FAQs

The answer to this question would be another question – are they really high?

Unfortunately, despite a lot of effort to save all the teeth, at some point one or more teeth are lost. The lack of even one tooth leads over time to greater destruction of neighboring teeth, bones, tooth displacement and even problems with the jaw joints.

In order to prevent all this, it is necessary to compensate for the missing tooth, preferably with a dental implant.

Once adequately and properly installed, a dental implant will serve you for at least 10 years and you will use it every day not only for chewing but also to prevent the already mentioned complications.

An installed dental implant does not require any additional interventions other than your daily tooth cleaning and occasional curettage at the dentist, with special curettes. Therefore, it does not require excessive further investments.

If we compare the price of a dental implant that lasts a very long time with all the other prices you pay every day (car maintenance, fuel, hair, nails, restaurants, private lessons…) you will realize that in a period of at least 10 years dental implants are actually -too cheap. And again, they compensate for the lost part of the body – the tooth. You will agree, health is still a priority.

Of course, in order for such a calculation to be realistic, the dental implant must be adequately installed, following the installation rules and protocols. Otherwise, if complications arise due to inadequate dental work or non-maintenance by the patient, the loss of the implant may occur and unfortunately this is not just a waste of money. Then your jawbone often becomes lost which is not easy to compensate.

Contact us because we are trained in the safe and reliable installation of dental implants. “Our” implants have already proven their longevity through the satisfied smiles of patients.

Is it visibly white and straight teeth, or a more subtle version? What is your goal – to show that they’ve been worked on or to make it unnoticeable? It used to be fashionable for the smile to be as bright as possible, with white teeth, also known as “ceramic” teeth. People generally believed that this kind of smile would make them look younger.

However, in practice, the opposite happens, and artificial-looking teeth usually add years to a person. Like plastic surgery, cosmetic dentistry has taken a different direction. Today, it’s fashionable to have naturally bright (not necessarily white) teeth that don’t appear to have been worked on. Teeth are not completely smooth surfaces, they have surface reliefs just like natural teeth. Special attention is paid to transparent incisal edges, reflection, and color transition. It is understood that they are not straight and of the same length.

There are clearly defined aesthetic guidelines for how to achieve natural-looking teeth, and it’s not easy at all. Because of the significantly more complicated procedure and much more time spent on a natural smile compared to an “artificial” one, this kind of smile is now less common and more expensive. But it’s definitely worth it because the first thing people notice on our face is our smile. A beautiful, natural, and youthful smile opens all doors, they say.

Do you feel that your gums are too visible when you smile? Ideally, during a moderate smile, only the pink triangular gums between the front teeth should be visible. The necks of the central incisors are slightly covered by the upper lip, and the gums above them are not visible. If your gum visibility is more pronounced, it is likely that you have a gummy smile. This phenomenon occurs due to an inadequate relationship between the upper jaw and the upper lip when smiling. For some, the problem is in the jaw (too pronounced), for others, it is in the upper lip (lifted too much when smiling), and for some, it is a combination of the above. We can solve a gummy smile in several ways, and the method we would use for you depends on your anatomy and muscle dynamics. The least invasive method is gingivectomy (reshaping of the gums). It is rarely done to correct a gummy smile because it has the most limitations. Another non-invasive method is the application of Botox, after which it is not possible to lift the upper lip too high, but a normal, natural smile is possible. If you are in good hands, no one can tell that you have had Botox done.

If you have noticed that the neck of your teeth is exposed in some areas and that your gums have receded, there is reason for concern. Where the gums have receded, the jawbone has also receded, leaving the tooth without that part of its bony support. This is the beginning of a vicious cycle, as in such situations, bacteria more easily enter the spaces around the neck of the tooth and cause further bone and gum recession. At the end of this process, the tooth remains without bony support, begins to loosen, and eventually results in tooth loss.

Gums and bone recede due to several reasons, such as:

• excessive and inadequate pressure from chewing on that tooth;
• overly rough tooth brushing;
• thin and sensitive gum biotype…

To prevent further and deeper consequences, it is necessary to first remove the cause of the recession and then restore the lost tissue. There are various methods and techniques we can use to stop and eliminate these processes.

