How to Know If You Need a Tooth Extraction

If you maintain great oral health, you can keep your teeth your whole life. Even when dental issues do develop – like tooth decay and infections – dentists prioritize saving your natural teeth. There are cases when a dental extraction is the best choice for your health. How do you know when you need a tooth extraction?

Severe Tooth Pain

Toothaches don’t always lead to extractions, but severe pain can mean extensive decay and infection. If a root canal isn’t an option, dentists may extract the tooth to stop the infection from spreading.

Advanced Gum Disease

Your gums support every tooth in your mouth. When your gums develop infections, they pull away from your teeth, which become loose. A tooth extraction may be necessary if your gum disease progresses too far!

Impacted Wisdom Teeth

Your wisdom teeth are found at the very back of your mouth. Most people don’t have room for these molars, so they often become trapped beneath the gums. This causes crowding, pain, and potentially serious issues. If you still have your wisdom teeth and start experiencing symptoms like jaw pain and swollen gums, you’ll probably need an extraction.

Overcrowding

Crowded teeth can misalign your jaw, make oral hygiene harder, and damage your tooth enamel. Treatments like braces and Invisalign can straighten your smile, but sometimes we need to extract teeth to help the process along.

Dental Trauma

While many tooth chips and cracks are fixable, sometimes teeth are too damaged to save. Severe trauma after a sports injury or car accident may make extractions the best choice for your oral health.

Tooth Extractions at Ryan Dental in Olathe, KS

No matter what dental procedure you need, our team strives to ensure your safety and comfort. We never recommend extractions unless they’re the best choice for your health, and we always explain our reasoning and what you can expect from the procedure. Our office also offers tooth replacements like dentures, bridges, and implants. Please contact us today with any questions or to schedule an appointment!

Image from Authority Dental under CC 2.0

Categorized in: Restorative Dental Care