Tonsillectomies used to be a rite of passage for children. These days, however, the number has shrunken to 500,000. Sleep apnea or six or more yearly throat infections with inflamed and swollen tonsils are the main reasons that kids have them removed. More people with intact tonsils mean more tonsil stones (tonsilloliths), which can be removed by an oral/maxillofacial surgeon (OMS).
The office of Greater Atlanta Oral Facial Surgery provides a warm and welcoming experience for each patient. You can be confident that you’re receiving the finest treatment available. OMSs are experts in face, mouth and jaw surgery. Each is a member of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Tonsils are oval-shaped pads of tissue that have folds, gaps and crevices called tonsillar crypts. Tonsil stones develop when lumps of trapped hardened materials such as calcium, bacteria or fungi get trapped in the crypts. The result is extremely bad breath, an irritable cough, earaches, a sore throat or a foul taste in the mouth. They are yellow or white and usually the size of pebbles, but they can also grow large and obstructive. Teenagers tend to get them more than other age groups.
Treatment for tonsil stones includes a variety of options and usually depends on their size and level of discomfort. If the stones are relatively small and create few or no symptoms, they might not need to be treated. The stones may also come out on their own.
When tonsil stones are large, obstinate and obstructive, they make swallowing difficult, are painful and cause the feeling that something is stuck in your throat. An OMS should extricate the stones and, in some cases, the tonsils, too.
Greater Atlanta Oral Facial Surgery’s main mission is to relieve your condition. We pride ourselves on our never-ending ability to provide superior patient care. For more information about our practice and how we can help you, please call us to arrange an appointment.