Contact us while there is still time.

The most common un-erupted or impacted teeth are wisdom teeth, but other teeth such as canines, premolars (bicuspids or cuspid teeth), and even molars (sixth or seventh teeth) can also become impacted, although less frequently.

Upper canines most commonly remain impacted due to lack of space for them in the jaw after the incisors and premolars have already erupted. Impacted canines rarely cause complications, but sometimes they can loosen the adjacent tooth because they often cause resorption of the bone around the adjacent tooth.

Lower canines most commonly remain impacted due to the improper positioning of the tooth bud.

In patients with complete dentures, it is always wise to extract impacted teeth prior to making the dentures, as the dentures may press on the area where the tooth is located and cause pain and other complications.

The surgical technique for extracting impacted teeth depends on the location of the tooth. It is performed under local anesthesia, lasts about 30 to 60 minutes on average, and the postoperative period is normal. Pain is not usually severe, and if necessary, analgesics and antibiotics are prescribed. Swelling is a common occurrence after any surgical intervention, but swelling may not occur if the impacted tooth is accessed through the palate.

Patients often refer to this procedure as “root-cutting”. One part of the procedure indeed involves cutting and removing the tip of the root. The common question is why an apicoectomy is performed and what its purpose is. Let’s explain.

If a tooth decay is not treated in time, bacteria can pass through the tooth nerve and into the root tip and then through it into the bone. Bacteria in the bone can cause an infection called a granuloma. An untreated granuloma can spread and enlarge through the bone.

Granuloma can be treated conservatively, without involving surgical interventions. If such treatment fails, an apicoectomy or root-end resection is performed. With a surgical approach and under local anesthesia, the root tip is accessed, cut, and removed from the bone together with the granuloma (infection). The tooth (root) is then closed either over its tip or from the crown direction, and the wound is sutured.

The postoperative course is usual as with other surgical interventions.

Bruising is relatively common after oral surgical interventions such as tooth extraction, surgical tooth extraction, root end surgery (apicoectomy), surgical wisdom tooth extraction, or any other type of intervention. Bruising can occur for numerous reasons, including injury to a blood vessel during the intervention, natural weakness and increased permeability of blood vessels, various blood or vessel diseases, and more. Bruises can appear as dots, stripes, spots, or as a typical bruise. Initially, they are a dark purple color, then turn bluish, greenish, yellow, and finally, the skin above the previous bruise returns to its normal color. In most cases, in otherwise healthy patients, bruises are not a major cause for concern, although they can provide a good environment for infection to develop. In case of bruising, antibiotics are usually prescribed.

The treatment of these infections depends on several factors:

• the size of the infection;
• the course of the infection (whether it is acute or chronic)
• the age of the patient and the possible presence of general diseases.

The first step is usually conservative treatment of the infection (without surgery), especially in the case of chronic infections. This involves “nerve treatment”, i.e. endodontic therapy, which is successful and sufficient in most situations.

When endodontic treatment is not possible or is not successful (and sometimes there are objective reasons why it is not successful), surgical intervention is required – apicoectomy or root-end resection.

Fortunately, it is very rare for an infection at the root tip to end in tooth extraction.

No, it’s not. Swelling is a normal occurrence after any surgical intervention (apicoectomy, surgical tooth extraction, implant placement, bone grafting) and is a tissue response to trauma. Such swelling is called “cold” swelling, it does not represent an infection, nor does it require treatment. It spontaneously subsides after 4 to 7 days. It is common practice to administer certain medications against swelling before and after surgical intervention, which suppresses it to some extent. You should keep swelling in mind when planning your social activities. But there is no need to worry about this type of swelling because it is health-wise harmless.

Infections at the root apex can occur for various reasons, and they always occur in teeth where the nerve is no longer vital. The most common reason is untreated and deep tooth decay. Often, infections at the root apex occur due to uneven pressure on that tooth during chewing, which is called occlusal trauma. Any other trauma to the tooth can also lead to nerve death and subsequent infection. Inadequate prior nerve treatment (endodontic therapy) can result in an infection at the root apex.

