Pre-prosthetic surgery

This form of surgery involves the management of hard and soft tissues in the oral cavity which can interfere with dental rehabilitation.

This may include:

• Bone grafting to enable placement of dental implants. Occasionally there is insufficient bone to place the dental implant used to replace missing teeth. A separate surgery may be required to use bone from one site (within the jaw, or outside the jaw) to ‘build up’ the area of the intended implant. With surgical training, Oral & Maxillofacial surgeons can access bone from a number of sites depending upon the requirements
• Removal of bony tori or lumps of bone on the inside of the lower jaw, middle of the palate or sides of either jaws. Such tori can cause pain if a denture is worn over them, trap food or cause pain due to their prominent position
• Removal or repositioning of soft tissues in the oral cavity which can interfere with denture use or mobility of the lips or cheeks. Occasionally, a prominent fraenum attaching the lips and cheeks to the tooth supporting bone can become painful due to local trauma. Repositioning of these tissues can minimise such pain and permit denture fabrication.

Provided you are fit and healthy these procedures can be undertaken in a Day Surgery setting. Your surgeon may ask that you not wear your denture for a designated period after the surgery.