Center for Oral Surgery + Dental Implants: FAQ Hub
Serving Grand Rapids and Rockford, Michigan since 1981. BBB Accredited Business (A+). Answers below are organized by procedure, with the direct answer first.
Find your question below, organized by service. If you don't see it here, contact us, and we'll get you a straight answer.
General, Insurance & Scheduling FAQs
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We participate with the following insurance groups:
Delta Dental
Aetna Dental
UNUM/Always Care Dental
Blue Par Select
Priority Health Medical
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We do require a referral for most appointments. However, we do not require referrals for wisdom tooth consultation or implant consultation.
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We coordinate scheduling around your availability and aim to complete initial consultations within two weeks.
Wisdom Teeth Removal FAQs
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Surgery typically takes 30 to 60 minutes, and your total time in our office is about 90 minutes. We use 3D imaging to map tooth positions and build a customized surgical plan beforehand. Our team will meet you for a consultation before your surgery, where we will take the necessary imaging and build a customized surgical plan.
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We recommend removal in your teens or early twenties, when healing is faster, though we perform extractions at any age with a personalized safety plan.
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Expect some minor pain and swelling at first. Ice packs help on day one, and most patients resume normal activities within 3 to 5 days. We also offer optional PRP/PRF therapy, which uses your own biological materials to help speed healing.
Dental Implants FAQs
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A dental implant has three parts: a titanium implant that replaces the tooth root, an abutment support post, and a replacement crown. Titanium is the same time-tested material surgeons use for artificial joints.
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A good candidate is anyone missing one or more teeth or unhappy with their dentures. Age is not a factor. Recent studies show a success rate greater than 95 percent for patients missing one or several teeth.
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The overall process runs 3 to 12 months from placement to completion. Placing a single implant takes 30 to 60 minutes; multiple implants take 2 to 3 hours. We typically schedule one to four follow-up visits during healing.
Full-Arch Implants FAQs
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Full-arch implants replace a complete set of missing or failing teeth with a non-removable dental bridge supported by only 4 to 6 strategically placed implants, making them far more stable and comfortable than unsecured dentures.
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Yes. We may place a temporary set of fixed teeth the same day as implant surgery. After healing, we place your permanent, non-removable bridge.
Bone Grafting FAQs
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Modern techniques let us use preservation options that come in a box and transform into your own bone and tissue during healing, minimizing the need to harvest bone directly from you.
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Bone tissue is maintained by the stimulation of natural chewing and biting, so bone loss can follow tooth extractions, gum disease, dentures, trauma, tumors, or sinus enlargement. Left untreated, it can cause facial changes, tooth misalignment, and jaw pain. We offer minor grafting, major grafting, and specialized techniques such as socket preservation, ridge augmentation, and sinus lifts depending on your needs.
Tooth Extractions FAQs
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A standard extraction removes a tooth intact. A surgical extraction is needed when the gums must be moved away from the tooth, and the tooth may be removed in pieces. Either way, local anesthetic numbs the tooth, jawbone, and surrounding gums first.
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Removing a single tooth can cause problems with chewing, jaw joint function, and shifting of adjacent teeth, which is why we discuss replacement options, such as dental implants, at your consultation.
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We examine your lips, cheeks, palate, tongue, gums, face, and neck for concerning changes. If we find an unusual area, we may recommend a biopsy, a small tissue sample examined under a microscope, to determine what's occurring.
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We recommend a monthly self-examination at home, along with regular professional screenings through your dentist, since pain is often not associated with oral cancer and early detection drastically improves treatment outcomes.
Facial Trauma FAQs
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Seek immediate care. Our surgeons are on staff at local hospitals and provide emergency room coverage for complex facial injuries, treating soft tissue, bone, and dental injuries.
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Place it in salt water or milk and see an oral surgeon immediately. Never wipe the tooth off. The ligament remnants attached to it are vital to successful replantation.
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It prepares your mouth before denture placement by contouring bone, since a denture sits directly on the bony ridge of your jaw. This can include bone smoothing (alveoloplasty), bone ridge reduction, and removal of excess gum tissue that would otherwise cause a poor fit or sore spots.
Impacted Canines FAQs
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It's a coordinated process with your orthodontist: the orthodontist opens space with braces, we lift the gum tissue to expose the impacted canine or any impacted tooth, bond an orthodontic bracket to it, and attach a gold chain. The orthodontist then applies gentle, constant force through the chain to guide the tooth into place, a process that can take up to a year.
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We recommend panoramic X-rays and a dental exam at age 7 to catch problems early. If a canine remains stuck past age 12 to 13, it typically requires surgical intervention. Early recognition is the key to successful treatment.
Anesthesia FAQs
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We offer local anesthetic for simple procedures, nitrous oxide sedation, IV sedation (often called twilight sleep), office-based general anesthesia, and hospital or surgery-center general anesthesia for more extensive procedures or complex medical conditions.
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Our surgeons hold licenses to provide any level of sedation, have completed rigorous hospital-based anesthesia training, and many hold extra board certification in anesthesia from the National Dental Board of Anesthesiology. Vital signs are closely monitored throughout.
