* Infection: The dentist may opt to prescribe antibiotics pre- and/or post-operatively if he or she determines the patient to be at risk of infection. * Prolonged bleeding: The dentist has a variety of means at his disposal to address bleeding; however, small amounts of blood mixed in the saliva after<unk>  are normal, even up to 72 hours after<unk> . Usually, however, bleeding will almost completely stop within eight hours of the surgery, with only minuscule amounts of blood mixed with saliva coming from the wound. A gauze compress will significantly reduce bleeding over a period of a few hours. Example of post-operative swelling following third molar (wisdom teeth)<unk> s. * Swelling: Often dictated by the amount of surgery performed, to extract a tooth (e.g., surgical insult to the tissues, both hard and soft, surrounding a tooth). Generally, when a surgical flap must be elevated (i.e., the periosteum covering the bone is thus injured), minor to moderate swelling will occur. A poorly cut soft tissue flap, for instance, where the periosteum is torn off rather than cleanly elevated off the underlying bone, will often increase such swelling. Similarly, when bone must be removed using a drill, more swelling is likely to occur. * Bruising: Bruising may occur as a complication after tooth<unk> . Bruising is more common in older people or people on aspirin or steroid therapy. It may take weeks for bruising to disappear completely. Recovery of swelling and bruises over time * Sinus exposure and oral-antral communication: This can occur when<unk> g upper molars (and in some patients, upper pre-molars). The maxillary sinus sits directly above the roots of maxillary molars and pre-molars. There is a bony floor of the sinus, dividing the tooth socket from the sinus itself. This bone can range from thick to thin, from tooth to tooth, from patient to patient. In some cases it is absent and the root is, in fact, in the sinus. At other times, this bone may be removed with the tooth, or may be perforated during surgical<unk> . The doctor typically mentions this risk to patients, based on evaluation of radiographs showing the relationship of the tooth to the sinus. The sinus cavity is lined with a membrane called the Sniderian membrane, which may or may not be perforated. If this membrane is exposed after an<unk> , but remains intact, a "sinus exposed" has occurred. If the membrane is perforated, however, it is a "sinus communication". These two conditions are treated differently. In the event of a sinus communication, the dentist may decide to let it heal on its own, or, may need to surgically obtain primary closure—depending on the size of the exposure and the likelihood of the patient to heal. In both cases, a resorbable material called "gelfoam" is typically placed in the<unk>  site to promote clotting and serve as a framework for granulation tissue to accumulate. Patients are typically provided with prescriptions for antibiotics that cover sinus bacterial flora, decongestants, and careful instructions to follow during the healing period. * Nerve injury: This is primarily an issue with<unk>  of third molars, but can occur with the<unk>  of any tooth should the nerve be close to the surgical site. Two nerves are typically of concern, and are found in duplicate (one left and one right): 1. the inferior alveolar nerve, which enters the mandible at the mandibular foramen and exits the mandible at the sides of the chin from the<unk>  foramen. This nerve supplies sensation to the lower teeth on the right or left half of the<unk>  arch, as well as sense of touch to the right or left half of the chin and lower lip. 2. The lingual nerve (one right and one left), which branches off the mandibular branches of the trigeminal nerve and courses just inside the jaw bone, entering the tongue and supplying sense of touch and taste to the right and left half of the anterior 2/3 of the tongue as well as the lingual gingiva (i.e., the gums on the inside surface of the<unk>  arch). Such injuries can occur while lifting teeth (typically the inferior alveolar), but are most commonly caused by inadvertent damage with a surgical drill. Such injuries are rare and are usually temporary, but depending on the type of injury (i.e., Seddon classification: neuropraxia, axonotmesis, & neurotmesis), can be prolonged or even permanent. * Displacement of tooth or part of the tooth into the maxillary sinus (upper teeth only). In such cases, the tooth or tooth fragment must almost always be retrieved. In some cases, the sinus cavity can be irrigated with saline (antral