Reconstructive Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Provo, American Fork, and Price, Utah
Utah Oral Surgeons provides reconstructive oral and maxillofacial surgery in Provo, American Fork, and Price, UT. When injury, tooth loss, infection, or a congenital condition changes the bone and soft tissue of the mouth, jaw, or face, our surgeons rebuild what is missing so the area works and looks the way it should again.
Reconstruction is planned work. We start with imaging, map what needs to be rebuilt and in what order, and walk you through the sequence before anything begins.
What Reconstructive Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Is
Reconstructive surgery restores form and function to the bones and soft tissues of the mouth, jaw, and face. Where an extraction removes a problem and an implant replaces a tooth, reconstruction rebuilds the foundation underneath: the jawbone that has shrunk, the gum tissue that has receded, the bone that was fractured, or the area left behind after a cyst or growth was removed.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are the specialists trained for this work. After dental school, an oral surgeon completes years of hospital-based surgical residency covering anesthesia, facial trauma, pathology, and reconstruction of the head and neck. That training allows one surgeon to plan the bone and soft tissue and the eventual restoration as a single sequence rather than a series of disconnected procedures.
A Note on Corrective Jaw Surgery
If your concern is an overbite, underbite, or open bite that braces alone cannot fix, it is orthognathic surgery, a separate oral surgery service.
Reconstruction on this page means rebuilding bone and tissue that has been lost, damaged, or was never fully formed. Our team can tell you which one applies at your consultation, and some patients need both.
Reconstructive Procedures We Perform
Reconstruction is rarely one procedure. Most treatment plans combine two or three of the following, staged in the right order with healing time between them.
Bone Grafting and Ridge Augmentation
A dental bone graft rebuilds the jawbone that has thinned or shrunk, most often so an implant has something solid to anchor into. Ridge augmentation widens or builds up a jaw ridge that has collapsed after tooth loss. Grafting material integrates with your existing bone over several months, and we plan the graft with the eventual restoration already in mind.
Socket Preservation
Placing a graft into the socket at the time of an extraction preserves the bone height and width you already have, rather than waiting for it to shrink and rebuilding it later. If you know an implant is in your future, this is the least invasive point to protect the site.
Sinus Augmentation
In the upper back jaw, the sinus floor often sits too close to the ridge to allow an implant. A sinus lift raises the sinus membrane and adds bone beneath it, creating the vertical height an implant needs in an area that otherwise could not support one.
Soft Tissue and Gum Grafting
Bone is only half of the foundation. Gum grafting restores tissue that has receded, covers exposed root surfaces, and rebuilds a stable band of attached tissue around teeth and implants. Healthy soft tissue is what protects the reconstruction in the long term and makes the result look natural rather than repaired.
Facial and Jaw Fracture Repair
Fractures of the jaw, cheekbone, eye socket, or nose are repaired by realigning the bone and stabilizing it while it heals, using plates, screws, or wiring depending on the pattern of the break. If you have just been injured, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room first, then contact our office to coordinate follow-up care.
Reconstruction After Cyst or Tumor Removal
Once a cyst, tumor, or other lesion is removed and the tissue has been evaluated, the space it occupied usually needs to be grafted and rebuilt to restore the jaw’s strength and shape. We plan the removal and the reconstruction together rather than treating them as separate problems.
Pre Prosthetic Surgery
If dentures or a partial will not seat properly, the ridge itself is often the reason. Smoothing sharp bone, removing excess tissue, and reshaping the ridge gives a prosthesis a stable, comfortable base to rest on.
Cleft and Congenital Reconstruction
Cleft lip and palate surgery and alveolar bone grafting rebuild structures that did not form completely before birth. This care is staged over years and coordinated with the other specialists involved in a patient’s treatment.
How Reconstruction Works, Step by Step
Consultation and 3D Imaging
Your first visit is diagnostic. We take imaging, review the bone volume, tissue quality, nerve position, and sinus anatomy at the site, and identify everything that needs to be rebuilt. Digital planning and 3D imaging let us model the finished result first and then work backward to the sequence of procedures that gets you there.
Bring your photo ID, insurance card, a list of current medications, and any referral or recent imaging from your dentist. Complete your registration in advance on our patient information page.
The Treatment Plan and Sequence
You will receive a written plan that outlines each stage, the healing time between stages, and the estimated cost of each step. Reconstruction is measured in months rather than a single appointment, because bone needs time to integrate before the next stage can be built on top of it. Knowing the timeline in advance is what makes the process manageable.
Anesthesia and Comfort
Comfort is planned during the consultation, based on the complexity of the procedure, your medical history, and your preferences. Sedation options may be available when appropriate, and our team explains exactly what applies to your case, including whether you will need a driver.
Surgery
Procedures range from a graft placed in under an hour to staged reconstruction handled across multiple visits. Your surgeon will tell you which category your case falls into and what to expect on the day, including how long you should plan to be with us.
Healing and Follow-Up
Most patients manage soft tissue discomfort for several days, with swelling that peaks early and then settles. Bone grafts integrate quietly over three to six months, depending on the graft type and site, and we monitor progress with imaging before moving to the next stage. You will leave every appointment with written instructions and a number to call if something does not feel right.
