Oral Surgery

Who performs oral surgery at North Harbor Dentistry

Drs. Matt and Justine Priess do this work themselves, in our Gig Harbor office. There is no separate surgeon on staff. The dentists who look after the rest of your care are the ones who take the tooth out, treat the site, and place the graft. When a case belongs with an outside specialist, we say so instead.

Do I need my wisdom teeth taken out?

Not always — a wisdom tooth only needs to come out when it is causing a problem or is likely to. That usually means there is not enough room for it, it is pushing on the teeth in front, or it is decayed, cracked, or impossible to keep clean where it sits. If yours are healthy, in position, and cleanable, they can stay.

The way to find out is an exam and a digital X-ray. Digital films show the angle each wisdom tooth is sitting at and where its roots run, in exquisite detail and with dramatically reduced radiation exposure. From there we can tell you whether removal makes sense now, whether it can be watched for a while, or whether the position of the roots means the case should go to a specialist.

What in-office surgical care covers

• Extractions, including wisdom teeth, severely decayed or cracked teeth, extra teeth, and teeth removed to relieve crowding.
• Site preservation, treating the socket at the time the tooth comes out to help the ridge hold its shape.
• Bone grafting to rebuild jaw bone where it has been lost, which is often what makes a dental implant possible later.
• Repair of bone defects and compromised supporting gum tissue.
• Biopsy of a change in the lining of your mouth, to find out what is behind it.

Why preservation and grafting matter

Bone shrinks where a tooth used to be. Treating the site while it is still open, or grafting it later, is designed to keep enough bone for an implant, a bridge, or a partial denture to sit well. If you think you may want to replace the tooth eventually, tell us before the extraction. It changes what we do that day.

When we refer you to a specialist

Referring is part of doing this properly, not a gap in it. Deeply impacted teeth, roots sitting against a nerve, complex jaw problems, and medical histories that call for hospital-level care are usually better handled by an oral surgeon than by a general office, and we would rather hand a case over than push it past where it should go. Either way, we will tell you which side of that line your case falls on before anything is scheduled.

Staying comfortable

Nitrous oxide is available for this kind of appointment. You breathe it in through a mask, it takes effect quickly, and it wears off quickly enough that you do not need a companion to drive you home. The relaxation it provides helps many anxious patients get care they would otherwise put off. A warm towel afterward is part of how we finish here, surgery or not.

Afterward

You go home with instructions in plain language: what to eat, what to avoid, how to keep the site clean, and what is normal for the first day or two. Call us if something does not look or feel the way we described.

If a tooth is hurting right now

We are dedicated to helping our patients during an emergency. Please call the office and we will accommodate you as soon as possible. If the office is closed when you call, you will receive specific instructions on how to obtain emergency advice or care. In the event of a life-threatening emergency, please call 911 or visit the nearest emergency room.

To talk through an extraction, a wisdom tooth, or a graft before an implant, call North Harbor Dentistry at (253) 851-4025. We are at 14315 62nd Ave NW in Gig Harbor, and we welcome patients from Purdy, Key Center, Fox Island, Olalla, and Port Orchard.