Facial Trauma & Defects

Here at Sacramento Surgical Arts, we provide comprehensive and expert care for facial trauma and oral deformities. Our Sacramento, CA team, made up of highly skilled oral and maxillofacial surgeons, is adept at navigating the complexities of facial injuries and oral irregularities.

We understand that any form of facial trauma or deformity can significantly impact your quality of life, affecting not only your physical well-being but your emotional health and self-confidence as well. That’s why our approach is compassionate, personalized, and focused on restoring both functionality and aesthetics. From treating tooth avulsion, bone injuries, and facial lacerations, to employing distraction osteogenesis treatment for various oral and facial deformities, we are committed to delivering the highest standards of care. We assure you that, with us, you’re in capable and caring hands.

Facial Trauma

The face is extremely important with regard to appearance, self-confidence, beauty, and expression of emotions. Facial trauma can cause significant physical and emotional scarring; for this reason, it is very important to seek out expert facial treatment. 

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are well-trained to diagnose and treat these types of injuries and are often called upon by their medical colleagues to treat any injuries that occur to the bones and soft tissue anywhere on the head and neck.

Facial trauma is more commonly observed in males compared to females. It frequently occurs during childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood rather than in adulthood. Additionally, the elderly population is prone to experiencing facial trauma.

What Causes Facial Trauma?

Injuries commonly occur due to sports, interpersonal violence, motor vehicle accidents, or loss of balance or falls, just to name a few causes. With the advent of airbags and seat belts, the types of injuries that used to occur due to car accidents have changed significantly. Facial injuries can be categorized into the following:

  • Soft tissue injuries that encompass various areas—such as the lips, skin, nerves, salivary glands, and eyes.
  • Bone injuries, referred to as fractures, can manifest as either closed (not externally visible) or open (visible through the skin or oral mucosa).

Types Of Facial Trauma & How They Are Treated

  • Tooth avulsion (knocked-out tooth):

    Place the tooth back into the socket immediately by picking it up from the crown. If dirt is on the root, then gently rinse off with saline, if available, or water and replace in the socket. If you can’t put it back in or are afraid to, place the tooth in one of the following and go to the ER or an oral surgeon right away.

    • Hank’s Balanced Saline Solution (available at the pharmacy)
    • Between teeth and cheeks (be careful not to swallow it)
    • Milk
    • Saline
    • Water

If the tooth is broken, please bring it with you, and sometimes a root canal can be done, and it can be placed back into position. If it cannot be placed back into position, then dental implants can be used to restore your mouth/teeth to a pre-injury state.

  • Loose Tooth:

    Loose teeth or mobile teeth can be splinted into place.

  • Bone Injuries/Fractures:

    Treatment of bone injuries is handled similarly to bone injuries that occur anywhere else on the body. Treatment is dependent on the type of injury, the location of the injury, the severity of the injury, and the age and general health of the patient. Treatment of fractures is done in the following manner:

    • Determine what bone(s) are broken via x-rays (radiographs) such as plain films, panorex, CT scan, and rarely, MRI.
    • To address jaw bone fractures, various approaches can be taken. Jaw wiring, similar to applying a cast on an arm, can be employed. Alternatively, the jaws can be wired shut to stabilize the fracture. Another option involves the use of small miniature plates with screws to hold the broken bones together, potentially eliminating the necessity of wiring the jaws shut. Typically, these plates remain in place indefinitely, unless complications such as infection or other medical requirements arise.
    • Using miniature plates allows patients to return to work or school and achieve a faster return to normal life.
    • Facial bone fractures are treated using miniature plates and screws either through the mouth, through the laceration overlying the fracture, or, rarely, by creating a new incision that can be masked/hidden in normal skin lines to give the best cosmetic outcome.
  • Facial lacerations

    : Facial lacerations (cuts) are treated with suturing. A crucial aspect to consider is the meticulous suturing of the tissue, nerves, and ducts of salivary glands—ensuring they are restored to their original position and optimal function while achieving the most favorable cosmetic and plastic outcomes. The surgeons in our practice have been specially trained for this aspect of repair to ensure the best cosmetic results possible.

  • Intraoral lacerations:

    Intraoral lacerations are treated with suturing.

Treating Facial & Oral Deformities

If you suffer from any type of oral or facial deformity, you may be a candidate for distraction osteogenesis treatment. Thanks to technological advances, our doctors at Sacramento Surgical Arts use this treatment to correct and repair defects and deformities in the oral and facial region. In most cases, patients with these types of conditions benefit greatly from this facial treatment. 

Our goal is to provide you with the least complex, most comfortable form of treatment that can offer the most effective correction.

Distraction osteogenesis treatment can be used to correct issues, including:

  • Congenital jaw deformities
  • Obstruction of the airways
  • Speech impairments
  • Oral function impairments
  • Skeletal facial deformities
  • Cleft palate and cleft lip
  • Jaw deformities

This treatment is performed within the mouth and does not require any surgical incisions, so no scars will be left behind. There is also no age limit for patients who need this type of procedure. Additionally, throughout the years, there have been new methods of distraction osteogenesis that have been developed to aid in dental implant placement without the need for bone grafting. You can rely on us to answer any questions you may have when you come into our office.

Request An Appointment Today

At Sacramento Surgical Arts, we have extensive experience serving the community and have five convenient locations in Sacramento, CA. When you come into our office complaining of one of a number of specific issues, we will likely recommend some type of oral surgery, like distraction osteogenesis, to correct it. We will determine whether you are an ideal candidate for this form of treatment during your initial appointment. 

If you would like more information about distraction osteogenesis or treatment for facial trauma, please do not hesitate to schedule a consultation!

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