Reasons Patients Need Reconstruction
Most reconstructive cases trace back to one of the following:
- Tooth loss over time: Jawbone that no longer supports a tooth root begins to shrink within months, and the ridge narrows until there is not enough bone left to place an implant.
- Injury: A fall, a car accident, a sports collision, or a work injury can fracture the jaw or facial bones, break teeth, and tear soft tissue.
- Infection or advanced gum disease: Long-standing infection destroys the bone and gum tissue that hold teeth in place.
- Removal of a cyst, tumor, or other growth: Taking out the pathology is the first step, and the defect it leaves behind often needs to be filled and rebuilt.
- Failed or ill-fitting dentures: Years of denture wear flatten the ridge, and sharp bone or excess tissue can make it impossible to seat a new prosthesis comfortably.
- Congenital conditions: Cleft lip and palate and other developmental differences affect how bone and tissue formed in the first place.
- Previous surgery or scarring: Earlier treatment sometimes leaves a contour, scar, or bone defect worth correcting.
Overall health matters as much as local anatomy. Uncontrolled diabetes, smoking, certain medications, and some medical conditions affect how bone and tissue heal, so we review your full medical history before recommending a plan. If reconstruction is not the right answer, we will tell you what is.
Why Choose Utah Oral Surgeons for Reconstructive Care
Reconstruction rewards planning more than almost any other procedure in oral surgery because each stage constrains the next.
Three Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
Dr. Gary L. Crawford, Dr. William L. McBee, and Dr. Nathaniel T. Edmunds bring more than 45 years of combined experience, each with hospital-based surgical residency training after dental school.
Planned Digitally Before It Is Planned Surgically
We use digital planning and 3D imaging to map bone volume, nerve position, and sinus anatomy before treatment, and X-Nav guided technology for implant placement once the foundation is ready.
One Team Across the Whole Sequence
Graft, soft tissue, and final restoration are planned as a single arc by the same surgical team, so no stage is built without accounting for the one that follows.
Offices Across Central Utah
Provo, American Fork, and Price, so patients across Utah County and Carbon County can complete a multi-stage plan close to home instead of driving to Salt Lake for every visit.
Built Around Your Referring Doctor
Many reconstructive cases are referred by a general dentist, periodontist, or orthodontist. We keep the referring doctor in the loop at every stage to ensure the restorative and surgical plans remain aligned.
Costs Mapped Stage by Stage
You get an estimate for each stage and a benefits review before treatment starts, plus PatientFi financing and online bill pay if you need to spread the cost.
Reconstructive Surgery in Provo, American Fork, and Price, UT
Three offices, one surgical team. Multi-stage reconstruction is easier when the office is close, so choose the location that works best for you.
Provo Office
Mon-Thurs | 8:30 – 5:00
Friday 8:30 – 3:30
Closed Sat & Sunday
American Fork Office
Mon-Thurs | 9:00 – 5:00
Friday 6:00 – 3:30
Closed Sat & Sunday
Price Office
Mon-Fri | 8:00 – 5:00
Closed Sat & Sunday
We treat patients from Provo, Orem, Springville, Spanish Fork, Payson, American Fork, Lehi, Pleasant Grove, Highland, Alpine, Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain, Price, Helper, and Wellington.
Schedule a Reconstructive Surgery Consultation
If you have been told you do not have enough bone for an implant, you are recovering from a facial injury, or your dentist has referred you for surgical groundwork before restorative treatment, the next step is an evaluation. Request a consultation online or call the office closest to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does reconstructive oral surgery involve?
It involves rebuilding the bone and soft tissue of the mouth, jaw, and face after loss or damage. In practice, that usually means bone grafting, ridge augmentation, sinus augmentation, gum and soft tissue grafting, fracture repair, or rebuilding an area after a cyst or growth has been removed. Most plans combine two or three of these, staged over several months.
How long does reconstruction take from start to finish?
It depends on how much needs to be rebuilt. A single-socket graft heals within a few months before an implant can be placed. A staged reconstruction involving bone and soft tissue at multiple sites can take six to twelve months or longer, because each stage must integrate before the next is built on it. You will get the full timeline in writing at your consultation.
Does insurance cover reconstructive oral surgery?
Frequently, though which policy pays depends on the procedure. Some reconstructive work is processed under dental benefits, while fracture repair and reconstruction following removal of pathology are often billed under medical benefits instead. We verify both and tell you what to expect for each stage before treatment begins.
Is reconstructive surgery painful?
The procedure itself is done with the area fully numbed, and comfort options are discussed at your consultation based on the complexity of your case and your medical history. Afterward, most patients report soreness and swelling rather than sharp pain, which can be managed with the medication plan and ice instructions we send home with you. Grafting sites tend to be less uncomfortable than patients expect.
Where does the bone for a graft come from?
Several sources are used depending on the case, including processed donor bone, bone mineral of animal origin, synthetic graft material, and in some cases bone taken from elsewhere in your own jaw. Each has different handling and healing characteristics, and your surgeon will explain which is being recommended for your site and why.
Do I need a referral from my dentist?
No. Many reconstructive patients are referred by a general dentist, periodontist, or orthodontist, and we coordinate closely with the referring doctor throughout treatment. You are also welcome to contact us directly and schedule a consultation on your own.