As dental professionals, our goal is to help you maintain a healthy smile and preserve your natural teeth. We accomplish this with our restorative, prosthetic, and preventive dental procedures. However, sometimes maintaining a healthy smile means removing a damaged or compromised tooth. When is an extraction your best option?
A Safe and Comfortable Procedure
The procedure involves oral surgery, which means we will administer an anesthetic and may discuss sedation, such as nitrous oxide, to ensure you feel comfortable during the procedure. We will also provide aftercare information to help ensure the healing process proceeds quickly without unnecessary complications.
Addressing Wisdom Teeth
Also known as third molars, these erupt in our late teens and early 20s. Their arrival can mean up to four additional molars erupting, often causing misalignment or in severe cases, impaction. With impaction, the teeth only partially erupt and increase the risk of damaged teeth and infection, as well as discomfort. Fortunately, extraction allows us to simply remove them prior to eruption to help you avoid all these complications.
Infections and More
We may also extract a tooth that has become loose due to advanced gum disease, or a tooth that is severely damaged. Should an infection develop that isn’t treated in a timely manner, removal may be needed to avoid the spread of infection to surrounding teeth or into the jawbone itself. In rare cases, orthodontic treatment may require the removal of a tooth to aid in the process.
Replacement Options
Should you lose a tooth to infection or damage, we can often replace it. We may suggest a dental bridge or in cases of advanced tooth loss, full or partial dentures. Dental implants can also be used to offer a more secure and longer lasting solution to tooth loss.
Visit Dr. Brent Engelberg to learn more, schedule a consultation online, or call our office today at (847) 230-9703.