Diagnostic

• Dental Examination
  With an oral examination and x-rays of the mouth,. Drs. Schultz, Perciaccante, Anderson and Keyser can evaluate the position of the wisdom teeth and diagnose present problems or predict if future problems may develop. Studies have shown that early evaluation and treatment results in a superior outcome for the patient and minimizes risk to vital structures and adjacent teeth. Patients are generally first evaluated in the mid-teenage years by their dentist, orthodontist or by one of our highly trained oral and maxillofacial surgeons.
• X-rays

Restorative

• Crowns
  Treatment may also require referral to an oral surgeon for the extraction of over-retained baby teeth and/or selected adult teeth that are blocking the eruption of the all-important canines. The oral surgeon will also need to remove any extra teeth (supernumerary teeth) or growths that are blocking eruption of any of the adult teeth. If the eruption path is cleared and the space is opened by age 11-12, there is a good chance the impacted canine will erupt with nature’s help alone. If the canine is allowed to develop too much (age 13-14), the impacted canine will not erupt by itself even with the space cleared for its eruption. If the patient is too old (over 40), there is a much higher chance the tooth will be fused in position. In these cases, the tooth will not budge despite all the efforts of the orthodontist and oral surgeon to erupt it into place. Sadly, the only option at this point is to extract the impacted tooth and consider an alternate treatment to replace it in the dental arch (crown on a dental implant or a fixed bridge).
• Bridges
  Modern dentistry can help with the Bar Attachment Denture. The Bar Attachment Denture treatment concept replaces your missing teeth with a full dental bridge supported by only four dental implants. With fewer implants needed, overall treatment time and cost is reduced. The unique Bar Attachment Denture solution also ensures greater stability in the bone, reducing the need for bone graft surgery to increase bone volume.
• Dental Bonding

Endodontics

• Root Canal Treatment
  Isolated injuries to teeth are quite common and may require the expertise of your general dentist as well as multiple dental specialists. Oral surgeons usually are involved in treating fractures in the supporting bone or in replanting teeth that have been displaced or knocked out. These types of injuries are treated by one of several different methods of splinting (stabilizing by wiring or bonding teeth together). If a tooth is knocked out, it should be placed inside the mouth alongside the cheek if possible. Otherwise, the next best option is storing in milk or a balanced saline solution. The sooner the tooth is re-inserted into the dental socket, the better chance it will survive. Therefore, the patient should see a dentist or oral surgeon as soon as possible following the injury. If the event occurs after normal office hours, proceed to an Emergency Room. Never attempt to wipe the tooth off, since remnants of the ligament that hold the tooth in the jaw are attached and are vital to the success of replanting the tooth. You may be referred to other dental specialists such as an endodontist, to have root canal therapy performed on the injured tooth. If injured teeth cannot be saved or repaired, dental implants are often utilized as replacements for missing teeth. Dental implants are currently the most advanced treatment for replacement of missing natural teeth.

Prosthodontics

• Dentures
  Bar Attachment Denture is a contemporary restoration that has revolutionized the way surgeons and dentists think of replacing a full set of teeth. Dentures are unsecured prostheses with very limited success. Most often, dentures are painful, inconvenient and unstable. Such dentures can make chewing foods difficult limiting the foods that you once enjoyed.

Implants

• Dental Implants
  Dental implants are changing the way people live. They are designed to provide a foundation for replacement teeth that look, feel, and function like natural teeth. With a dental implant, you will be able to eat virtually anything. Replacing missing teeth with dental implants preserve and restore youthful facial contours. Patients with dental implants can smile with confidence.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

• Oral Surgery
  She moved to the Atlanta area in 1997 to pursue her surgical training and completed internship, residency, and fellowship training at Emory University in 2003. Dr. Keyser joined the teaching faculty in the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and in reflection has found the teaching of residents to be one of the most gratifying aspects of her career. She returned to her native Pennsylvania in 2004 and remained in Private Practice with Oral Surgery Associates of Central PA until May of 2017 where the lure of the South and the beauty of Fayette County brought her and her family here once again to join South OMS.
• Jaw Surgery
  To provide you with a better understanding of orthognathic surgery, we have provided the following multimedia presentation. Many common questions pertaining to orthognathic surgery are discussed.
• Pre-prosthetic Surgery
• Gum Surgery
  Shortly after surgery the patient will return to the orthodontist. If a bracket was placed a rubber band will be attached to the chain to put a light eruptive pulling force on the impacted tooth. If no bracket was placed, the orthodontist will observe the tooth for spontaneous eruption. This will begin the process of moving the tooth into its proper place in the dental arch. This is a carefully controlled, slow process that may take up to a full year to complete. Once the tooth is moved into the arch in its final position, the gum around it will be evaluated to make sure it is sufficiently strong and healthy to last for a lifetime of chewing and tooth brushing. In some circumstances, especially those where the tooth had to be moved a long distance, there may be some minor “gum surgery” required to add bulk to the gum tissue over the relocated tooth so it remains healthy during normal function. Your dentist or orthodontist will explain this situation to you if it applies to your specific situation.
• Maxillofacial Surgery
  This privacy policy (the “Policy”) is intended to inform you of the types of information South Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (“we” or “us”) collects, as well as our policies and practices regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of that information through the web pages at https://www.southoms.com (the “Site”).
• Tooth Extractions
  After tooth extraction, it’s important for a blood clot to form to stop the bleeding and begin the healing process. That’s why we ask you to bite on a gauze pad for 30 minutes after the procedure. If the bleeding or oozing persists, place another gauze pad and bite firmly for an additional 30 minutes. You may have to do repeat this process several times.
• Bone Grafting
  Bone grafting is an area of great discussion within our specialty. This is an area of great pride and success for our physicians based on their advanced Maxillofacial training in a major trauma institution. Advances in science have allowed us to achieve greater goals with decreased downtime and cost.

Orthodontics

• Orthodontics
  Orthognathic surgery is needed when jaws don’t meet correctly and/or teeth don’t seem to fit with jaws. Teeth are straightened with orthodontics and corrective jaw surgery repositions a misaligned jaw. This not only improves facial appearance but also ensures that teeth meet correctly and function properly.
• Braces
  In cases where the canines will not erupt spontaneously, the orthodontist and oral surgeon work together to get these unerupted canines to erupt. Each case must be evaluated on an individual basis, but treatment will usually involve a combined effort between the orthodontist and the oral surgeon. The most common scenario will call for the orthodontist to place braces on the teeth (at least the upper arch). A space will be opened to provide room for the impacted tooth to be moved into its proper position in the dental arch. If the baby canine has not fallen out already, it is usually left in place until the space for the adult canine is ready. Once the space is ready, the orthodontist will refer the patient to the oral surgeon to have the impacted canine exposed and bracketed.