Oral surgery is a procedure that removes teeth. It’s used to treat many conditions, such as tooth decay, or to remove wisdom teeth. Oral surgery can be performed under local anesthesia or general anesthesia. In most cases, oral surgeons will recommend a patient have the surgery under general anesthesia. The most common reason for this is that anesthetics are used during the procedure and not everyone reacts well to them.
If you’re considering having oral surgery, there are some things you should know about the process before making your decision.
Read on to learn more about Is Tooth Extraction Oral Surgery, Botox For Hooded Eyelids and The Botox Treatment for Hooded Eyelids
Is Tooth Extraction Oral Surgery
Saving a tooth is always our top priority. However, when a tooth is damaged beyond repair, extraction may be your best recourse. We, at Avalon Dental Care, would like to reassure you that we will do everything we can to ensure your experience is comfortable and free of pain.
Why Can’t Your Tooth be Saved?
A tooth may need extraction due to trauma, extensive decay, disease, or crowding. Infected teeth that don’t respond to root canal treatment or those without enough bone to support them due to periodontal disease may also need to be taken out. At times, we need to extract wisdom teeth due to issues such as being impacted, or if they have the potential of causing problems.
Simple vs. Surgical Extraction
When a tooth is visible above your gum line and is readily accessible, the procedure is called a simple extraction. If a tooth is impacted or trapped in the jaw, however, we may need to remove gum tissue or bone to access it. That is called a surgical extraction and may require stitches to close the site for proper healing.
Do You Need a Surgical Extraction?
After taking an x-ray and examining the affected tooth, we will most likely determine whether your extraction will be simple or surgical. However, there are times a simple procedure turns into a surgical one, an example of which is a tooth breaking off during a simple extraction.
Wisdom teeth usually require surgical extractions, especially when impacted or not fully erupted. Other reasons you may need a surgical procedure include a severely broken down tooth, or one with long, curved roots. There are also times when the bone around a tooth is too dense, requiring surgical extraction.
Care After Extraction
After your oral surgery, you will need to bite down on gauze to stop the bleeding. If you experience swelling, an ice pack may help. Refrain from spitting forcefully, drinking from a straw, or smoking for 48 hours to avoid dislodging the clot forming in your tooth socket. Otherwise, you may develop a painful condition called dry socket. Make sure you follow the post-operative instructions we will provide you. If you have any questions, please let us know.
Gentle Tooth Extractions Near Me
At Avalon Dental Care, we will resort to any conservative treatment possible to save a tooth, but if you need an extraction, we are here to help. You can rest assured that we will do everything we can to ensure you are comfortable during the procedure. You can always count on us!
Botox For Hooded Eyelids
When your eyelids droop and sag, it can be a cosmetic problem. Sagging eyelids can potentially make someone look older and more tired than they actually feel and look. Additionally, when the eyelids droop, they can give rise to medical concerns, as the eyelids could disrupt your vision. While you may have heard that a surgical procedure exists to correct the issue, which is known as blepharoplasty, you may not realize that a less invasive treatment exists – an injection of Botox.
Botox is a viable means to alleviate your hooded eyelids. However, you may be wondering, to what extent can Botox help? At Dermacare Laser & Skin Care Clinic of San Diego, we want to help you address your hooded eyelid concerns by utilizing Botox.
What Are Hooded Eyelids?
Hooded eyelids are a cosmetic and medical concern that can occur for several reasons. The condition, known as ptosis, can result from the levator muscle weakening, which is the muscle that holds up your eyelids or can also result from continuous pulling on your eyelids. Actions, such as putting on makeup, can contribute to sagging eyelid skin if not done gently. While it may seem that hooded eyelids are only apparent in an older generation, they can also occur in children either because of trauma or due to neurological reasons. In short, hooded eyelids are a common condition. If left untreated, the eyelid skin can eventually sag enough to disrupt your vision and lead to secondary conditions such as headaches.
What Is Botox?
Botox is a neurotoxin that consists of botulinum toxin Type A. When this neurotoxin is injected into a muscle, it blocks specific nerve receptors from receiving a signal. Blocking this signal prevents muscle movement from occurring, effectively keeping the skin from folding over. For this reason, a Botox injection is commonly used as a way to prevent wrinkles from forming. Botox was initially FDA-approved to treat muscle eye spasms in 1989. Still, the cosmetic benefits were soon realized, causing it to become one of the most popular cosmetic treatments worldwide.