lavage) and the tooth fragment may be brought back to the site of the opening through which it entered the sinus, and may be retrievable. At other times, a window must be made into the sinus in the Canine fossa—a procedure referred to as a "Caldwell-Luc". Alveolar osteitis of a socket after tooth<unk> . Note lack of blood clot in socket and exposed alveolar bone. * Dry-socket (Alveolar osteitis) is a painful phenomenon that most commonly occurs a few days after the removal of mandibular (lower) wisdom teeth. It typically occurs when the blood clot within the healing tooth<unk>  site is disrupted. More likely, alveolar osteitis is a phenomenon of painful inflammation within the empty tooth socket because of the relatively poor blood supply to this area of the mandible (which explains why dry-socket is usually not experienced in other parts of the jaw). Inflamed alveolar bone, unprotected and exposed to the oral environment after tooth<unk> , can become packed with food and debris. Dry-socket typically causes a sharp and sudden increase in pain commencing 2–5 days following the<unk>  of a mandibular molar, most commonly the third molar. This is often extremely unpleasant for the patient; the only symptom of dry-socket is pain, which often radiates up and down the head and neck. A dry-socket is not an infection, and is not directly associated with swelling because it occurs entirely within bone – it is a phenomenon of inflammation, within the bony lining, of an empty tooth socket. Because dry-socket is not an infection, the use of antibiotics has no effect on its rate of occurrence. There is some evidence that rinsing with chlorhexidine before or after<unk>  or placing chlorhexidine gel in the sockets of extracted teeth provides a benefit in preventing dry-socket, but potential adverse effects of chlorhexidine have to be considered. The risk factor for alveolar osteitis can dramatically increase with smoking after an<unk> . * Bone fragments: Particularly when<unk>  of molars is involved, it is not uncommon for the bones which formerly supported the tooth to shift and in some cases to erupt through the gums, presenting protruding sharp edges which can irritate the tongue and cause discomfort. This is distinguished from a similar phenomenon, where, broken fragments of bone or tooth left over from the<unk>  can also protrude through the gums. In the latter case, the fragments will usually work their way out on their own. In the former case, the protrusions can either be snipped off by the dentist, or eventually the exposed bone will erode away on its own. * Maxilla tuberosity fracture: Can occur especially during molar<unk> s. There can be a variety of factors causing this including single standing molar,<unk> g in the wrong order, inadequate alveolar support, pathological gemination or extension of maxillary sinus weakening the area. * Trismus: Trismus, also known as lockjaw, affects functions of the oral cavity by restricting opening of the mouth. A double blind, clinical study was done to test the effect of two different medications on post-extraction trismus. The patients who received a corticosteroid by IV had a statistically significant lower level of trismus when compared to patients receiving an NSAID by IV or no medication. * Loss of a tooth: If an extracted tooth slips out of the forceps, it may be swallowed or inhaled. The patient may be aware of swallowing it, or, they may cough, which suggests inhalation of the tooth. The patient must be referred for a chest X-ray in hospital if a tooth cannot be found. If it has been swallowed, no action is necessary as it usually passes through the alimentary canal without doing any harm. But if it has been inhaled, an urgent operation is necessary to recover it from the airway or lung before it causes serious complications such as pneumonia or a lung abscess. * Luxation of the adjacent tooth: The application of force during the<unk>  procedure must strictly be limited to the tooth that requires the<unk> . Most cases of surgical<unk>  procedures require that the forces are diverted from the tooth itself to areas such as bone surrounding the tooth to ensure adequate bone removal before proceeding any further in the<unk>  procedure. Either way, the forces applied by various instruments during both simple and complicated surgical procedure may loosen the teeth present both
Dental extraction
Orthognathic surgery
Glossectomy
Dental implant
Dental vibration appliance
Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty
Surgery for temporomandibular joint dysfunction
Crown lengthening