Do You Need Tooth Extractions?

An infected tooth can be very troubling especially when the infection has penetrated deep inside the tooth and is causing severe pain to the patient. There are various dental procedures for tooth infection but some people might prefer a dental extraction instead. Why?

Tooth extraction is a dental procedure that involves the removal of an infected tooth by an oral surgeon or dentist. It is a fast procedure that is performed with intravenous, general, or local anesthesia. Dental extractions can be used to remove a visible tooth, a tooth that is broken inside the gums, or an Impacted tooth.
Most times when we see the dentist concerning tooth decay, the last resolution is tooth extraction. This is because dentists like to treat dental issues rather than remove the whole tooth. Once a permanent natural tooth is removed, it can never erupt again except the patient desires to replace the natural extracted tooth with an artificial tooth. Thanks to modern dentistry, there are artificial teeth that look like natural teeth and also help to perform the functions of natural teeth. However, dentists decide to remove the tooth if all other procedures don’t do the job.

Reasons For Tooth Extractions

There are various reasons why tooth extractions are performed. They are:
Tooth Decay: a decayed or infected tooth can spread to other surrounding teeth. When a tooth becomes infected, it spreads to the tooth’s roots and then the dental pulp gets infected as well thereby causing teeth sensitivity and pain. The dentist can decide to perform a root canal treatment to remove the infections in the tooth’ root. However, the patient might not be the best candidate for root canal treatment or the infected tooth’ root might have to cause the tooth to become too weak. In this case, due to the severe pain, the patient might not want to go through with other dental procedures and resolve to get the tooth removed.

Also, as a parent, your child might get a tooth infection. Generally, children love sweet foods and candies. However, these foods can cause cavities and plaques in the teeth if good oral hygiene is not practiced. This is why it is beneficial to take your child to the dentist for dental exams and cleanings. When children receive preventive dental care, their teeth become healthier as they grow. You can visit a kids dentist near you or a kids dentist in Greenwood, SC for your child’s dental exams and cleanings.

Fractured Tooth: In this case, the patient might have been involved in an accident that made the tooth break, crack or become chipped. This is also known as traumatic damage. When the tooth is chipped, the patient might prefer to remove the whole tooth rather than undergo a dental filling procedure.

Overcrowding: this occurs when the teeth are too much to fit in the space available for them. When a person has overcrowded teeth, it makes the teeth look crooked, and then the tooth starts erupting between themselves thereby causing an overcrowded dental structure. Overcrowded teeth can be corrected with the help of orthodontic procedures. However, orthodontic treatments work better when there is space inside the mouth. For this to happen, the dentist will need to extract one or more teeth so that enough space can be created for orthodontic treatments.

Wisdom tooth removal: Tooth extractions are used to remove wisdom teeth. Wisdom tooth grows at the back of the molar thereby causing pain and discomfort. The reason why people go through pain due to impacted wisdom tooth is that mostly there is no space for the tooth to fully erupt. Tooth extraction can then be performed to remove the wisdom tooth or the molar beside it to let the wisdom tooth erupt completely. Adolescents are usually faced with this dental issue more during their teeth growing stage. You can see a pediatric dentist in Greenwood, SC for this today.

Tooth Extraction Procedure

Before a tooth extraction can be performed, you have to make an appointment with the dentist. The dentist will then examine your teeth and ask questions concerning your medical history. This is an important question because some medical conditions can make tooth extraction difficult or impossible. When this happens, the dentist might suggest alternative dental procedures or wait for the patient to get treated first.

Before the treatment, numbing medication is used to prevent the patient from feeling pains or discomfort during the tooth extraction procedure. As stated earlier, tooth extraction is a fast procedure. In 20 minutes the procedure would have been completed.

At Greenwood pediatric dentistry, Dr. John Patangan will treat your child and enhance your child’s dental health with professional and effective dental treatment.