Bony Ridge

[scnurse]

always007,

Thanks for sharing your story as well. I know I can't leave this bony protuberance the way it is now. I feel it every time I move my mouth. I can not chew normally. I've been eating on the opposite side. Like I said, I can't chew side to side (grind up food) because of it sticking outward toward cheek. It actually feels like my inner cheek is getting hung up on it. Please let me know what you find out the OS appointment. I'm going to making a OS appointment myself soon. I will have to wait until school is out for summer break to have any procedure. I'm just afraid that no other OS will want to touch the problem that another OS created and will say "If I were you, I'd just leave it alone." I wish I would have never had that tooth removed in the first place. Is there a way to private message on here?

 

[krlovesherkids777]

It is very different and weird if you've never had before with this big bone sticking out and bothersome. I think that possibly on some sign off sheet they may list it as a possible risk at some offices but I've actually had no one really discuss this with me either . I don't think it has often and this was first for me too.. happened about 2 years ago. I m not sure on cost I was getting a bit of work done at the time.. From what I remembered I was able to eat and talk, although I did avoid and ate on the other side being cautious.. but it wasn't bad at all for my experience. I didn't ask too many questions, my dentist was very calming, he would take care of it and all was well. Because of my good experience with my dentist if I had to have this again, I would for sure not worry. I hope that helps..

 

[badpatch]

Hi always007,
I had the 2nd molar on upper right (#2) taken out December 2018. I think I have sort of the same thing as you. The oral surgeon who took out the molar did not even tell me that this happened or that I should follow up. What's up with that? Mine is a bony projection that juts outward and rubs against my inner cheek when I talk or move my mouth. I can't chew on this side because it interferes with the ability to move my mouth side to side. Seems like I can only chew up & down, if that makes sense. It is not near the extraction site but closer to the next molar (1st molar). My bite is now off. My teeth crash into each other when I talk and in my sleep, wakes me up (never did this before the tooth removal). I've lost 30 pounds since December. I've been quite depressed with all this. At times this area burns and hurts, the more I move my mouth. I feel it rubbing constantly. There is no way that I'll go back to the OS that did this. I've seen a dentist in April 2019 and he said the protuberance is too big (it is not a small bone splinter or shard) and will probably not go away on its own and that I'll need a procedure to shave/file it down. The dentist said he could do it but don't know if I want to let him. The dentist also told me that it looks like buccal bone was removed with the molar. (I was also not told this by the OS that removed the tooth). I am so scared to have any thing else done to my mouth. I saw a different OS in February 2019 in the same town (not the same office) and he said that he would leave it but I think he didn't want to talk "bad" about the original OS. I'm thinking about seeing a different OS in a nearby town. But it will cost me money as my insurance will not pay for another exam. I've pretty much been miserable and it is affecting my work, family life. My husband is not supportive. I have an 11 year old. It has been 5 months of hell. I'm angry at the OS and scared. The dentist said he will help me going forward but basically did not want to be part of a law suit. I was told this bone protuberance formed because the socket/bone was not compressed during the extraction. I work at a school and am trying to finish this school year before any procedure. I don't know what the recovery time would be after having it fixed. Would I be able to talk, etc.? I'm afraid that any more surgery will make it worse than it already is. You're right, it is a nightmare. I went to an OS to avoid anything like this and now this! Please let me know anything you find out. Also if any dentists are reading, I'd value your advice/input. Sorry for the long post. thanks,

Could u try keeping small piece of gauze on that area. After extraction my tongue is hitting my pre molar and it is very painful. I keep the gauze and it helped me tremendously. I ordered night guard yesterday from my new dentist .

 

[scnurse]

Thanks for responding, your sharing has been very helpful! How odd that scnurse and I are both being driven crazy by the same thing, and you at one point as well. I'd like to think that healing from the alveoplasty can't be too much worse than the pain that scnurse and I are already experiencing, so maybe it's time to bite the bullet and get the procedure done. It doesn't sound like it'll be a whole month of healing or anything. I don't believe I will be going with the same OS though. I have a consult here in a week to hear from a different OS what's going on.

Hi always007,
Just checking in with you. Did you see another OS yet? If so, what was his/her opinion? My mouth is bothering me all the time. I'm trying to hang in there until school is out, so a couple more weeks. The only time is feels semi-ok is when I first wake up. If you could estimate, how big is your bony lump? I'm afraid that if I have another procedure done, it will make things worse than they already are.

 

[scnurse]

Hi always007,

Hope things are good with you. Wondering if you had the OS consult yet and if so, what did OS say? I'll be making an OS appointment soon for another opinion.

