If you think Santa Monica Center For Oral And Dental Implants could assist you with the extraction of wisdom teeth, contact us today. We have the experience, knowledge, and skill to offer world-class care for each of our patients because we are passionate about our craft. For the last 40 years, our specialized team of oral and dental surgeons has been serving the West Los Angeles area.

Scheduling your extraction procedure is quick and easy – simply contact us today for your free, no-obligation consultation. We’ll be happy to discuss pricing plans, wisdom tooth extractions, oral surgery procedures and our sedation options with you to give you the best dental care possible. Call now!

Wisdom Tooth Removal West Los Angeles

When you’re having problems with your wisdom teeth, come to the best oral surgeons in the city of West Los Angeles. Justification for the removal of wisdom teeth is often misunderstood by the general public because at first glance wisdom teeth appear to be harmless, if not a bit uncomfortable to hatch. However, this perspective couldn’t be further from the truth. The benefits of preventative wisdom teeth removal include preventing infection, damage to other teeth, and spacing issues in the mandible before problems begin to develop. Call the Santa Monica Center for Oral Surgery and Dental Implants today with any questions or concerns you.

What Are Wisdom Teeth?

Wisdom teeth, also known as your third molars, are traditionally hatched in the later years of young adulthood. However, wisdom teeth are also notoriously known for the problems they induce when they hatch improperly. In addition to causing infection, damage to other teeth, and crowding of the back jaw, impacted wisdom teeth (sitting at an angle to the other teeth) can be responsible for causing unbearable tooth pain and much oral discomfort. However, you will quickly begin feeling normal after wisdom teeth removal!

How Can Impacted Wisdom Teeth Ruin Your Oral Health?

Tooth decay caused by impacted wisdom teeth is a very common consequence of failing to capitalize on the benefits of preventative wisdom teeth removal. Impacted wisdom teeth can actually trap large chunks of food around your back teeth! Because they sit at an angle to the other teeth in your mandible, impacted and deformed wisdom teeth easily collect food remains and cause widespread tooth decay if not treated at the first sign of discomfort.

Impacted wisdom teeth are much more susceptible to cavities and overall decay. Impacted wisdom teeth sit at an angle to the other teeth in your mandible, which means that a standard toothbrush won’t be able to fully clean the food particles that remain in between your impacted teeth and healthy teeth. Impacted wisdom teeth are additionally responsible for causing infection, damage to other teeth, and a lot of oral pain.

Contact Us Today!

Wisdom Tooth Removal West Los Angeles Presentation

Dental Implants

Santa Monica Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implants can give you new teeth in just one day and your smile and confidence back for the rest of your life.

Dental Implants can really change your smile and your life in just one day.

Tooth loss is extremely common among adults, especially as we age. Rather than living with the discomfort and hassles of dentures, you can enjoy a more natural alternative by choosing dental implants provided by Santa Monica Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implants.

Dental implants can replace one or more missing or damaged teeth with a permanent solution that leaves your smile looking 100% natural and allows you to eat the foods you love again. So why wait any longer to regain your smile and self confidence?

About Dental Implants

What are Dental Implants?

Dental Implants are a valuable alternative to an uncomfortable prosthesis. The implants themselves are small screws produced from titanium that serve a similar purpose to the roots of natural teeth. They are fused to the jawbone and support over dentures and dental bridges, helping them to perform like our natural teeth would. Once the implants are put in place, your general dentist will be able to place the permanent prosthesis.

Given the numerous benefits and aesthetic qualities Dental Implants offer, they have become the preferred method of tooth replacement today.

What are the benefits of Dental Implants?

Dental implants are widely regarded as the best treatment for loose dentures. Permanent dental implants are designed to make dentures much more secure and enable you to smile, eat and talk confidently. Santa Monica Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implants can assist you if you have been thinking about investing in implants.

The implants act as a foundation for replacement teeth. They won’t decay and are designed to last for the rest of your life. Implants can be used in conjunction with various dental procedures to improve our oral health. Once they are installed, you’re much less likely to face problems with slippage and discomfort.

What are the steps for getting Dental Implants?

