized tools, it's considered a type of endodontic microsurgery. Probably the most common type of root canal surgery, an apicoectomy involves removing a small portion of the apex (tip) of the tooth's root, along with any surrounding hard or soft tissue that may be infected.

What would cause you to need an apicoectomy? There could be several reasons, including a canal that is blocked or inaccessible, an anatomical irregularity, or a fracture or crack in the tooth's roots. The procedure is normally only recommended after one or more root canal treatments have been attempted, and have failed. Since this type of problem generally occurs near the apex of the root, the procedure is often an effective way to treat a persistent infection.