 

[comfortdentist]

krlovesherkids777,

Thanks for sharing your story. This has been difficult for me to deal with and it's not over yet. Honestly, I couldn't believe this happened to me. It was not explained to me as a possible risk to having a tooth extraction. Some more questions.. How big was your bone protuberance (did it seem to be thick or thin)? How much did the alveoloplasty cost? (if you don't mind sharing that) Were you able to talk without pain, eat after having it done? Did the dentist give you a reason as to why it happened?

I have never seen a consent form with this listed as a possible complication.
I have seen a few large and distinct edges of bone over the years. Few people have ever wanted them modified but some have requested it.
As to the cause there are two main causes:
First the tooth normally sits in a thin shell of bone. The bone on the check side is generally 0-3 mm thick when healthy and may be partially or entirely missing when you have had an abscess.
1. The dentist didn't compress the bone after the extraction. Of course if the dentist had compressed the bone you would heal in a manor that would result in a small thin ridge which may be an aesthetic problem and would certainly pose a problem for an implant.
2. Since the bone is thin and there is some trauma involved in removal some of the bone may die off after the extraction thus leaving a sharp contour.

The fix for this problem can be easily done.

 

[scnurse]

krlovesherkids777,

Thanks for responding, your sharing has been very helpful! How odd that scnurse and I are both being driven crazy by the same thing, and you at one point as well. I'd like to think that healing from the alveoplasty can't be too much worse than the pain that scnurse and I are already experiencing, so maybe it's time to bite the bullet and get the procedure done. It doesn't sound like it'll be a whole month of healing or anything. I don't believe I will be going with the same OS though. I have a consult here in a week to hear from a different OS what's going on.

Hi always 007,
Hope things are good with you. Did you see the OS? What did he/her say? I’ve been thinking about you.

 

[scnurse]

Thanks for responding, your sharing has been very helpful! How odd that scnurse and I are both being driven crazy by the same thing, and you at one point as well. I'd like to think that healing from the alveoplasty can't be too much worse than the pain that scnurse and I are already experiencing, so maybe it's time to bite the bullet and get the procedure done. It doesn't sound like it'll be a whole month of healing or anything. I don't believe I will be going with the same OS though. I have a consult here in a week to hear from a different OS what's going on.

Hi always007,
Just checking in with you. Did you see another OS yet? If so, what was his/her opinion? My mouth is bothering me all the time. I'm trying to hang in there until school is out, so a couple more weeks. The only time is feels semi-ok is when I first wake up. If you could estimate, how big is your bony lump? I'm afraid that if I have another procedure done, it will make things worse than they already are.

Thanks for responding, your sharing has been very helpful! How odd that scnurse and I are both being driven crazy by the same thing, and you at one point as well. I'd like to think that healing from the alveoplasty can't be too much worse than the pain that scnurse and I are already experiencing, so maybe it's time to bite the bullet and get the procedure done. It doesn't sound like it'll be a whole month of healing or anything. I don't believe I will be going with the same OS though. I have a consult here in a week to hear from a different OS what's going on.

Hope things are going well with you. I'm writing to see if you had a OS consult. If so, what did they say? I have one next week. I don't want to think about how much this is going to cost. My insurance will not pay for another exam (only covers 1 every 6 months). Our situations are so similar... have been thinking about you.

 

[scnurse]

krlovesherkids777,

Thanks for responding, your sharing has been very helpful! How odd that scnurse and I are both being driven crazy by the same thing, and you at one point as well. I'd like to think that healing from the alveoplasty can't be too much worse than the pain that scnurse and I are already experiencing, so maybe it's time to bite the bullet and get the procedure done. It doesn't sound like it'll be a whole month of healing or anything. I don't believe I will be going with the same OS though. I have a consult here in a week to hear from a different OS what's going on.

Hi always007,
I have a OS consult on Monday.

Hi always 007,
Hope things are good with you. Did you see the OS? What did he/her say? I’ve been thinking about you.

Hope things are going well with you. I'm writing to see if you had a OS consult. If so, what did they say? I have one next week. I don't want to think about how much this is going to cost. My insurance will not pay for another exam (only covers 1 every 6 months). Our situations are so similar... have been thinking about you.

Hi there,
I had the 2nd opinion OS consult today. It did not go well. Only spent about 15-20 minutes with me. It was like he was afraid to say anything about my bone protuberance issue, like he was cautious not wanting to be involved in any litigation. All I wanted was honest answers to my situation. He diagnosed the bone as tori. Like it is unrelated to the molar extraction. He said bone does not grow overnight. I told him the bony area was not there prior to the extraction. He said “well I don’t know what you are trying to get me to say. I didn’t see you before the extraction.” He said if it were him, he would leave it there and not do any surgery. Well, I can’t chew properly, it’s painful to talk, chew, move my mouth. He said, all of this cannot happen from removing 1 tooth. Well, I’ve lost 33 pounds since December, if that is some evidence. When I walked out I was almost in tears. I paid more $ for nothing, no answers, and an OS making me out to be a crazy lady. Plus I drove an hour each way to get there. At this point, I don’t know what to do. I did stop at my dentists office on the way back. I let her know I’m now wayyy overdue for my teeth cleaning. She scheduled me for tomorrow. My dentist wants to do the surgery (he looked at it in April). I don’t feel comfortable with that. Don’t know what to do.