The initial step is to meet with Santa Monica Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implants for a consultation. At this consultation, the doctor and you will determine your needs, assess your oral health, review your medical history, and discuss treatment options in order to create a customized treatment plan just for you. We’ll discuss your options for sedation, which is the medication to help you relax or even sleep during the procedure. We will also discuss costs, financing options if necessary, and timing. Many times this consultation also entails review of an x-ray or 3D CT scan. This consultation can usually be finished in less than an hour. If you decide that Dental Implants are right for you and would like to proceed, you may schedule your surgery.

On the day of surgery, you’ll come to our office and go straight back to a surgical room. During the actual surgery, any teeth, if required, will be removed. Next the actual dental implants are placed in the jaw bone. Then replacement teeth are secured onto the implants. It’s important you know that you can possibly leave the office with your teeth! This is why we can say “teeth in a day.”

Following your surgery, there is a recovery period where the implants will need to heal and fully integrate with your bone and tissue before your general dentist can connect the permanent crowns, bridges or dentures. It will usually take between 3-6 months for this healing period to be complete.

Who Typically Gets Dental Implants?

Those likely to gain from Dental Implants include individuals who have actually been experiencing issues with standard dentures or simply individuals who have lost a single tooth. They make life easier for those that have been discovering it hard to chew and enjoy meals and can slow down the procedure of tissue and bone loss in the jaw. What’s more is that Dental Implants can even provide a more youthful appearance due to the manner in which they will give your facial structure a lift. They will assist you to speak more clearly.

Full Arch Treatment-Teeth In 24 Hours

Traditional approaches to restoring a full arch of teeth (upper jaw or lower jaw, or both) usually involved six or more dental implants, and as many as 18 months of treatment. This approach typically requires a patient to often be without any teeth or with ill-fitting temporary dentures for more than a year.

This is not true at Santa Monica Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implants. Today there are much better solutions! You may have seen or examined a few of the these solutions which are promoted under such trademark name as: “All-on-Four ®”, Clear Choice ®,”Teeth In A Day”, “Teeth in an Hour”, “Dental Implants in One Day”, “Teeth In One Day”, “Teeth In One Visit”, and numerous other one-day implant treatment offerings of a full arch of replacement teeth.

Santa Monica Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implants offers a wide range of dental implants solutions, including the All-on-4 procedure. We work closely with local dental laboratories to provide state of the art full arch treatments. We can have you smiling again the day after surgery!

What if I want to replace just a single tooth?

If you’re missing simply a single tooth, one implant and one crown can change it. A dental implant replaces both the lost natural tooth and its root. Replacing one tooth with an implant supported crown can protect the stability of all nearby teeth and is remarkable to a conventional tooth-supported dental bridge.

If you are interested in dental implants, contact us today to arrange a consultation. We will speak to you in depth about your dental history, your oral health goals and explain all your treatment options to you so you can make an educated decision. Call today to learn more about our dental implant services.

All-on-four Dental Implants

An ideal solution for patients who need numerous teeth replaced.

All-On-Four dental implants are more stable and secure than standard dentures.

The All-On-Four dental implant is an option for patients who need numerous teeth replaced, or even a whole upper or lower set of teeth. The procedure is a relatively new technique in dentistry and allows patients to receive an entire arch of prosthetic teeth in a single appointment with a surgeon. By using just 4 dental implants instead of one implant per tooth, the procedure is minimally invasive and can replace an entire set of teeth without the need for repeat surgical visits.

About All-On-Four Dental Implants

The All-On-Four treatment is used to replace the entire upper or lower set of teeth. The procedure creates a permanent prosthesis by using 4 dental implants which act as an anchor for a bridge or overdenture of 12 to 14 teeth. This technique avoids having to have extensive bone grafting procedure. All-On-Four dental implants can replace both damaged and missing teeth and provide a long-term, permanent alternative to dentures.

About the All-On-Four Procedure

Four screws are placed into the jawbone and gums and left to heal sufficiently, before the implant bridge can be secured in place. Once implanted, the bridge will never need to be removed and will resemble the appearance of your natural teeth.

