Much more often than not, it’s better to keep your teeth. There are some occasions, however, when tooth removal is necessary for the sake of your oral health.
At Advanced Dental Center, we offer painless teeth extractions with the help of our advanced training and technology and our dental sedation options.
So, when should you remove a tooth? We’ll answer that question below along with what you should do after a tooth has been taken out.
To find out if your tooth can be saved or should be removed, call (843) 588-1919 to schedule a consultation at our Florence, SC dental office.
Severely Infected Teeth
Tooth decay leads to cavities. When left untreated, cavities lead to infected teeth.
Even so, many times a root canal treatment is often all you need to remove the infected tissue and save the tooth.
But there are times when the decay has weakened a tooth to point that it’s unsavable. Removing the tooth may be necessary to prevent the infection from causing additional harm through gum disease or to other teeth. This should be seen as the first step in the process, however.
Leaving a gap in your smile increases your risk of losing more teeth (as a result of bone loss in your jaw). The gap also can allow your remaining teeth to “drift,” which can change your bite, and your smile.
You can prevent bone loss before by replacing your missing tooth with an implant-supported dental crown. Having a replacement tooth also can stop drifting from occurring.
Severely Damaged Teeth
Decay isn’t the only way your teeth can be harmed.
Biting into something hard, such an olive pit or popcorn kernel, can cause a tooth to crack. You may break a tooth as a result of an accident, such as getting hit in the mouth with a ball, walking into something, or running into someone.
In either of these situations, it may be possible to repair your tooth with a dental crown. Since we have CEREC technology, we can make your crown on the same day you visit us … unless the crack or break is so severe that your tooth can no longer support a crown.
When a tooth cannot support a crown, remove and replace is again your best option for the same reasons mentioned above. Regardless of why you have a missing tooth, if it leaves a gap in your smile, you should try to replace it as soon as you are able.
Preparation for Straightening Teeth
If you are looking to straighten your teeth, crowding is often part of the reason why. Some people’s jaws just aren’t large enough for their adult teeth to fit correctly. This can cause teeth to erupt at awkward angles, or it may prevent some teeth from erupting at all. It’s also possible that a preteen or teen may still have some primary teeth that haven’t fallen out.
In these situations, removing a tooth or a few teeth can both simplify your aligner care and improve the end result as well.
You Can Win By Losing Sometimes
As they say in business, sometimes you have to know when to cut your losses. In dental care, we will do everything we can to save a tooth, but you may need to get rid of a tooth to save your smile.
To find out what we can do, call Advanced Dental Center at (843) 588-1919 or contact us online.