My son has to have gum surgery to bring 2nd molars down. Anyone have any idea what this means in "mom" terms?

Answer:
I had to have this done as a kid, and it hurt quite a bit for the first day. Stock up on ice-cream and jello and lots of soups. He probably will feel ill from the pain, not to mention if he swallows blood, he might be seriously nauseous (which happened with me). He'll have some pain for two or three days, but after that, I was fine. I had it done on a Friday afternoon and I was back in school by Monday.

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lots of ice cream...he'll be fine. Its not real common, but they just cut the gums so the teeth will move down.if they don't move down they may have to coax them...

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i would say that his 2nd molars are up too far in the gums so they have to whittle away at the gums to expose the molars.this is only a guess...but that is the first thing that comes to my mind

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Mom should provide lots of ice cream and TV cause that hurts!

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sounds like his molars (flat, large teeth at the back of your mouth) are stuck inside his gums. they should have naturally come out. they want to move them out with surgery.btw, please ask your dentist/surgeon questions and don't be afraid, after all, you're paying them to do this. they need to take a moment and address your concerns. you are their customer and patient's mom, don't be shy and ask all you need.

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LOL
It means they have to release some pressure to allow the permanent teeth to descend. Second molars are there early in life but need the tooth in front of them (the baby teeth) to get out of the way. Usually they fall out. Dentist may pull it

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I'd definitely get a second opinion.

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FYI In the future ask DOC or HCP to fully explain the procedure.

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Are you asking for a description of the procedure? Basically, it's called expose and bond. I don't know if in your case they are bonding the teeth or just exposing them. If the teeth are surrounded by gum, they may need to be surgically exposed so they can come down to the proper position. Sometimes they need to bond the teeth., which involves a bracket and small chain to help %26quot;pull%26quot; the teeth into position.

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His molars may be impacted which means that they are still covered up by bone. This happens quite a bit with wisdom teeth, and sometimes other teeth as well. They will cut the gum tissue as someone already said, and if the teeth are impacted in bone, then they will remove the part covering the tooth so they can come down into their natural position. Sometimes the teeth need more help to come down so they will attach a bracket with a weighted chain which will pull the tooth down. (as someone already described) The 2nd molars are also called twelve year molars because they usually come in around the age of twelve give or take a year or two. Many dentists don't like to leave teeth impacted because they can run the risk of causing complications. Some dentists will leave impacted wisdom teeth alone, and just keep an eye on them to make sure that they don't develop cysts around them or cause movement of the other teeth. However your son will need his 2nd molars therefore your dentist rec'd having them exposed. Don't worry many other children/young adults have gone through this before, it is not uncommen as I have seen the procedure many times. Don't be afraid to ask as many questions as you need too, to understand this procedure to the person doing the surgery (dentist or oral surgeon). I would also check out impacted teeth on the net. Good luck.

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