All You Need to Know About Dental Extractions

When you visit Stonegate Family Dentistry with a severe dental concern, we will try everything possible to save your teeth using various dental treatment options. However, there might be some cases when a tooth can't be saved. This happens when a tooth is badly damaged either due to external trauma or dental disease. If your teeth sustain a tooth infection, traumatic injury, tooth damage, or severe tooth decay, tooth extraction is necessary.

The following are the common reasons that necessitate a dental extraction:

• Cavities

Cavities occur as a result of erosion of the teeth's enamel leading to the decay of the dentin due to the harmful microbes in the mouth. If the cavities are not treated, they can develop into root canal cavities and infection. If the infection is severe and can't be fixed using all the possible treatment options like medication, restorations, fillings, etc., a tooth extraction would be needed to prevent the further spread of infection and prevent other complications.

• Oral Trauma

External trauma to the mouth can cause damage to the teeth, soft tissues, and jawbone. Teeth injury can include cracks, chipping, fracture, or even breakage at the gum line. In the case of dental emergencies that arise from oral trauma, our dental experts will try their best to save the teeth using dental restoration techniques after conducting a meticulous examination of the situation. However, if the tooth is severely decayed or damaged, a dental extraction would be needed to alleviate pain and prevent further complications.

• Orthodontics

Several treatment options are available to fix misaligned teeth. However, you may need extraction of the teeth on both sides of the jawbone to create enough space for the remaining teeth to shift to their correct positions. 

• Impacted Teeth

An impacted tooth is the one that is stuck in the jawbone during its eruption. Such a tooth can cause severe pain, discomfort, and infection near the impacted area. Though minor impactions can be treated using the medication, if the tooth is fully stuck in the jawbone, it may need an extraction to prevent complexities.

The Procedure of Extractions. 

Extractions can be of two types -  surgical extractions and simple extractions.

• Simple Extractions: Simple extractions involve the removal of the tooth using a dental instrument called an elevator after numbing the tooth using anesthesia. The procedure can be performed by a general dentist.
• Surgical Extraction: If the tooth is impacted or has broken off from the gums, the patient may need a surgical extraction to remove the tooth. After administering anesthesia to numb the extraction site, a small cut is made in the gums, and the tooth is completely removed.  Surgical extractions can be performed by either an oral surgeon or a general dentist. 

After-care Instructions

After tooth extraction, the patients will be asked to bite on sterile gauze to limit the bleeding. It further supports the clotting of the area. Further, after-care instructions are recommended to be followed after the extraction. The patient should avoid smoking, biting on hard foods, consumption of extremely hot beverages, or washing the mouth vigorously around the treatment area. If the patient suffers from discomfort, they can take painkillers as prescribed by the dentist.

Call Stonegate Family Dentistry at (615) 624-6919 and schedule an appointment with Dentist in Murfreesboro TN, where our efficient dentists will take care of your dental extractions and other treatments.