Surgical Exposure

Sometimes teeth don’t come into their natural position and stay hidden in the jawbone. These teeth are referred to as “unerupted” or “impacted”. This most commonly happens to the upper canines (eye teeth), where they become hidden in the roof of the mouth. However, it can happen to any other tooth, or in any other area in the mouth as well.

As part of the orthodontic treatment, your orthodontist will refer you to us for the exposure of the hidden tooth. This is a small surgical procedure which entails exposing the tooth into the mouth and connecting a gold chain to that tooth.  This gold chain is then used by the orthodontist to pull the tooth into its desired position during the course of the orthodontic treatment.

This procedure is generally a minor surgical intervention, yet due to the young age of most of the candidates for this procedure, and to make the experience as pleasant as possible, it is preferrable to get the treatment done under either intravenous sedation or general anaesthetic