How Do You Decide if a Tooth Should Be Extracted?

When a tooth exhibits a serious problem, like extensive damage or infection in its natural structure, extracting the tooth can seem simpler than treating and restoring it. Yet, because it results in the loss of all of the tooth’s natural structure, tooth extraction is typically only a good idea if the tooth can’t be saved. Today, we examine how your dentist determines when tooth extraction is the best option for your smile, and a few conditions that might call for it.

Is the tooth that badly damaged?

Tooth damage poses a specific type of threat to your oral health. Whether the tooth is worn down, fractured, or broken, the damage it sustains can weaken the tooth’s overall structural integrity, making it more likely to become damaged even further over time. For most types of tooth damage, a custom-designed restoration can help restore the tooth’s strength and integrity, while also preventing the damage the tooth has sustained from getting any worse. However, if the damage is substantial enough to make the tooth too weak to support the restoration, then extracting and replacing the tooth might be necessary for restoring your smile and oral health.

Is your tooth decay that severe?

Things like fractures and breaks in your tooth’s structure can result from a number of things, like excessive pressure on your teeth or accidental trauma. However, your tooth’s structure can become compromised in more ways than being fractured or broken. For example, chronic tooth infection, or decay, is more common than severe tooth damage, and it can result from the natural, but excessive, buildup of oral bacteria on your teeth. Though tooth decay is often treated in its mild or moderate stages, it can sometimes progress faster and more severely than patients realize. However, in extreme cases of decay, the infection can erode a substantial portion of the tooth’s structure, and extracting it may be best to prevent further oral health complications.

Is a tooth impacted in your dental ridge?

Conditions like tooth damage and tooth decay affect teeth that have already developed along your dental ridge, which is why saving them is typically preferable than removing them. However, in some cases, a tooth might need to be extracted because it’s unable to develop properly, such as an impacted wisdom tooth (or third molar). If a wisdom tooth becomes impacted, it’s often because the ends of your dental ridges lack sufficient space to accommodate them. The only solution is usually to extract the wisdom teeth and prevent them from causing further problems.

Learn if tooth extraction is a good idea

Tooth extraction is only a good idea when the tooth can’t be saved, and in many cases, the best thing to do is to replace the tooth afterward. 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.