As with all dental implants, All-On-Four dental implants are placed during an outpatient surgical procedure in Santa Monica Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implants. Most patients will want to take advantage of some sort of sedation for this procedure, in addition to the local anesthetic that will be used. Learn more about Sedation Dentistry – or “Sleep Dentistry” – here.

Before leaving Santa Monica Center for Oral Surgery and Dental Implants, the patient is typically fitted with a comfortable set of “fixed” temporary teeth. After the implants have fully healed with the bone (takes up to 4 months), the patient will receive a permanent new set of teeth from their general dentist.

In the days immediately following the All-On-Four placement procedure, patients should use common sense to determine what they can and cannot do to avoid complications and problems with the implants. Maintain a soft diet for a few weeks and be gentle with your oral hygiene routine (but still keep up with it to minimize the presence of potentially infection-causing bacteria!).

In addition to the short treatment time frame, All-On-Four dental implants have a number of advantages over conventional dentures. All-On-Four implants are more stable and secure, greatly reducing the jawbone resorption that occurs with standard dentures, which have no root-like structure to anchor the bone. An implant-supported arch will not slide out of place, and it’s more effective at chewing so patients can maintain a varied diet.

If you think the All-On-Four solution is right for you, schedule a consultation today with Santa Monica Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implants.

Wisdom Teeth Removal

Using advanced procedures to ensure less pain, less swelling, and more comfortable healing.

Wisdom teeth removal services are ideal for patients experiencing pain, worried about tooth decay or wishing to improve the overall health of oral cavity compromised by wisdom teeth.

Wisdom teeth are also known as third molars and usually appear when we are between 17-25 years of old. Wisdom teeth don’t always erupt as they should, and if you have only seen partial impact or eruption of your teeth chances are you’ll be feeling some or even extreme discomfort. We can assist you if you do need to remove wisdom teeth that are causing you pain. So if you’re currently experiencing pain, don’t wait any longer to get it taken care of. Set up your exam today

About Wisdom Teeth Removal

Why get your wisdom teeth removed?

Not everyone has to have their wisdom teeth removed, but many people have no choice but to take action. If your wisdom teeth don’t fit in your mouth adequately, you may wish to get in touch. Wisdom teeth cannot erupt if you don’t have enough room for them. Taking action can mean avoiding additional complications in the jaw. You may also wish to seek help if you have been experiencing pain in the gums around your wisdom teeth. Food and bacteria can often become trapped around the wisdom teeth, causing infections. Taking the teeth out can help you avoid subsequent infection.

Oral surgery may also be the solution if wisdom teeth have forced other teeth to slide out of alignment. If you no longer have straight teeth because of eruption, we can help. Wisdom teeth can also be difficult to clean and therefore cause other teeth to decay. Removal can help you overcome a variety of problems related to wisdom teeth.

What is the process for getting wisdom teeth removed?

Before surgery begins, you can take part in a consultation to ensure the right treatment is being offered. You will be given a local anesthetic on the day of the removal to numb the area and may also need a general anesthetic if multiple teeth are being extracted. Your surgeon will open up gum tissue near the tooth and remove any bone over it before extracting the tooth. They may need to cut the tooth into small pieces to extract it. Wisdom tooth removal is likely to be easier if the tooth has fully erupted, but the process may be more complex if the only partial eruption has occurred. In any case, wisdom tooth removal can help you avoid tooth decay, lift you out of pain and give you a straighter bite.

Who typically has their wisdom teeth removed?

Wisdom teeth removal services are ideal for patients experiencing pain, worried about tooth decay or wishing to improve the overall health of oral cavity. Contact us today to learn more about how we can assist you.

Teeth-in-an-Hour™

TEETH-IN-AN-HOUR is a revolutionary concept providing patients with fully functioning teeth on dental implants in a single procedure. This technology was developed by Nobel Biocare and utilizes collaboration between both the restorative doctor and the oral surgeon.

This merging of knowledge and experience achieves not only increased safety, but also a more precise implant placement. The computer-guided implant surgery is done in an arthroscopic fashion without requiring any flap reflection. This benefits the patient in that there is less postoperative discomfort, less swelling, and less bruising. Patients can often resume their normal activities the next day.

