Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Dental oral surgery can be expensive, but you can often cover a portion of the costs of oral surgery with dental insurance. Whether or not dental oral surgery is covered by your insurance will depend on your specific type of plan and the coverage that you have, so you will need to check with your provider to find out if a specific procedure is covered. 

If the oral surgery you need is considered medically necessary, your health insurance may pick up the cost of the surgery either in full or in part. Surgery for problems like sleep apnea, TMJ, or oral biopsies may be considered medically necessary. If you need to have oral surgery, check with your health insurance provider as well as your dental insurance provider. 

Guardian Direct® entry-tier and top-tier plans pay up to 50% of oral surgery costs after a 12-month waiting period, subject to applicable annual maximums, respectively.  

Oral-facial surgery near me 

If you’re looking to help save on the cost of oral-facial surgery, you don’t just need to find an oral surgeon—you need a dentist or oral surgeon who’s in your dental insurance carrier’s network. Guardian Direct dental insurance has a network of over 100,000 dentists to choose from nationwide. Find an in-network dentist who can provide oral surgery near you here. 

While oral surgeons specialize in performing oral surgery on patients, many general dentists can also perform simple surgeries, such as tooth extractions. This means you may be able to receive oral surgery from the dentist you usually visit—if not, your dentist can refer you to a qualified oral surgeon. 

What is dental oral surgery? 

Dental oral surgery is performed to fix jaw and mouth problems that can’t be fixed without extensive intervention. In most cases, oral surgeries are outpatient procedures that are performed in an oral surgeon’s office. After oral surgery, you can usually go home as soon as the effect of the anesthesia has worn off. 

Dental oral surgery is a specialty within the field of dentistry. Oral surgeons receive additional education and training beyond the normal dental certification to become certified as surgeons. Some oral surgeons further specialize in oral and maxillofacial surgery, for procedures affecting the teeth and jaws as well as the bones and soft tissues of the face. 

The most common types of dental oral surgery 

Procedures that are needed to fix the look and function of teeth are often done by oral surgeons because they typically require advanced skills to complete successfully. Oral surgery typically can be recommended for any dental condition that is considered serious, but there are a few different types of procedures that almost always require oral surgery, including: 

Wisdom teeth extractions 

Normal tooth extractions can often be done by your dentist, but wisdom teeth extractions may need to be done by an oral surgeon. Wisdom teeth are a third set of molars that usually come in your late teens or early twenties. Most of the time wisdom teeth can come in without any problems. But sometimes wisdom teeth don’t come through completely and get stuck in the gums. In other cases, they might not come through at all and remain totally hidden in your gums. They also can come in crooked and force the other teeth to shift and become crooked too. When your wisdom teeth don’t come in cleanly, surgery may be the best way to remove them. 

Wisdom teeth can make it difficult for you to properly brush and floss, meaning that they might need to be removed so that you can practice good dental hygiene. Some dentists may tell patients that their wisdom teeth should be removed as soon as they come through even if they aren’t causing a problem to help prevent the wisdom teeth from contributing to the growth of plaque and bacteria inside the mouth. 

During a surgical wisdom tooth extraction, the oral surgeon will typically put you under anesthesia and perform surgery to remove the hidden, trapped, or otherwise problematic wisdom teeth. 

Dental implants 

If you have just one or a couple of missing teeth, dental implants can be sturdy permanent replacements for natural teeth. To create a dental implant an oral surgeon may surgically place a small metal rod into your jawbone and then graft a piece of gum tissue over it temporarily. 

After that metal rod is fused into the jawbone the dentist may add a small metal piece that will anchor the implant and then surgically attach gum tissue over it. Once that is healed the dentist can place a crown and attach it to the small metal piece that is anchored to the rod in the jawbone. The crown will be custom-made to look like all of your other teeth in size and color so that no one will be able to tell that you have an implant. 

Biopsies 

If your dentist notices any discolored or unusual-looking patches or lesions in your mouth during one of your routine appointments, or if you notice that some irregular patches in your mouth have changed size or color your dentist may refer you to an oral surgeon for a biopsy. A biopsy can help identify potentially serious health problems like oral cancer. In general, you may need to get a biopsy if you notice: 

• Inflammation in the mouth that doesn’t go away.    

• An oral lesion makes it difficult to swallow or speak. 

• Bone lesions that are not specifically identified by clinical examination and X-rays, or any oral lesion that has the characteristics of malignancy. 

During a biopsy, an oral surgeon may perform one of six different types of biopsy to see if the patch in your mouth contains cancer cells. The different types of biopsies that the surgeon might choose to do are¹: 

• Aspiration biopsy: To perform this common type of biopsy the oral surgeon will use a local anesthetic and a needle with a syringe. They will draw some of the cells into the syringe and test them to see if they are cancerous. 

