Facial trauma is any injury that affects your face and mouth. These include injuries to soft tissues, facial bones and jawbone, and dental injuries.
While these injuries can range from mild to severe, it is important to seek treatment right away, even if you think that your injury is no big deal. Your face is both delicate and complex.
At OOptimum Oral Surgery & Dental Implants, we are trained in treating a wide range of facial traumas and can help to restore both form and function to your mouth following injury.
Types Of Facial Trauma
There are some different types of facial trauma, all of which range from mild to severe. Even in cases of mild trauma, however, it is important that you seek treatment immediately. Types of facial trauma include:
- Soft tissue lacerations. These injuries could affect nerves, blood vessels, salivary glands, and salivary ducts.
- Facial or intraoral burns.
- Injuries to sinus cavities.
- Damage to facial bones. These injuries include those of your jaw, cheeks, nose, eye sockets, and forehead.
- Tooth injuries.
Causes Of Facial Trauma
Facial trauma can be caused by some different issues, including:
- Car accidents. These accidents are the leading cause of facial trauma.
- Sports-related injuries.
- Falling down a set of stairs, from a ladder, or slipping on ice.
- Physical altercations.
Trauma To Soft Tissues
The face and mouth contain a significant amount of soft tissue. These tissues contain blood vessels and nerves. In some areas of soft tissue, there are also salivary glands and ducts.
In the event of soft tissue trauma, these structures could be damaged. Soft tissue trauma could also impact your facial appearance.
The goal of treating soft tissue injuries is to restore function to any affected components in your soft tissues as well as restoring your facial aesthetics.
It is essential that you seek treatment immediately so that we can effectively restore any affected nerves, blood vessels, salivary glands, or salivary ducts.
We are experts in these types of repairs and can help to provide you with the best functional and aesthetic results possible.
Trauma To Facial Bones And Your Jaw
Fractured facial bones need to be set, just like any other fractured bone. However, unlike an arm or leg, your face cannot be placed in a cast.
Instead, we have a few ways in which we can set facial bones to facilitate proper healing. One way fractured facial bones can be set is with wiring.
This particular treatment is common with a fractured jaw. The wire is used to set your jaw closed. While effective, it does prevent you from being able to use your mouth.
Another treatment for fractured facial bones is with plates and screws. This type of treatment allows for the use of your mouth while you heal. The plates and screws are often left in permanently.
Dental Trauma
Tooth injuries are quite common with facial trauma. These injuries range from chipped or cracked teeth to tooth intrusion and tooth loss. Dental trauma treatment varies based on the trauma experienced.
Chipped and cracked teeth can often be treated with dental crowns. Teeth that have been pushed deeper into their sockets or partially dislodged can be reset and secured. In cases of tooth loss, the tooth can often be replanted if it is found and undamaged.
If your teeth have been damaged beyond repair, you may require an extraction. For teeth that have been extracted or those that cannot be replanted, we can provide you with a replacement.
Traumatic dental injuries are injuries that affect the teeth and surrounding tissues. Dental trauma is often the result of an accident, such as a car accident or a fall, or the result of a sports injury.
The severity of these injuries varies, and the type of treatment you need depends on the type, and severity, of the trauma. No matter what the severity of the trauma, it is important that you seek treatment immediately. Optimum Oral Surgery & Dental Implants is here to help.
Cracked Teeth
Cracks, or fractures, in teeth vary in severity and are often sustained because of an abrupt blow to the face or if you bite down on a piece of food or object that is extremely hard. Cracks in teeth, even small ones, can compromise your oral health, as well as the appearance of your smile.
Without treatment, they can worsen over time. Cracks that affect the inner layers of your teeth leave an open passage for bacteria to pass through. Once bacteria get inside the tooth, they can lead to painful and dangerous infections.
It is possible to crack a tooth and not realize it. There are some symptoms, however, that can point toward the issue. Common symptoms of a cracked tooth include:
- Sharp pain when you bite down. This pain dissipates after.
- Pain while eating or drinking, particularly if you are eating hot or cold foods.
- Pain that comes and goes.
Cracked teeth can often be treated with a crown, a cap-like restoration that covers the entire visible surface of the affected tooth. The crown protects the tooth from further harm while restoring strength and preventing infection. If the crack is too severe, however, an extraction may be required.
Fractured Tooth Roots
Tooth injuries can also affect the surfaces of the tooth below the gumline. Because these injuries are often invisible, it can be difficult to know that you have a fractured root until an infection develops.
An infection can cause significant tooth pain and can also allow bacteria to spill out of the tooth and into the bloodstream.
Even if you do not see any visible damage to your teeth following an injury to your mouth, it is important that you seek dental treatment immediately. X-rays can detect fractures in the roots of your teeth before they have a chance to develop into something serious.
Tooth Loss
Dental injuries can sometimes result in tooth loss. If the tooth is knocked out cleanly, it is possible to re-implant it. First, find the tooth and clean it off. Be careful to only handle the tooth by the crown.
After you have cleaned the tooth, store it in milk or a saline solution until your appointment. We can generally re-implant the tooth and secure it while the periodontal ligaments and bone heal around it. If the tooth is too damaged or you cannot find it, we can discuss your tooth replacement options.
Tooth Intrusion
Some dental injuries involve the tooth being pushed deeper into the socket. These types of injuries are more common in primary teeth, as the alveolar bone of younger individuals is softer. This type of injury can cause several issues, including:
- Destroying the pulp of the tooth.
- Root resorption. This is a condition in which the root becomes shorter.
- The root of the tooth may fuse with the alveolar bone.
If your tooth has been pushed deeper into its socket, we can repair it. Be sure not to attempt to reseat the tooth by yourself. After we have placed your tooth in its proper location, we will secure it with a split until your periodontal ligament and bone heal around it.
When you have suffered facial or dental trauma, it is essential that you seek treatment immediately. Call Optimum Oral Surgery & Dental Implants at (856)778-8686 to schedule your appointment today.