Wisdom tooth, also known as third molar, normally is the last tooth in the jaw. Some people are lucky to have wisdom teeth erupted and...

Wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, grow at the back of the mouth, which is the most difficult area to maintain oral hygiene. It's...

When a third molar, or wisdom tooth have not enough room in the very back of the mouth, t here is often a flap of gum ( operculum )...

Wisdom teeth, commonly called “third molars,” grow at the back of your gums and are the last teeth to come through. T hey’re called...

Epidermoid cysts are small lumps that develop under the skin or mucosa. They are benign subcutaneous lesions and often found on the...

Dental bridges are one of three options to replace missing teeth along with dental implants and dentures . Compared with dental...

An impacted tooth is one that fails to erupt or erupts only partially. After third molars (wisdom teeth), canines (eye teeth) are the most commonly impacted teeth. Upper canine teeth are some of the last to come through and therefore have more potential to become impacted and fail to reach their correct position within the upper jaw. The incidence of maxillary canine impaction has been estimated at 2%. The causes for retarded eruption of teeth may be generalized or localized

Sometimes the teeth are quite small in relation to the gum tissue. This can create an unattractive "gummy smile". An uneven gum line can also be distracting. Aesthetic crown lengthening is a surgical procedure to correct a “gummy smile,” or to make the teeth appear longer. It is aesthetically driven and usually requires crown lengthening on the just the buccal surface of the teeth in question. In this case, the patient had orthodontic treatment (braces) and the teeth are n

Crowns are one of the more common restorations that people need on their teeth. But it is a completely fair to ask “Do I really need a crown?” because even with insurance, crowns may cost you hundreds of dollars at a time. The reason they are recommended frequently is that a dental crown is often the best option to extend the life of a tooth for years to come, especially after root canal therapy , when lots of tooth structures have been removed. For many root canal procedur

Oversized maxillary frenum between two middle front teeth is the most common reason causing dental midline diastema, which makes orthodontic  treatment extremely difficult to close the gap. Frenectomy is the surgery to remove the frenum and make the gap closing possible. This case showed the maxillary labial frenectomy was performed successfully. The result was excellent. #Frenectomy

This impacted wisdom tooth was growing sideways and that's why we couldn't see anything like a tooth on the x-ray. Even though it's fully covered by jaw bone and gums, the patient still felt lots of pain and wanted to have it removed. The surgery was not as easy as other top wisdom tooth extractions because it involved removal of the bone surrounding the wisdom tooth. But the recovery was uneventful. #wisdomtooth

Tooth can not be saved and want dental implant to replace it in the future. Will there be enough bone after tooth extraction and bone resorption? Is there anything we can do to try to keep as much bone as possible and make the future implant straightforward? The answer is dental alveolar ridge preservation. In this case, the top front tooth had root fracture and periapical abscess. It's unrestorable and a dental implant option was chosen to replace the missing tooth in t

Sometimes teeth need root canal treatment because of deep decay, crack or chip in the tooth, and trauma etc. In most cases, the dentist will suggest to put a crown after root canal treatment. But what if I just leave the tooth without a crown? This is what may happen to a root canal treated tooth without a crown - It splits and needs extraction . From the x-ray, we can see lots of tooth structure had been removed because of root canal treatment . The tooth was weak and th

What happens when only tooth root stump left? Is extraction the only option? This case will show you what can be done to save the tooth. To save the tooth, the procedures performed included root canal treatment , surgical crown lengthening , post and core buildup and a zirconia crown . That's lots of effort! But it's worthy! #Surgicalcrownlengthening #RootCanalTreatment #veneerscrownsandbridges

A frenum is the attachment between the gum and some moving soft tissue part of the mouth - typically the tongue (lingual frenum) or the lip (labial frenum). Sometimes this is contributing to a problem with the gums or the alignment of the teeth - particularly when the frenum is attached to the gum right at the level where the teeth emerge. Maxillary labial frenum is capable of creating a diastema and recession, affecting aesthetics. The most common reason for frenectomy is

A patient with a missing upper first molar requested to replace the missing tooth. On examination, we found an upper left first molar missing and root caries on the second molar, which meant the second molar was unrestorable and a dental bridge would not be an option. The options left would be a removable denture or a dental implant . The patient chose the dental implant because he didn't like dentures. After the x-ray was taken, it showed that it would not be a simple and

It seems nothing wise with wisdom teeth. All they do is to cause pain, inflammation, infection. And the most common treatment is wisdom tooth extraction just like this case. Also they can have abnormal anatomy - how weird their shape is! It may take lots of wisdom to grow so weirdly. #wisdomtooth

Surgical crown lengthening is a surgical procedure to expose more tooth structure and increase the clinical crown length. Crown lengthening can be used to increase retention form, which makes further fillings or crowns possible, or to improve aesthetic outcome, such as correct "gummy smile". In this case, the tooth had root canal treatment , post and crown done years ago and unfortunately broke off. The remaining tooth was just at the same level of gum line. It would not be

Sinus lift is also called sinus augmentation. It is surgery to add bone to upper jaw, specially in molar and premolar area. The sinus membrane will be "lifted" to make room for bone grafting. From CBCT , we can see the sinus floor was too low and the remaining bone was not enough for implant. In this case, lateral window technique was used. Sinus membrane lining was raised and granules of bone-graft material was packed into the space after a small, oval window was opened in

This impacted wisdom tooth caused lots of pain, inflammation and infection of the gums around it (pericoronitis). Extraction is the only option. But it was not an easy one. From the removed tooth, we can see the curved root with a big lump at the end. This abnormal anatomy created a lot of resistance during the operation. With care and patience, the tooth eventually was removed without damaging any adjacent nerves (mandible and lingual nerves). #wisdomtooth