In most cases, a dentist’s goal is to save a tooth. In some situations, however, the best thing to do is to remove the tooth in order to maintain the mouth’s overall health. Reasons for this include:

• Severe tooth decay
• Impacted wisdom tooth
• Crowded teeth
• Failure of a baby tooth to fall out at the proper time to allow room for a permanent tooth to come in

At our office, we are experienced in handling tooth extractions. You can trust us to advise you on when it is necessary and to ensure that the procedure is made as comfortable as possible for you.

There are two types of tooth extractions. If the affected tooth is visible above the gum line and it is easily accessible, a simple extraction can be performed. The dentist will grab the tooth with forceps to remove it. If the tooth has not yet erupted and the problem lies deeper within the gum line, a surgical extraction will be needed.

To surgically remove a tooth, your dentist will first numb the affected area with a local anesthetic. If multiple teeth are being removed at once, a general anesthetic will be used to leave you sedated throughout the surgery. An incision will be made into the gum tissue to access the tooth. It will be gripped and loosened by being pulled back and forth. Once it has been sufficiently loosened, it can be lifted out of the gums. If it is too firmly lodged in place, it can be broken up into smaller pieces before being removed. The site will be closed again once the tooth has been removed. It may be necessary to place sutures over the area to help it heal. If this is the case, soluble sutures are most often used because they dissolve over time, eliminating the need to return to your dentist to have stitches taken out.

The area will require careful handling for a few days following the extraction; your dentist will provide you with special instructions on handling the site.

If you are experiencing problems with a tooth and suspect that a tooth will have to be removed, give us a call today to make an appointment.