What is oral surgery?

Oral surgery or odonto-stomatology is the medical and surgical speciality that covers diseases of the jaws and surrounding tissues. It is one of the three specialties included in the dental curriculum, along with dentofacial orthopaedics and dental medicine. Practiced by both doctors and dental surgeons, oral surgery covers the fields of dental and maxillofacial surgery, as well as orthodontics and ENT.

What does an oral surgeon do?

Further to examination and potential testing (including an x-ray or biopsy in the event of a suspicious injury), the oral surgeon will perform any complex surgical procedure that involves the:

• Teeth
• Dental alveoli
• Jawbone
• Manducatory tract 
• Gums
• Oral mucous membranes
• Salivary glands
• Mouth-sinus and mouth-nose communication channels.
   

Following oral infections or irradiation, for example, the surgeon may perform a delicate extraction (impacted teeth or teeth that have grown towards the cheek or plate), a graft or pre-prosthetic or pre-implant surgery.

When to see an oral surgeon or stomatologist

A patient will generally consult an oral surgeon if referred by a dentist, dental surgeon, orthodontist or doctor (generalist or specialist). Whether it be wisdom tooth removal under anaesthesia, a benign cyst, a cancerous tumour, the modification of bone mass (increase or reduction) before the fitting of an implant, etc. – each of these practitioners in accordance with their specific field of intervention will have deemed necessary the complementary action of an oral surgeon.

What are the risks during an operation ?

Oral surgery (performed under a local or general anaesthetic depending on the patient’s condition and/or degree of invasiveness of the procedure) carries the same risks as any surgery – allergy to the anaesthetic agents, haemorrhage, hypertension, oedema, infections, etc. Providing information on the operation itself and risk prevention are part of the oral surgeon’s duty.