 

[comfortdentist]

If you like your dentist then just ask if they are comfortable with treating you for your complaint.
Frankly your description sounds like an easy surgery for me. I think at least Gordon would agree (based on his posts that I've read) and I don't have an opinion about anyone else on this site.

 

[Gordon]

Going back to the original photo, I'd be happy to smooth that off for you, as Dr K says, it's a simple bit of surgery to fix it. Don't understand the OS's reluctance to do it to be honest.

PS In that photo you don't look like you've got a spare 33lbs to lose, get it sorted out

 

[scnurse]

Going back to the original photo, I'd be happy to smooth that off for you, as Dr K says, it's a simple bit of surgery to fix it. Don't understand the OS's reluctance to do it to be honest.

PS In that photo you don't look like you've got a spare 33lbs to lose, get it sorted out

Hi Dr. Gordon,
That’s not my photo as I’m not the original poster. I’m a 54 year old female that also has a bony protuberance that’s jutting outwards toward my cheek. This started after extraction of tooth #2 upper back molar. It rubs constantly. I believe it is interfering with my ability to chew side to side. I haven’t been able to chew on that side since the extraction almost 6 months ago. The 2nd opinion OS said if it was him he would just leave it there, no surgery. He told me it could take months to heal. He said removing it would not solve any problem. He said the pain would be like that from an extraction. I got the feeling he doesn’t want to do any procedure. His front office clerk quoted me a price of $1200 USD for “tori removal.” It’s like he did NOT want to say this bony protuberance happened because of the surgery. I know my mouth did not feel like/look like this before the extraction. He was matter of fact, sort of rude, walked out of room. Would you say this is a tori removal? Also he said he does not like to remove bone because it’s important to keep bone, or something like that.
pS: I have lost 33 pounds, but I didn’t want to do it this way. No offense at your comment. i do have some extra weight. I will try to figure out how to post a photo of my mouth

 

[Gordon]

Sorry SCNurse, I didn't notice that it was a different poster!
After 6 months I'd have expected the bone to remodel if it was ever going to, so a small op to smooth it off would be quite appropriate.
Tori removal is similar from the surgical point of view, but it doesn't sound like you've got a torus...

 

[comfortdentist]

Could you possibly get a photo of it? Not easy as you will need help.

 

[scnurse]

I saw a different OS yesterday for yet another opinion. He said the bony protuberance is a lateral exostosis. He said he believes it has been there since before my molar extraction and that because of the missing molar, I’m just noticing it more. I know I did NOT feel this rubbing and burning discomfort nor see a bony protuberance jutting outward toward my cheek before the extraction. Again, does not want to link it to the extraction. He said he could remove it if I want. As far as recovery time goes, how soon until able to eat or talk. How would I clean the area & how soon? He said he would use dissolvable sutures. About how long until they absorb? The procedure would be under local with oral anti-anxiety med beforehand. The first available time he has is July 18. I’m leaving for vacation a week later. Do you think I’d be healed enough to go? I will try to post a photo. I need a third hand to help.

 

[scnurse]

Could you possibly get a photo of it? Not easy as you will need help.

I am scheduled this week for removal. Here are a couple photos. What do you think? In your experience, what is the recovery like with this? Do you routinely do this kind of surgery with only local?
Thanks for your advice.

 

[scnurse]

Sorry SCNurse, I didn't notice that it was a different poster!
After 6 months I'd have expected the bone to remodel if it was ever going to, so a small op to smooth it off would be quite appropriate.
Tori removal is similar from the surgical point of view, but it doesn't sound like you've got a torus...

Good evening,
I’m scheduled to have it removed this week with OS. In your experience, what is the recovery like with this? Do you routinely do this kind of surgery with only local? I am contemplating having IV sedation.
Thanks for your advice.

 

[comfortdentist]

It is simple. The only "tricky part is lifting the tissue over the protruding bone without perforation. Even if it perforates it should heal fine.

 

[scnurse]

It is simple. The only "tricky part is lifting the tissue over the protruding bone without perforation. Even if it perforates it should heal fine.

Dr. K, thanks for your reply. In your experience, if the gum tissue DOES perforate, how is that handled? How about recovery time, healing process? Advisable to have done with local only? What kind of suture material would you suggest, absorbable or non-absorbable? Thanks again.

 

[comfortdentist]

I would use resorbable. If perforates no big deal easily managed