These infections can be acute and manifest as tooth pain on touch or pressure, sometimes with spontaneous pain without pressure. The area of the mucosa in the projection of the root apex is red and sensitive to touch with a finger or tongue. Swelling or fistula (an opening from which pus can drain) may occur.

If the infection at the root apex is chronic, it can go unnoticed without any symptoms, and patients often do not know that it exists and can only be detected accidentally during a dental examination through a dental x-ray analysis.

In both situations, the tooth can darken, which can reliably signal that the nerve in the tooth is no longer vital and that an infection at the root apex may occur.

No, tooth extraction is not a painful procedure. Throughout the procedure, you may feel pressure but not pain. You may also hear various sounds of “cracking” or breaking if the tooth is fractured, but there is no need to worry. Analgesics are taken as needed during the period after tooth extraction.

In most cases, tooth extraction is not a complicated procedure. The tooth and the surrounding area are anesthetized. The process begins with the use of levers to gently detach the tooth from the bone. In some situations, the tooth is entirely removed with a lever. If that is not the case, the extraction continues with the use of forceps. After the tooth is removed, the wound is inspected, and slight bleeding is stopped by placing a piece of gauze on the area and biting down for approximately 10 minutes.

This is very important because there are some things that you should avoid, yet most patients still do them.

Rule 1 – do not bite your lip, especially the one that is still under anesthesia. Often, despite our warnings, the patient “tries” and plays with the numb lip. Such a lip does not hurt, so the patient has no control over the bite and bites too hard, which causes strong pain after the anesthesia wears off.

Rule 2 – do not rinse the wound after tooth extraction with water, solutions, alcohol, etc. Bleeding is a normal occurrence and it is enough to just spit it out without additional rinsing. Normal eating and brushing teeth are usual.

Every intervention, no matter how simple in nature, can become complicated. During a tooth extraction, the following can occur:

• fracture of the tooth crown or root;
• injury or loosening of neighboring teeth or teeth in the opposite jaw;
• injury or fracture of surrounding bone;
• “dislocation” of the lower jaw and even fracture of the entire jaw. In addition to hard surrounding tissue, injuries to soft tissue such as bruising of the lips, tearing of the gums, and injuries and bruising of soft tissue under the mouth and tongue are possible. Surrounding structures such as the maxillary sinus can also be injured, and if the inferior alveolar nerve is injured, temporary or permanent numbness of the lower lip on the same side occurs. Breaking of instruments, profuse bleeding from the wound, and swallowing or aspiration of contents are also possible. Depending on the type of complication, specific measures are taken, and it is resolved in the shortest possible time.

You’ve had a tooth extracted and now begins the healing period. Unfortunately, neither you nor your dentist can rest completely at ease because numerous complications can arise even after a successful tooth extraction. Most commonly, after the anesthesia wears off, the extracted tooth site may start to ache. This moderate-intensity pain is caused by the surrounding soft tissue and disrupted fibers that connected the tooth to the bone. The pain usually subsides with usual painkillers. If the pain is exceptionally severe, typically on the second day after tooth extraction, we often refer to it as alveolitis. We will discuss this complication further below. If the pain persists and intensifies in the following days after tooth extraction, it’s always necessary to rule out the possibility of residual tooth fragments in the alveolus or fracture of the surrounding bone. Such fragments often lead to infection in the wound, and thus, the pain increases. Infection of the wound after tooth extraction is a possible and unpleasant complication. We search for and eliminate the cause of the infection, prescribe antibiotics, and continue monitoring until the symptoms subside. It’s also possible that after tooth extraction, the patient comes home, and as the anesthesia wears off, they experience profuse bleeding. Any bleeding must be stopped immediately after tooth extraction, especially for patients with blood disorders or those taking blood-thinning medication. Such patients are already prepared for tooth extraction, taking into account their health status. If you feel severe pain or any other sensation during the healing period after tooth extraction, you need to see a dentist to address any potential complications.

