Tooth Extractions and Oral Health: What You Need to Know

Our office will only recommend tooth removal as a last resort. Our initial instinct is to save your tooth with tooth fillings, crowns, and root canals. However, we’ll recommend dental extraction when your tooth is beyond saving. Failure to remove a problematic tooth can lead to unnecessary pain, widespread infections, and other complications.

The common reasons for extracting your tooth include:

• Severe tooth decay or damage
• A baby tooth that doesn’t come out (over-retained baby tooth)
• Advanced gum disease
• Impacted or troublesome wisdom teeth
• Making room for teeth to move during orthodontic treatment
• To resolve tooth overcrowding

When your tooth is extracted, you’ll notice changes in your speech, eating ability, and overall appearance. Losing even one tooth can significantly affect your oral health and confidence. We prevent this by filling your gap with a dental implant or bridge. Our tooth extraction process is meticulously planned from start to finish to ensure both immediate and long-term benefits for your oral health.

We’ll start your tooth extraction procedure by taking X-rays beforehand. This helps determine the position and extent of damage to establish the best approach to extract your tooth. Before extracting your tooth, the dentist will use powerful local anesthetics to numb your tooth and surrounding areas. Anesthesia ensures that you do not feel pain during the treatment.

Your dental extraction can be categorized as simple or surgical.

Simple extraction: This straightforward extraction is ideal for teeth that are visible and accessible in the mouth. The goal is to extract your tooth from its socket in one piece. To do this, the dentist uses an elevator tool to wiggle your tooth around. When your tooth is loose enough, we’ll use forceps to pull it out. Finally, the dentist will clean the extraction site and apply medical gauze to stop bleeding. Surgical extraction: This procedure is ideal for impacted wisdom teeth or teeth stuck beneath the gum line. The procedure starts by making a small incision on the gums to expose the trapped tooth. Sometimes, the dentist may remove a small amount of the underlying bone to access the impacted tooth. Often, the dentist breaks the tooth into several pieces for easier removal. We’ll clean and suture the wound like any surgery to kickstart healing.

After your extraction, we’ll give you post-op instructions to ensure smooth healing. Typically, we’ll give you medications and home remedies to manage pain, swelling, bruising, and other discomforts. Carefully follow your dentist’s instructions to ensure you heal as expected.

Our experienced team administers dental extractions with expertise and care for a comfortable and safe outcome. Whether you need ordinary or wisdom teeth removed, you can trust All City Cosmetic Dental Care with your smile. Call (631) 352-2330 to schedule an appointment today.