The process begins when a 3D scan is taken of the patient’s jaw bone. This 3D scan allows for the generation of a three-dimensional model of the jaw bone that can then be used with digital software to plan the implant placement without the presence of the patient. The results are a more accurate implant placement and less chair time for the patient.

Facial Trauma

Santa Monica Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implants are trained, skilled and uniquely qualified to manage and treat Facial Trauma.

Injuries to the face, by their very nature, impart a high degree of emotional, as well as physical trauma to patients.

The science and art of treating these injuries requires special training involving a “hands on” experience and an understanding of how the treatment provided will influence the patient’s long term function and appearance. Santa Monica Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implants meets and exceeds these modern standards. They are on staff at local hospitals and deliver emergency room coverage for facial injuries, which include the following conditions:

Facial lacerations
Intra oral lacerations
Avulsed (knocked out) teeth
Fractured facial bones (cheek, nose or eye socket)
Fractured jaws (upper and lower jaw)

About Facial Trauma

Maxillofacial Trauma

Facial trauma involves, bone fractures, soft tissue injury to the gums and skin or, damage caused to facial nerves, salivary glands or the eyes. Injury can be caused by falling, a road traffic incident, assault, or a sports accident.

The treatment of facial trauma covers:

Teeth that have been knocked out (Avulsed teeth)
Fractured upper or lower jaw
Fractures to eye socket, nose or cheek bones
Facial lacerations
Lacerations of the mouth (Intra-oral lacerations)

The treatment of damaged teeth

Avulsed Teeth – A tooth that has been knocked out can be saved if fast action is taken. Carefully put the tooth in some milk or saliva to keep the tooth moist. Water should only be used if nothing else is available. Don’t try and clean it, leave it exactly how it is and then get to the dentist as quickly as possible.

If the tooth or bone aren’t damaged, your dentist will be able to put the tooth back into place and hold it in with a soft wire splint. The root should then re-attach itself to the bone within a month or so and then the splint can be removed.

Fractured upper or lower jaw

Fractures to the lower jaw (mandible) and the upper jaw (maxilla) may need orthognathic surgery and orthodontic treatment to enable you to open and close your mouth, chew properly and align your jaw correctly so that your normal bite is re-established.

The dentist will either wire up your jaw to let the fractures heal or place the bones back in position and then use screws and plates to hold them in place until they are healed. This procedure is called ‘rigid fixation’ and has a faster recovery period than jaw wiring.

Fractures to the eye socket, nose or cheek bones

Fractures of the face will cause swelling and the sensation that teeth are not fitted together as they are normally. Opening and closing your mouth may also be difficult. If the fracture isn’t serious you may be advised to take a liquid diet for a specified amount of time in order to let the injury heal by itself. If a dental procedure is required, your jaw will either be wired to keep it shut, or as in the case of a fractured jaw, the bones will be placed surgically in position and then held together with screws and plates.

Facial lacerations

Injuries to the face not only require suturing to repair the damage and prevent infection, but your dentist can also check and treat damage to the salivary glands and ducts, as well as your facial nerves.

Lacerations to the mouth (Intra-oral lacerations)

Intra-oral lacerations may need suturing and require careful checking to ensure that there is no damage to teeth or any fractures to the face or jaw. Most wounds heal quickly, but your dentist will re-evaluate the injury after 48 hours to ensure that it has not become infected and is healing properly.

If you need facial trauma treatment, you can rely on our skilled team of oral and maxillofacial surgeons to give you the care and consideration you need to heal your wounds and help you recover as quickly as possible.

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Bone Grafting

A procedure used to “build” bone so dental implants can be placed.

Bone grafting is ideal for those seeking dental implants but are experiencing problems with low bone density.

If you are interested in obtaining dental implants but you have reduced bone density, help is available. Many people seeking dental work express concern after finding they no longer possess enough bone for implants. However, options are available if you are lacking in bone density. Don’t wait any longer. Start the process to regain your smile and self confidence. Schedule your exam today.

About Bone Grafting

What are the benefits of Bone Grafting?

