Specialist Oral Surgeon Dr Marie O'Neill joins Swords Orthodontics

This was a great development for the practice, and for the local area in general - we expanded our specialist dental services by adding an oral surgeon to our team here.

Dr Marie O'Neill qualified with an Honours degree in Dentistry, and then consolidated her enthusiasm for oral surgery by completing the specialist training programme in Trinity College Dublin. She is now on the Dental Council's relatively exclusive list (they call it "The Register") of specialist oral surgeons.

An oral surgeon is a dentist that has completed extra postgraduate training and passed extra exams recognised by the Dental Council. They have special expertise in areas like:

• removing wisdom teeth and other teeth that are difficult to remove
• placing dental implants
• removing cysts and diseased tissue from the mouth
• carrying out biopsies of areas of the mouth that need to be examined with a microscope
• conducting bone grafts and other jawbone surgery

A bit like orthodontics and orthodontists, oral surgery is taught in dental school but students have limited practical exposure to it. Although there is no legal reason why any dentist can't do these procedures, an oral surgeon with a specialist qualification gives a patient the reassurance that they have worked hard to gain the experience and technical skills in a very carefully supervised environment. They also have a full range of medication and equipment ready to deal with whatever challenges arise.

In Swords Orthodontics, Dr O'Neill will be conducting consultations, diagnosis and treatment in the practice. If needed, there can be arrangements made for these treatments to be carried out under sedation. If the treatment required is more complete, then Marie is a consultant oral surgeon at the Mater Hospital and can arrange for treatment to be carried out under general anaesthetic there.

Swords Orthodontics was the first specialist practice in Swords, so it was with great delight that we could welcome another dental specialty to the practice and provide this extra service - both for our existing patients that need it, and for the wider population locally. Definitely a highlight of 2014!