Being competitive is a natural occurrence in the business world. No matter the field, business owners strive to set themselves apart from their competitors and healthcare is no different.
However competitive, businesses must also do what is best for their consumers. In healthcare, by promising patients the best level of care you are able to offer, a practice is guaranteeing that when there is an opportunity to improve and innovate upon a field, that practice will do so.
St. Luke’s OMS has been an oral surgery practice in the Lehigh Valley for over fifteen years. Dr. Wayne J. Saunders and his team have shown amazing initiative throughout this time and setting the highest standard of care for Oral Surgery in the Lehigh Valley. Their goal is to offer patients the highest quality of care that is both affordable and readily available. St. Luke’s OMS – Your Center for Oral Surgery has become a name we can truly trust.
Dr. Wayne Saunders believes that in order to offer the highest quality of care, one needs to continually remain innovative. Over the years St. Luke’s OMS has brought new technology and care to the Lehigh Valley in order to better serve their patients. Although the practice continues to thrive and grow, they have no intention of slowing down.
The teams decided to combine two different specialties, and are the first in the country to do so. Oral Surgeons and Periodontists, who some even consider to be slightly competitive when it comes to the placement of dental implants, have practiced separately for years.
To understand this innovation, it is important to understand these two specialties.
Periodontists can be easily explained as being “gum doctors”. They receive two years post-graduate training for treatment of gum disease, gum recession and grafting and dental implants for tooth replacement.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons receive 4-6 years post-graduate training at a residency program in an accredited hospital. They are trained to perform outpatient surgeries as well as trauma level procedures in a hospital such as teeth extractions, dental implant placement, bone and sinus grafting, corrective jaw surgery, oral and facial trauma and other oral and facial surgeries requiring anesthesia.
Treatment of the gums and teeth tend to overlap when considering treatment for patients who are in need of both periodontal and maxillofacial attention. Dr. Randy Nolf, a Periodontist, has joined the St. Luke’s OMS Oral Surgery team.
“Combining the two specialties is the ‘light-bulb’ idea.” Saunders states. “Putting together Oral Surgeons, who specialize in tooth removal, bone grafting and dental implants, with Periodontists who specialize in gum grafting, gum infections and dental implants, can allow the St. Luke’s OMS team to treat the ‘Complete Smile’. Having experts for both teeth and gums permits us to not only fix the problem, but make sure it is fixed in its’ entirety.”
“The combination of Oral Surgery with Periodontics is a natural progression.” says Mike Amato, Dental Implant Director for St. Luke’s OMS. “Having a Periodontist in the office will allow us to offer assistance after implants are placed in order to maintain beautiful and healthy smiles – and the complete smile includes the gums!”
With the blend of Oral Surgery and Periodontics, the trusted surgeons at St. Luke’s OMS will be able to prevent oral health problems before they arise. They will also be the region’s premier specialist in treating Peri-Implantitis which is the inflammation of the gums around a dental implant.
Periodontics and Oral Surgery will be teaming up at St. Luke’s OMS in March 2016. We look forward to seeing more innovative growth from this trusted Oral Surgery Center in the future.