Of course, the first step is to immediately see a dentist. Swelling from a tooth in the mouth and on the face usually occurs due to a tooth infection. Swelling can also occur due to infections of other anatomical structures (such as salivary glands) and a dentist or maxillofacial surgeon will diagnose and provide an appropriate treatment plan. It is not wise to try to solve these situations on your own. In this text, we will focus on swelling caused by a tooth infection. They occur when bacteria from the tooth spread to the bone and then to the soft tissue, causing swelling (in the mouth or on the face). Initially, the tooth is very painful, even to the touch of the tongue. When the swelling occurs, the toothache somewhat subsides. The resulting swelling can remain localized to the area where it originated, and if left untreated or in cases of weak immunity, the swelling can spread to surrounding areas. It is very dangerous if the infection spreads to the throat and chest or into the skull. In the fight against microorganisms, the body’s defense and immunity play an exceptional role. Antibiotics are necessarily prescribed depending on the overall clinical picture. The causative tooth is often extracted, except in cases where it is possible to quickly control the infection and heal the tooth. Tissue drainage, also known as incision, is necessary to eliminate pus when conditions permit.

In the previous text, we mentioned what can cause pain after tooth extraction. However, even if the extraction went smoothly and there are no other complications, intense pain can still occur around the second or third day after the extraction. This is when we talk about alveolitis, which is a disturbance in wound healing. After a tooth is extracted, a blood clot is formed in the wound. It protects the wound and serves as a base for further healing, the formation of soft connective tissue, and several months later, bone tissue. When the formation of an adequate clot is absent after tooth extraction (causing its breakdown), a very strong, constant, often pulsating pain can occur, which can spread throughout the entire jaw. Patients then constantly take painkillers. Although you are not sure if something serious has occurred after tooth extraction, there is usually nothing more serious that happens besides pain. Of course, it is necessary to visit a dentist in order to receive first aid and eliminate the pain. The dentist will determine if the pain after tooth extraction is caused by alveolitis or another complication that may require urgent treatment. The therapy for alveolitis involves curettage of the broken clot under local anesthesia and the application of certain medications in the wound. In most cases, this one-time help is enough and the pain subsides. If not, the medication in the wound is changed the next day and in the following days, as long as the pain persists, without further curettage of the wound. The pain caused by alveolitis lasts for up to 7 days after tooth extraction.

Yes, it is possible. Every tooth can remain “trapped” in the bone, meaning that for some reason, it does not grow in the mouth during the normal period of eruption. Usually, these are wisdom teeth, but can also be canines, premolars, and even incisors.

Surgical techniques for extracting these teeth vary and depend primarily on the position of the unerupted tooth in the bone and in relation to adjacent teeth. In some situations, these teeth are not extracted, but are instead released from the bone and orthodontically pulled out and placed into the dental arch.

It all depends on the position of the wisdom tooth. If it is partially erupted and hinders proper cleaning, it can contribute to the development of cavities in the neighboring tooth, damage to the root of the neighboring tooth, or periodontal pockets. Of course, for the same reasons, cavities can also form on the wisdom tooth itself, and untreated cavities can cause severe pain.

If you have an impacted wisdom tooth, it doesn’t mean that you have to extract it. The decision to extract an impacted wisdom tooth or not depends on various factors.

In children, the assessment usually focuses on whether the wisdom tooth can erupt and fit into the dental arch. In adult patients, the decision considers the presence of any discomfort or complications caused by the wisdom tooth, and the patient’s age also plays a significant role.

It’s a perpetual dilemma for our patients, but unfortunately there is no straightforward answer. The difficulty or ease of surgical extraction of wisdom teeth is influenced by numerous factors:

• the shape of the roots of the wisdom teeth – the more curved or divergent the roots are, the harder it is to extract the tooth
• density of the surrounding bone – the bone in the upper jaw is generally softer, making it easier to surgically extract upper wisdom teeth in most cases
• accessibility of the region – both upper and lower wisdom teeth can sometimes have difficult access, making the procedure more complicated
• during the surgical extraction of upper wisdom teeth, there may be a risk of “sinus perforation” due to the close proximity or contact with the sinus. This complication can be relatively easily resolved during the procedure.
• lower wisdom teeth may be close to the inferior alveolar nerve, which requires special attention and can significantly slow down the surgical extraction of the tooth.

