Facial Trauma
Dentist Surprise, AZ
 One of the first things people often notice about others is their smile. A captivating smile has the ability to leave a lasting impression and create meaningful connections. However, various dental imperfections can occur as a result of facial trauma and can hinder the beauty of your smile and impact your confidence. This is where the transformative journey of a smile makeover comes into play. At Greenway Family Dental in Surprise, AZ, we offer smile makeovers tailored to your specific needs ensuring that you leave our office with a beautiful and confident smile.
Types of Facial Trauma
Facial trauma, also known as maxillofacial trauma, can be categorized into several types:
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Soft Tissue Injuries: These include lacerations, contusions, and abrasions affecting the skin and underlying tissues.
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Fractures: These involve broken bones and can affect the nasal bones, cheekbones (zygomatic fractures), jaw (mandibular fractures), eye sockets (orbital fractures), and the upper jaw (maxillary fractures).
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Dental Injuries: These include broken, dislodged, or avulsed teeth, and injuries to the supporting structures of the teeth.
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Nerve Injuries: Damage to the facial nerves can result in loss of sensation or motor function, impacting facial expressions and other movements. |
Common Causes of Facial Injuries
Facial injuries can occur from a car accident, sports injury, fall, burn, or from an accident that occurred at home or work. Facial injuries can affect the bone, cause soft tissue damage, or both.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
In addition to affecting your facial appearance and smile, facial trauma can be very painful. Broken bones or dislodged teeth can be uncomfortable and make it hard and unpleasant to chew and difficult to enjoy your meals. Talking may be difficult if you have injury to your jaw, or hard to pronounce words if you are missing teeth. Immediately following the occurrence of a facial trauma, there will likely be bleeding, swelling, bruising, and pain.
Treatment Options for Facial Trauma
Treatment options for facial trauma vary based on the severity and type of injury but generally include:
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Emergency Care: Immediate attention to stabilize the patient, control bleeding, and ensure an open airway.
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Wound Care: Cleaning, suturing, and dressing lacerations or abrasions to promote healing and prevent infection.
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Fracture Management: Repositioning and stabilizing broken bones.
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Dental Treatment: Repairing or replacing damaged teeth, which may involve dental splints, root canal therapy, or implants.
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Reconstructive Surgery: Surgical procedures to restore facial structure and function, often involving plastic or maxillofacial surgeons.
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Therapy and Rehabilitation: Post-treatment care, including physical therapy and occupational therapy, to regain function and address any psychological impact. |
Surgical Procedures for Facial Reconstruction
A smile makeover is a cosmetic dental procedure that involves a series of treatments designed to enhance the appearance of your smile. Our dentists will work with you to determine the best course of action to improve your smile and create a customized treatment plan.
Surgical procedures for facial reconstruction, often necessitated by trauma, congenital anomalies, or disease, include a variety of techniques aimed at restoring function and appearance. Key procedures include:
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Bone Grafting: Transplanting bone from another part of the body or using synthetic materials to repair and rebuild facial bones.
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Orthognathic Surgery: Corrective jaw surgery to realign and reconstruct the upper and lower jaw, improving function and aesthetics.
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Soft Tissue Reconstruction: Repairing or replacing damaged skin, muscles, and other soft tissues using flaps (tissue moved from one part of the body to another) or grafts (transplanted tissue).
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Microvascular Surgery: Reattaching small blood vessels and nerves to transplanted tissues to ensure they receive adequate blood supply and function properly.
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Dental Implant Placement: Inserting dental implants made of titanium to restore lost teeth and strengthen the jawbone. |
How Long Does a Smile Makeover Take?
A smile makeover to treat facial trauma can vary in the amount of time it takes depending on the procedures involved and the individual patient's needs. Some smile makeovers can be completed in as little as one or two visits, while others may require multiple visits over several months.
The duration of time it takes to treat a patient's injuries from facial trauma will depend on the procedures included in the treatment plan. For example, dental bonding for a broken tooth can usually be completed in a single visit. Dental implants, on the other hand, will require multiple appointments over the course of several months to complete.
Can Badly Damaged Teeth Be Saved?
Teeth with significant damage can be fixed. The field of cosmetic dentistry has advanced significantly in recent years, making it possible to restore even the most damaged, broken, or decayed teeth. There are various procedures that can be used to fix teeth in need of repair, including dental implants, veneers, crowns, bridges, and more. The treatment plan will depend on the specific needs and condition of the patient's teeth. Our dentists will work with you to develop a customized plan that will help you achieve a healthy, beautiful smile.
Let Us Help You in Your Healing Process
The first step in treating facial trauma is to schedule a consultation with our experienced dentists. From there, we will assess the condition of your injuries, damaged teeth, and compromised smile, in order to determine the best course of action for your situation.
Achieving a healthy and renewed smile is a collaborative effort between you and our dentists. By working together, we can create a customized treatment plan that will help you achieve a healthy, beautiful smile that you can be proud of, feel healthy and whole again.
Contact Greenway Family Dental today so we can help with what you need. Reach us via (623) 500-6122 to schedule an appointment. |
