Conditions that Might Be Addressed with Tooth Extraction
The good thing about modern dental care is that, in most cases, there’s an effective treatment option to address most types of concerns and help you preserve a maximum amount of your healthy tooth structure. Whether your tooth becomes infected with decay or structurally damaged, the right restorative treatment can often effectively restore its health, strength, and inability to function properly. However, there are still some conditions that might require tooth extraction to properly address them, and when it becomes necessary, your oral health could be at a greater risk than you realize.
A wisdom tooth becomes impacted
Tooth extraction can be an important process when there’s no option for saving a tooth because it’s too severely compromised. Wisdom teeth, or third molars, can become compromised as they’re trying to erupt from your gum line, becoming impacted and unable to erupt properly. This can lead to a wide variety of problems, including growing discomfort around your molars and the surrounding jawbone structure. Correcting the molar’s alignment within your jawbone isn’t possible, and there may not be enough room for it on your dental ridges anyway (hence, the impaction). The best way to address the problem is to extract the impacted molar or molars.
A tooth’s previous restoration fails
Besides wisdom teeth, most other teeth can often be saved from conditions that could otherwise lead to tooth extraction if they’re treated early enough. For example, extreme tooth decay and severe gum disease, which may lead to tooth loss or extraction, may be treated earlier with appropriate restorative or periodontal treatment. However, if the restorative treatment fails, the tooth can become compromised once again and suffer more severe damage as a result. If the failed restoration isn’t replaced promptly, the worsening condition of the tooth could lead to the need for its extraction and replacement.
A tooth is severely damaged
Tooth damage is one of the conditions that could sometimes be severe enough to require tooth extraction. Yet, it’s also one of the more treatable conditions when it isn’t extreme. A worn-down, fractured, or broken tooth can usually be restored and preserved with the right restoration, such as a dental crown. However, certain types of tooth damage, such as a fractured or broken tooth root, can’t be successfully addressed. To restore your smile and bite function, your dentist might suggest extracting the tooth and replacing it with a lifelike restoration.
Find out if your tooth needs to be extracted
Tooth extraction isn’t a typical solution to most oral health concerns, but there are some conditions that could make it necessary for protecting the rest of your oral health. To learn more, call our Cleveland Family Dentistry office in Cleveland, TX, today at (281) 592-1234. We also serve the residents of Kingwood, Conroe, Livingston, and all surrounding communities.