The surgical modalities for exposure of impacted teeth have a wide range of variations designed for individual circumstances, each of which has advantages in specific cases and affect the long-term prognosis and appearance of the treated outcome. This presentation will discuss the importance of the orthodontist and maxillofacial surgeon working together as a team in order to successfully bring the misplaced teeth into ideal alignment and made completely indistinguishable from other, normally-erupted, teeth in the dentition. Several dilemmas will be debated – When is the surgery-first approach better? Which surgical modality is indicated in each case - who decides? How to modify the approach with severely-resorbed adjacent teeth? How to identify and avoid surgical pitfalls?
Learning Objectives:
After this session, attendees will be able to:
Recognize and avoid surgical pitfalls by proper planning of the surgical exposure together with the surgeon.
Define the needs of each individual case and adapt the most appropriate type of surgical exposure.
Recognize the cases in which the sequence of treatment should be changed in favor of a surgery-first approach.
