Do You Need to See a Special Kind of Dentist? What Types of Procedures May Be Done?
With serious motor vehicle accidents, it’s fairly common for those injured to suffer significant damage to the mouth, from the misalignment of the jaw to chipping or loss of teeth. If this happens to you, you may need some type of dental reconstruction. What types of procedures are available to restore your dental health? Do you need to make an appointment with a specialist to get the care you need?
What Types of Dental Procedures Are Available To Treat Motor Vehicle Accident Injuries?
In the aftermath of a car crash, if you’ve had some trauma to your mouth or teeth, there are a number of ways a dental professional can help restore your smile and your bite:
- Mouth reconstruction—If your bite is misaligned, you may need a full mouth reconstruction, or FMR. The process varies somewhat depending on the type and extent of your injury, but a full mouth reconstruction may include general, restorative, and cosmetic procedures, such as fillings, tooth extraction, crowns, bridges, implants, bone grafts, and removable dentures. To realign your jaw, a dentist may utilize braces or other aligners, headgear, or bite appliances. They may even prescribe jaw surgery.
- Tooth extraction and replacement—Often, when teeth are cracked or broken in a motor vehicle accident, the best strategy is to remove the teeth and replace them. That’s typically done with either a bridge, dentures, or an implant.
- Bone grafting—If you’ve lost part of your upper or lower jaw, you will likely need a bone graft to restore sufficient jaw surface for your teeth. The bone may be grafted from your own bone or a donor, or made from synthetic materials.
- Tooth repair—If the injuries to your teeth are relatively minor—a crack, chip, or slight fracture—you may be a candidate for repair rather than replacement. If the crack is deep, you may need a root canal first so that you don’t develop an abscess. Your dentist can use certain types of bonding materials, as well as porcelain veneers, to fix minor chips, cracks, or breaks.
Do You Need to See a Specialist for Dental Reconstruction After a Car Accident?
Some of the procedures involved in dental reconstruction can be performed by your primary dentist, whereas others may require a specialist:
- Your dentist can prepare your teeth for a crown, take measurements, and install the crown. In addition, your dentist should be able to handle most types of minor tooth repair, including porcelain veneers. Your dentist can also do most or all of the work involved in installing a bridge. If your primary dentist doesn’t do crowns or dentures, you may need to see a prosthodontist.
- If you require a root canal, you’ll need to see an endodontist.
- For bone grafting or implants, you’ll typically need the services of an oral surgeon. You may also need the oral surgeon to extract teeth, particularly if they are broken.
