Dental Blog

Tooth loss doesn’t only affect the visible smile—it quietly changes the foundation beneath it. When a tooth is no longer present, the jawbone underneath begins to shrink. It happens slowly, often unnoticed at first. Over months and years, the once-solid ridge softens and thins. The shape of the face shifts. Implants, if planned too late, may no longer have enough support to hold.

But this doesn’t mean the opportunity is lost. In many cases, it’s simply paused. Bone grafting gives oral surgeons the ability to restore what time has worn away, setting the stage for lasting, functional restoration.

Injuries to the face have a lot of weight, both physically and emotionally. The face is personal; it's how we see and interact with the world. When trauma damages this important part of the body, the effects are more than just what you can see in the mirror.

It's easy to think that injuries to the face only affect the skin. A swollen cheek and a cut above the brow should heal. But underneath the skin is a web of soft tissues, nerves, and bones. Even small amounts of damage can make it hard to breathe, speak, chew, or feel things. And when something as foundational as one’s bite or smile is altered, it leaves an impact that lingers long after the swelling fades.

It's never a small thing to lose a tooth. Tooth loss can cause a chain reaction of changes in the mouth, in addition to leaving a gap in a smile. The teeth next to the one that has the root may start to move, the bite may change, and the bone that used to hold the root may start to go away. Over time, this bone loss can change the shape of the face in small ways, making the mouth look collapsed or the face look older than it really is.

For generations, patients had to accept dentures or bridges as the only way forward. Both helped restore function, but neither really dealt with the underlying issue of bone loss. That is where implants have changed the field: they not only replace the visible crown of the tooth, but they also replace the root, giving the tooth a new base for long-term health and stability.

For many patients, oral surgery still carries the weight of uncertainty. Will the implant be placed in the right spot? How risky is the procedure? And what does healing actually look like? These concerns are valid—and they’ve driven a wave of innovation in surgical planning over the past decade. Among the most impactful of these is CT-guided surgery, a method that blends digital imaging, pre-surgical simulation, and exacting technique.

While the term may sound technical, the purpose behind it is straightforward: to take the guesswork out of surgery and replace it with accuracy. Whether placing implants or planning grafts, surgeons can now design the procedure virtually—before a single incision is made.

Facial trauma is never “just a broken bone.” It influences how we eat, breathe, communicate, and connect with others—and how we see ourselves. That’s why these injuries demand both technical precision and human understanding.

Expert care combines surgical skill, anatomical knowledge, and empathy. Beyond restoring physical structure, the goal is to rebuild what was lost in an instant: confidence, comfort, and control.

They arrive late, often uninvited—and they rarely come quietly. Wisdom teeth, those third molars that develop at the very back of the mouth, have a reputation for stirring up more problems than they solve. While some individuals sail through their late teens or early twenties without a single issue, others find themselves dealing with pain, swelling, or signs of infection, often without much warning.

The problem is anatomical at its core. Most adults' mouths aren't big enough to fit four extra molars. Because of this, these teeth often have trouble finding room, which can cause crowding or partial eruption. Sometimes they get stuck under the gums or in the jawbone, which is called impaction. If you leave them alone, impacted wisdom teeth can slowly hurt things below the surface long before you notice any problems.

It's not just about skill; it's also about how well the surgeon can see below the surface. Two-dimensional X-rays used to be the norm, but they provided limited information—especially in complex cases where nerves, sinuses, or thin bone made procedures challenging.

Thanks to cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), oral surgeons can now plan treatments with a whole new level of clarity. This three-dimensional imaging shows the height, width, and depth of bones, their density, and the exact location of important structures. Surgeons can see the entire picture before making a single incision, whether placing implants, evaluating pathology, or planning grafts.

By the time most individuals reach their late teens, they’ve completed much of their dental development. Then, often without much warning, one final set of molars—known as wisdom teeth—attempts to emerge. For some, this happens uneventfully. For many others, it doesn’t.

These third molars have a long evolutionary history. Anthropologists believe they once served a purpose when early humans consumed a rough, unrefined diet. But our jaws have since adapted to softer foods—and as a result, wisdom teeth frequently have nowhere to go.

A missing tooth is more than just what you can see in the mirror. The jawbone that used to support it starts to move back, slowly, steadily, and without fail. This loss isn't just on the surface. Over time, a decrease in bone volume can have an effect on speech, bite function, facial structure, and the success of any future dental restorations.

Bone grafting can help change that path. It’s not an experimental procedure or a last resort—it’s a widely accepted and highly refined technique used to restore the structural foundation of the mouth. For many patients, it makes implant-based treatment not only possible, but successful.

Oral surgery often deals with structures that lie just millimeters from critical anatomy. A tooth might sit near a nerve; a narrow ridge of bone might support a dental implant that has to last for decades. In these cases, precision isn’t optional—it’s the foundation for safety, success, and long-term comfort.

Yet until relatively recently, oral surgeons had to work with a limited view. Traditional X-rays offer flat, two-dimensional images, which require a certain amount of interpretation and experience. That’s no small challenge when every angle and depth measurement matters.

CT-guided surgery—powered by cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)—changes this equation entirely. It allows oral surgeons to see the full picture, in three dimensions, before a procedure begins. And in skilled hands, that clarity can make all the difference.