Patients often come to us with pain in their wisdom teeth. Usually, the pain spreads through the lower jaw on the same side, and often to the area around the ear and temple. In younger people, while the wisdom tooth is still growing, the pain is caused by the tooth’s growth itself. If the wisdom tooth is growing in the correct position, the pain may not be significant, but if it is “pushing” against neighboring teeth and is in an incorrect position, the pain can be much more intense. In both older and younger patients, very severe pain can occur due to infection around the wisdom tooth or due to deep decay in the tooth that has already reached the nerve.

Surgical extraction of wisdom teeth looks similar to any other oral surgical procedure. After an adequate diagnosis and treatment plan, the intervention is performed. The first step is to prepare the patient by giving anesthesia, appropriate pain and swelling medications. The next step is to prepare a sterile working field. The wisdom tooth is accessed by lifting the gums, possibly removing a small portion of the jawbone or cutting the whole tooth. After the tooth is extracted, the wound is stitched, and the stitches are usually removed after 7 days. Throughout the procedure, the patient is under anesthesia and does not feel any pain. If the tooth or bone needs to be cut, a dental drill is necessary, which sounds and looks like a regular dental filling.

Inflammation of the wisdom tooth is a term commonly used by patients, but it usually refers to inflammation of the soft tissue (gums) around the wisdom tooth, which is called pericoronitis. It most commonly affects lower wisdom teeth, especially if they have partially erupted or if their crown is covered by gums. In these situations, cleaning around the wisdom tooth is difficult, and bacteria can get trapped between the tooth and gums, creating pockets in the bone (periodontal pockets) that act as a reservoir for more bacteria.

If pericoronitis occurs, it is almost always necessary to prescribe antibiotics and, if possible, extract the wisdom tooth as soon as possible. If the wisdom tooth cannot be extracted by the usual means but instead requires surgery, the infection is first treated, and then surgical extraction is performed.

When there are unerupted or partially erupted wisdom teeth in children, first the position of the tooth is evaluated to determine if there is a possibility for it to properly align in the dental arch. Often, orthodontists are involved in this decision, as it is not uncommon for the tooth to remain impacted due to underdeveloped jaw or lack of space for eruption.

If tooth extraction is part of orthodontic treatment, the decision of when to extract the tooth is made by the orthodontist. Typically, this is between the ages of 13 and 16, when the extraction is simpler and the child is cooperative enough.

The most common reason for this is that there is not enough space in the dental arch for the wisdom tooth to erupt. Another cause can be the improper positioning of the tooth germ, the presence of obstacles on the path of eruption such as extra teeth, changes in the bone, thickening of the mucous membrane. In rare situations, unerupted wisdom teeth can be found as part of some generalized diseases and syndromes.

Wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, are the last teeth to emerge in the upper and lower jaw. They usually erupt between the ages of 20 and 25. They can erupt normally, like any other teeth in the jaw, but they can also cause problems during their eruption.

A wisdom tooth that has fully emerged and is in the correct position behaves like any other tooth, participating in chewing and being cleaned and maintained normally.

The problem can arise with wisdom teeth that are in an incorrect position, partially erupted, or partially covered by bone. Such a wisdom tooth needs to be surgically removed.

Wisdom teeth are the teeth most susceptible to extraction compared to other teeth in the jaw, and there are several reasons for this. It is often the case that there is not enough space for wisdom teeth to fully erupt, so they partially erupt while one part remains in the bone or the whole tooth stays in the bone. These are called impacted or partially impacted wisdom teeth.

However, not all partially erupted wisdom teeth need to be removed. If they are causing an infection due to their incorrect position, they should be extracted. The same applies if their growth causes irregular positioning of other teeth, if they cause cavities or damage to the root of the adjacent tooth, or if they cause pain, and so on.