When a tooth becomes cracked or chipped, or aches due to cavities or infection, then we often help with a dental restoration. But in some cases, a tooth needs to be removed to protect the smile. In today’s blog, your team at Mansfield Dental Associates in Mansfield, TX, talks about helping your smile with a safe and gentle tooth extraction.
The Need for a Tooth Removal
When do we need to conduct a tooth extraction? If a tooth is too broken to be repaired with a crown, removal could prevent the area from becoming infected and treating other parts of your smile. Likewise, if a case of tooth decay and/or infection reached a position that it cannot be treated with a root canal and crown, then we could extract the tooth to protect the smile. But we also remove teeth to ensure baby teeth are out in time, and that smiles are ready for orthodontic treatment. Extraction could prepare the smile for full dentures too!
For teens and adults in their early 20s, we could use the removal process to remove wisdom teeth before they arrive and upset the balance, health, and beauty of your smile, so you avoid misalignment and wisdom tooth impaction.
Planning a Tooth Extraction
If you have a tooth that needs to be removed, we will start by carefully examining your smile with advanced digital imaging technology. We will look closely at your smile, peering into the jaw with digital x-rays to assess the position of the roots, or in the case of wisdom teeth, the tooth itself. We will plan extraction to ensure we avoid any contact with nerve tissues, sinus cavities, or blood vessels. When the time comes for treatment, we will administer a local anesthetic to numb the area, and our team can also offer dental extraction to help you enter a deep state of calm, with little to no memory of the procedure. Our team can choose from nitrous oxide, oral conscious sedation, and IV sedation, depending on your anxiety levels and other factors.
Removing Your Tooth
When you are properly numbed and sedated, we will gently loosen and remove the tooth with a pair of forceps. In a wisdom tooth situation, we will need to open the gums above these teeth to reach and extract them. For some, the entire process could take as little as a half hour. We then suture the area closed. A clot will form to help the area heal, so you can return to your normal routine after a day or two of rest.
Our Team Offers General Dentistry
We want to help prevent issues like wisdom tooth removal with general dental care. To learn more about gently removing a tooth, or schedule your appointment, call our Mansfield, TX, dental team today at 817-473-6227.
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