In general dental care, if you attend a check-up with signs of tooth damage or decay, any team will at first attempt to save or restore your teeth. This will usually involve the placement of fillings, crowns, root canals or composite fillings in cases of surface damage from cracks and chips.
However, there are instances when a tooth may be too badly damaged for any dental team to restore it, meaning the only option left is an extraction, or in simple terms, to have the teeth or tooth removed.
At Glenside Dental, our general dentist Glenside will decide if and when you require an extraction. We will first attempt to try restorative procedures and, should this fail, we will then resort to removing the tooth. Don’t worry! We will ensure that any extraction we perform is comfortable and will set you up with post-operative instructions too, to ensure your mouth stays healthy and infection-free.
But why would we need to perform an extraction? And were you aware that there are different kinds of extractions? Read on to learn more!
Decay
Of course, the most obvious reason our general dentist Glenside will choose to remove a tooth is linked to decay.
If you have missed a few check-ups and have a severely decayed tooth, then to prevent any infection from occurring alongside any gum disease, our team will extract it. This will also offer us the chance to remove any plaque from around the gums and will improve the overall hygiene level of your mouth.
Orthodontics
In some cases, a joint decision will be made between our general dentist Glenside and an orthodontist to remove teeth to make room for movement that will come with a brace.
If your teeth are overcrowded, or if your orthodontist wants to move one of your teeth to the front of your mouth, the only way to do so is usually by extracting a tooth. Don’t worry! The gap will be temporary!
Wisdom teeth
When you have had your wisdom teeth erupt, they can cause a whole myriad of secondary issues and so, following some X-rays and other examinations, we may decide to remove them.
Depending on the position of your wisdom teeth, this may either be performed via a simple extraction or in more complex cases, we will extract them using surgical extraction techniques.
This brings us nicely on to the next 2 points!
Simple extraction
Suppose you have a fully erupted wisdom tooth that needs extracting due to an issue with its pulp; this is a simple extraction.
Our team can see the entire crown of the tooth and the tooth can be extracted using a local anaesthetic.
Surgical extraction
In cases where a wisdom tooth has not fully erupted or your tooth has decayed to underneath the gum line, this is where we will use a surgical extraction.
This will involve incisions being made into your gums and will require stitching or glueing once the tooth or teeth have been removed.
DISCLAIMER
All treatment carries risks. Individual consultation is required with one of our practitioners to
ensure that the treatment is right for you.