What Botox Can Treat
Botox is commonly utilized to treat what are known as dynamic wrinkles. These wrinkles are not the result of the natural aging process, which is instead referred to as static wrinkles. Instead, dynamic wrinkles are a type of wrinkle that results in facial movements made over the years. From a frown to a smile, any form of facial movement causes various facial muscles to move. When they are made consistently enough, the wrinkles can eventually appear to be permanently imprinted on the face. Dynamic wrinkles are apparent around the mouth, forehead, nose and eyes.
When Botox Is Appropriate for Hooded Eyelids
A Botox injection is an appropriate treatment for hooded eyelids. The treatment can treat a low eyebrow position or slight brow drooping, which is causing the eyelids to hang lower than they should be. Botox can be injected into the outer end of the eyebrow to elevate the eyebrow slightly. By elevating the eyebrow slightly, Botox lifts the upper eyelid and reveals a small amount of eyelid skin. Botox is a short-term solution for treating hooded eyelids. The neurotoxin’s effects will gradually wear off, and the eyebrow muscles will regain their strength. Usually, a Botox injection lasts approximately two to three months.
When Botox Cannot Help Hooded Eyelids
If your hooded eyelids are the result of an excessive amount of eyelid skin or because of a more pronounced brow droop, Botox is not a viable treatment. There are no neurotoxins that can reduce or tighten the skin. This means that if hooded eyelids are a medical concern, then Botox will be an ineffective solution. Instead, patients would be recommended blepharoplasty, which is a surgical procedure that removes excess eyelid skin. Blepharoplasty is an ideal solution for hooded eyelids because it produces long-lasting results.
However, the surgical procedure could be unfavorable if hooded eyelids result from minor skin sagging or a slightly drooping eyebrow. Blepharoplasty can be a potentially extensive procedure, is costly and poses more risks than Botox. It’s essential to weigh the benefits of Botox compared to blepharoplasty when deciding which treatment is the better option.
The Botox Treatment for Hooded Eyelids
Treating hooded eyelids with Botox is a relatively simple process. The treatment involves injecting Botox into your lower forehead and the outer ends of your eyebrows. When injected, it will paralyze the muscle by effectively preventing nerve receptors that prompt muscle movement. The treatment paralyzes the depressor muscle, which causes the eyebrow to droop, while the elevator muscle, which raises the eyebrow, remains untouched. The treatment will raise the brow a few millimeters. While this does not sound like a significant amount, it will still effectively give you a more open and alert look.
Utilizing Botox to treat hooded eyelids is best performed under the guidance of an expert injector. If not, the treatment can potentially create superficial results. At Dermacare Laser & Skin Care Clinic, our injectors are well adept at treating hooded eyelids with Botox.
Iopidine eye drops botox
While it may sound like science fiction, the FDA-approved eye lifting drop is real: UPNEEQ® is a prescription eye drop that temporarily improves droopy eyelids, or ptosis, with a single daily dose. While you won’t get the more dramatic results you can expect from eyelid lift surgery, patients see an average of about 1 mm of lift in their upper eyelid after the first use—just enough to make a noticeable difference.
For cosmetic surgeons, this first-of-its-kind non-surgical treatment for eyelid ptosis creates an option that many patients will benefit from, including those not ready for eyelid surgery or who are suffering from low-lying eyelids due to BOTOX® injections. Below, we answer your top questions about Upneeq.
What are droopy eyelids (blepharoptosis)?
The medical name for droopy eyelids is blepharoptosis (blepharo = eyelid, ptosis = sagging). Eyelids that droop may lead you to appear tired, and your eyes may look smaller than they normally are. It can also interfere with the function of your eyes.
Droopy eyelids have numerous possible causes, including aging, genetics, eye surgery, certain underlying medical conditions, or even Botox that inadvertently travels to the eyelid muscles after injection in the forehead.
What is acquired blepharoptosis, and how is it different?
Droopy eyelids may be either congenital (present from birth) or acquired, which means that they develop over time (i.e. because of aging). Congenital droopy eyelids cannot be treated with Upneeq, and may require corrective surgery. Acquired blepharoptosis may be treated with Upneeq.
If the cause of your droopy eyelids is unclear, but sure to visit an ophthalmologist first for an eye exam to rule out an underlying medical condition. Serious neurological or eye conditions can also cause eyelid ptosis, including stroke and/or cerebral aneurysm, Horner syndrome, myasthenia gravis, external ophthalmoplegia, orbital infection, and orbital masses..