Extractions

When Would I Need A Tooth Pulled?

In an ideal world, every dentist would save every tooth by repairing it. Sometimes, however, damage that is too extensive renders this impossible.

Whether that damage occurs through disease, injury, or insufficient jaw size, teeth sometimes need to be pulled in order to keep the mouth healthy. In adults, this happens especially often with wisdom teeth.

Here at Timeless Smiles, we do several different types of extractions.

Often, all a dentist needs to do to remove a tooth is pull it out with a dental elevator. When possible, this method is quick and easy.

Unfortunately, there are times when a tooth is too damaged to do this. It may be broken beneath the gum line, or decayed in a way that makes it structurally unsound. In such cases, we will surgically remove the tooth.

But don’t worry! By using special instruments called periotomes, Dr. Cohen will remove the root tips preserving the bone during this procedure.

Humans get three sets of molars over the course of our lives. Wisdom teeth are the third set, which come in around ages 17–21. Once upon a time in our history, this set of teeth would have been vital to our health and longevity.

These days, however, quality dental care is common and accessible to vast areas of the world. This allows us to live better and longer without the need for extra teeth. As a result, our jaws have gradually gotten smaller.

Smaller jaws don’t leave any room for the wisdom teeth to develop properly, thus making extraction the best choice for most people.

Timeless Smiles does traditional extraction for wisdom teeth. For impacted teeth and more complicated extractions, we’ll refer you to a specialist who can give you the best treatment possible.

Missing teeth can have some repercussions for the jaw. When teeth go missing for long enough, the actual bone begins to recede. Other factors, such as disease, can further increase this bone loss, which in turn makes other restorative treatments extremely difficult.

When we do an extraction, we take definite steps toward preventing this bone loss. When prevention isn’t possible, bone loss must sometimes be corrected in order to allow for further treatments, such as implants. Both of these processes involve bone grafts.

Purified mineralized or demineralized bone will be placed into the area of the jaw where the bone is either thinning or at risk of doing so. This causes your natural bone to grow through the area, and fill in the thickness it needs to be healthy.

If you have any questions or concerns about tooth extraction, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We’ll answer all of your questions, and set you up with a the treatment that is best for you.