• Incisional biopsy: For this type of biopsy the dentist will remove a small part of the tumor or irregular patch of tissue and test it. If multiple patches within the mouth need to be tested. the surgeon will need to take a small patch of each one. 

• Cytology: Cytology is a secondary type of biopsy that is usually performed with an excisional or incisional biopsy. Cytology is primarily used to determine if there is an infection present as well as to confirm the presence of certain types of cells. 

• Punch biopsy: A punch biopsy is just like it sounds. The dentist will use a punch tool for both incising and excising tissue in the mouth. 

• Brush biopsy: When an oral surgeon does a brush biopsy, they apply firm pressure with a circular brush and rotate the brush ten times, causing light abrasion. The cells that it picks up are made into a slide that the dentist can examine. 

• Excisional biopsy: This type of oral biopsy is performed for small oral lesions. If the lesion is small the dentist can often remove it. 

Jaw surgery 

Dental oral surgery can help correct some jaw problems that may cause significant problems with speaking and chewing. If your jaw didn’t develop properly, it can have trouble closing the way that it should. That can make it difficult for you to chew or speak properly. An oral surgeon can help realign your jaw or correct any overgrowth that has occurred during the jaw formation so that you can speak and chew without pain or other problems. 

If you experience a jaw injury as a result of a car accident, a fight, or any kind of blow oral surgery might be required to repair the damage so you don’t suffer long-term problems that make it difficult to speak or chew. Correcting a jaw injury can also help prevent tooth loss. 

People who experience TMJ, or temporomandibular joint problems, often have oral surgery to fix the TMJ to help eliminate the symptoms associated with TMJ like frequent headaches, facial pain, trouble chewing, and bruxism, or teeth grinding. 

Oral surgery is also something that people who wear dentures might need to make sure that their dentures fit the way they are supposed to. You may experience pain or have trouble keeping your dentures in place if your jaw isn’t aligned properly. 

Sleep apnea correction 

In most cases, sleep apnea can be managed by using a CPAP machine or other interventions. But those options aren’t always the best option to permanently fix sleep apnea. If determined by your dentist, oral surgery to remove part of the soft tissue at the back of the mouth can help eliminate sleep apnea by opening up the airway and making it possible for people to breathe better when they are sleeping. 

Reconstructive surgery 

Sometimes an accident or injury knocks out teeth or causes so much damage to the jaw that reconstructive surgery is needed. Car accidents and sports accidents may cause injuries requiring reconstructive oral surgery, but occasionally people who have neglected their teeth for a very long time may need reconstructive surgery to ensure that they can eat properly and to fix the look of their teeth and mouth.  

Remember, this is not dental care advice and should not be substituted for regular consultation with your dentist. If you have any concerns about your dental health, please contact your dentist's office. 

Common soft foods to eat after oral surgery 

After getting oral surgery, you may have to adjust your diet in favor of liquid or soft foods for a few days or longer, until your mouth heals. Whenever possible, and if your diet allows it, fill your diet with nutrient-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, lean meats, eggs, and beans.  

The American Dental Association recommends trying these foods²: 

• Scrambled eggs 

• Oatmeal or cream of wheat 

• Pureed or cream soups 

• Soft cheeses 

• Smoothies and milkshakes 

• Pudding and custard 

• Meatloaf 

• Mashed potatoes 

• Sorbet and frozen yogurt 

• Tortillas 

• Yogurt 

• Soft-cooked, shredded chicken and meat 

• Protein shakes 

• Tofu 

• Ripe fruits, cut into pieces 

• Soft-cooked rice 

• Pasta 

• Peanut butter 

• Chicken or tuna salad 

• Refried beans 

• Avocado 

• Applesauce 

• Macaroni and cheese 

• Pancakes 

• Soft bread 

• Mashed bananas 

• Cooked veggies 

• Hummus 

Affordable oral surgery insights 

Without dental insurance, oral surgery can be very expensive depending on the procedure and other factors. The right dental insurance plan for your needs could help you save money on the cost of treatment. Learn more from the following resources about how to make oral surgery more affordable with dental insurance. 

• Dental insurance can help you save on oral surgery, but it still comes at a price. Find out how much dental insurance costs. 

• Many dental insurance plans cover a portion of the costs of oral surgery. Find out what else dental insurance plans cover. 

• Is dental insurance worth it? Find out if buying dental insurance is a good idea for you in your stage of life. 

• Does dental insurance cover wisdom teeth removal? Learn more here. 

• If you’re looking for dental insurance that covers oral surgery, you need full-coverage dental insurance. Learn how to get comprehensive dental insurance at an affordable price. 

• Ready to save on the cost of oral surgery with dental insurance? Get a free quote today.