Stirling Heights, Dunedin Florida Oral Surgeon

The choice is whether the tooth comes out or stays with another treatment. An Oral Surgeon in Stirling Heights, Dunedin starts that choice with an exam. So we look at the tooth, the bone, and your health history before we plan a procedure. We do this work from our Clearwater office, a drive from Stirling Heights, Dunedin, Florida. Dr. Theresa Rodeghero, a DMD, leads the team, with Dr. Grace Garcia and Dr. Vinh Dang. The dentist looks at your case first.

Oral Surgeon in Stirling Heights, Dunedin: What the Visit Covers

We start with medicines, bleeding history, and how healing has gone after past dental work. Then we examine the tooth, the gums, and the bite. After that, digital x-rays show the root and nearby bone. A panoramic x-ray adds a wider view when we are checking wisdom teeth or several teeth. For example, images from an intra-oral camera can show a crack a mirror misses.

When gum disease is loosening the tooth, we use that finding in the plan. Bone loss from periodontal gum disease is part of what we check. An extraction may include L-PRF in the socket if the exam supports that step. Wisdom teeth can be part of the same plan.

Screening for oral cancer is part of the exam, even when the main job is one tooth. After the images, we numb the area if surgery is the same day. But some cases need a second visit, and we say so before the appointment ends. We write the estimate out line by line after the exam. So you can see each part of the fee before a decision.

Before an extraction, we name the tooth and what sits nearby, such as a nerve or the sinus. We do not change a prescription on our own. When a blood thinner is on the list, the dentist reviews it and may check with the physician who manages it.

First Days at Home with an Oral Surgeon in Stirling Heights, Dunedin

After an extraction, rest and swelling care need a plan. That plan is easier in a hot, air-conditioned home when neighbors know what the first days usually involve. So the first day is an indoor day. Swelling can feel heavier outdoors in the afternoon heat. Because of that, we suggest the cool house, head raised, for the early hours.

An Oral Surgeon in Stirling Heights, Dunedin sends gauze, ice guidance, and food limits home in writing. Then bite on the gauze with steady pressure. After that, change it on the schedule we give you. Ice goes on the cheek, over a cloth, in the early swelling window. Skip straws, smoking, hard spitting, and heavy rinsing on the first day, because they can pull on the clot.

Have these items ready before surgery day, since a hot-afternoon store run is a poor first evening:

• Gauze from the visit, plus a spare box if the pre-surgery note includes one
• A bendable cold pack and a thin cloth so the pack does not sit on bare skin
• Soft food already in the kitchen, such as yogurt, eggs, or lukewarm soup
• An extra pillow so the head stays raised on the couch or in bed

Bleeding that soaks through the gauze needs a same-day call. So does swelling that keeps climbing after the early peak, and so do fever or trouble breathing. But pain that worsens a few days later can mean a dry socket. Numbness can linger after the medicine wears off. When an upper tooth sits near the sinus, we name the sinus symptoms to watch.

Once the site is calmer, home care between visits keeps the other teeth clean. Then brush the other teeth on the usual schedule. But leave the extraction area alone until the written steps allow a gentle clean. Oral surgery we handle here includes extractions and wisdom teeth, plus follow-up, exams, and x-rays.

Oral Surgeon in Stirling Heights, Dunedin: Timing and Other Options

Surgery and the exam can share one appointment, or they can be separate days. We say which way fits after the images and the health review. When extra comfort measures belong, they are part of that review, along with local numbing. Driving back to Stirling Heights, Dunedin the same day depends on the numbing and on any added medicine. So we cover driving before the appointment ends.

When the tooth can be saved, other options stay open. Root canal therapy and a crown can keep it. Periodontal treatment can be the focus when the gums and bone are the real issue. A complex impaction, or a history that raises bleeding risk, can mean a referral.

We send written steps home from the Oral Surgeon in Stirling Heights, Dunedin visit. After surgery, stitches may dissolve on their own. If they will not, we remove them later, after we see how the site is closing. Soft food lasts until chewing on that side is comfortable, and that timing varies by the tooth. Smoking and straws stay off until the dentist clears them. We can talk about a bridge or a partial denture later. We talk about a zirconia implant only after the dentist has checked the bone.

We always recommend you double-check with your provider which option makes sense for you.