We can grow the required amount of bone lacking in the molar area of the upper jaw by utilizing a bone grafting technique called “sinus lift.” We can obtain bone from elsewhere and add it to a deficient area. We can place this in an underlying area and place a bone in a better position once the healing stage is over. Commercially available bone substitutes are used in most of the cases to avoid having to “harvest” a patient's own bone to minimize additional discomfort and complications. These can act as a scaffold for new bone to grow before dental implants are added.

It can take between 3-6 months before new bone is ready for dental implants. Large amounts of bone will take longer to mature. A process called ‘guided tissue regeneration’ is used by many surgeons. This involves a barrier being placed between the soft tissues that line the mouth and slow-moving bone cells and gives the cells time to grow. The barrier will disappear naturally once the right results have been achieved. Bone grafting can enhance the efficiency of implants significantly. Though grafting is a complex process, we have the skills and experience needed to provide you with the results you require.

What is the process of Bone Grafting?

Bone grafting is a safe procedure and we can discuss your options in-depth with you before surgery takes place to ensure you’re receiving the appropriate type of treatment for your needs. You’ll normally be given a local anesthetic to reduce pain whilst the procedure is taking place and can opt for intravenous sedation if you need it.

Once the procedure is completed, you will be provided with antibiotics as well as medication for pain, if required. You will be advised not to consume specific foods to avoid putting pressure on the graft. You should be able to carry on with your day-to-day life as normal whilst the bone graft is healing. Once the grafted bone has fused or become a robust part of the existing bone, your implants will be placed.

Who has Bone Grafting?

Bone grafting is ideal for anyone wishing to add implants to their mouth, but does not currently have enough bone for them to be placed safely or securely. Contact us today to learn more about a bone grafting procedure.

Sinus Lift

What is a Sinus Lift?

The maxillary sinuses are behind your cheeks and on top of the upper teeth. These sinuses are empty, air-filled spaces. Some of the roots of the natural upper teeth extend up into the maxillary sinuses. When these upper teeth are removed there is often just a thin wall of bone separating the maxillary sinus and the mouth. Dental implants need bone to hold them in place. When the sinus wall is very thin, it is impossible to place dental implants in this bone. The key to a successful and long-lasting dental implant is the quality and quantity of jaw bone to which the implant will be attached. If bone loss has occurred due to injury or periodontal disease, a sinus augmentation can raise the sinus floor and allow for new bone formation.

A sinus lift is one of the most common bone grafting procedures for patients with bone loss in the upper jaw. The procedure seeks to grow bone in the floor of the maxillary sinus above the bony ridge of the gum line that anchors the teeth in the upper jaw. This enables dental implants to be placed and secured in the new bone growth.

Am I A Candidate For A Sinus Lift Procedure?

A sinus lift may be necessary if you:

are missing more than one tooth in the back of your jaw
are missing a significant amount of bone in the back of your jaw
are missing teeth due to a birth defect or condition
are missing most of the maxillary teeth and require support for dental implants

How is this Procedure Accomplished?

Most commonly, a small incision is made on the premolar or molar region to expose the jaw bone. A small opening is cut into the bone, and the membrane lining the sinus is pushed upward. The underlying space is filled with bone grafting material, either from your own body or from other sources. Sometimes, synthetic materials that imitate bone formation are used. After the bone is implanted, the incision is sutured and the healing process begins. After several months of healing, the bone becomes part of the patient’s jaw and dental implants can be inserted and stabilized in the newly formed sinus bone.

If enough bone between the upper jaw ridge and the bottom of the sinus is available to sufficiently stabilize the implant, sinus augmentations and implant placement can sometimes be performed as a single procedure. If not enough bone is available, the sinus augmentation will have to be performed first, then the graft will have to mature for up to several months, depending upon the type of graft material used. Once the graft has matured, the implants can be placed.

The sinus graft makes it possible for many patients to have dental implants that previously had no other option besides wearing loose dentures.

A sinus grafting (also known as sinus lift or sinus augmentation) technique is a delicate procedure requiring a high level of surgical expertise. At Santa Monica Center for Oral Surgery and Dental Implants, this procedure is routinely performed under local anesthesia in less than 30 minutes. Some patients may request oral or intravenous sedative medication as well.