Pre-Prosthetic Surgery

Pre-prosthetic surgery is a procedure to prepare your mouth for the placement of dental implants or a denture. This procedure can be deemed necessary to ensure comfort and health for the gums and longevity for the prosthesis. A prosthesis rests on the gum line, making it imperative that the bone underneath the gums is the correct shape, is smooth, and has no leftover bone that is sharp or uneven.  Pre-prosthetic surgery aims to remove excess bone and prepare a smooth jaw bone for prosthetic placement.

Pre-prosthetic surgery services are currently exclusive to the South Tampa office.

We will take an X-ray of your mouth to determine the exact location of problem areas to be addressed. The X-ray will also help determine if any infection is present. If so, your surgeon may ask you to take antibiotics for several days prior to the procedure. 

On the day of the procedure, our oral surgeon will sedate you with one of the following: 

• Local Anesthesia:  The numbing of your mouth through injection.
• IV Sedation: The administering of mild doses of sedatives through the vein to reduce anxiety, block pain, and put patients into a twilight state.
• General Anesthesia: Ensuring you will sleep soundly throughout the surgery by receiving drugs through a vein then breathing gas through a nasal tube. 

Once sedated, the doctor will create an incision in your gums and perform the necessary operations to prepare your gums and bone for the placement of your prosthetic. This may include surgically smoothing and reshaping your bone and removing excess gum tissue, infection, or impacted teeth.