The Truth About How Having A Tooth Extracted Can Boost General Dental Health

SOMETIMES, TOOTH EXTRACTION IS A VITAL STEP IN GETTING YOUR SEXIER, HEALTHIER SMILE
Back when you were a little kid, pulling a tooth was a sure sign of a dollar or two from the tooth fairy. Unfortunately, when you had all your permanent teeth, losing a tooth became much less enjoyable. There are numerous reasons that you might need a tooth extraction to maintain your dental health, like an impacted tooth, to avoid overcrowding, or an injured tooth. While a tooth extraction may not be fun, it's no longer as frightening or painful as it used to be. Using current methods and many sedation options, MINT dentistry in Elmsworth makes dental extractions a little easier if you need one. Our staff in Houston, TX will carefully assess the affected tooth before suggesting an extraction. When a tooth needs to be taken out, our staff works hard to ensure you stay comfortable from start to finish. Keep reading to explore the two techniques of tooth extractions and common reasons why a tooth or teeth might need to be extracted.

KINDS OF DENTAL EXTRACTIONS
There are multiple reasons that a tooth may have to get extracted. First, your team at MINT dentistry in Elmsworth will establish the reason for your oral symptoms. After that, they will be able to decide which kind of tooth extraction best suits your needs. Almost all dental extractions are based on two basic categories:

• SURGICAL EXTRACTION
  An extraction surgery is conducted when the tooth hasn't fully grown out of the gumline. Therefore, an incision is necessary to extract the tooth under the gums. If needed, the tooth might be cut into pieces for a less invasive extraction. Extraction surgery is generally used to take out the back molars or a tooth that hasn't erupted.
• SIMPLE EXTRACTION
  A dental care provider will do a simple extraction if your tooth has erupted over the gums. The tooth can be loosened with a dental tool called an elevator before the crown and root are removed from the jawbone and gum tissue. This method is typically chosen if a tooth is badly infected, very decayed, or not able to be saved, or to make room for overcrowding.

COMMON REASONS YOU MIGHT NEED TO GET A TOOTH REMOVED
Many different oral issues may lead to needing a tooth extraction. Among the top reasons patients in Houston, TX will get a dental extraction is to avoid a tooth eruption problem. Here are many of the additional common reasons you may require a dental extraction:

• OVERCROWDING OF THE TEETH
  Sometimes, a tooth or teeth might need to be extracted before an orthodontic treatment such as Invisalign or braces. An orthodontic treatment is designed to shift the teeth into their proper positions, which might mean removing one or more teeth if there is overcrowding so the remaining teeth are able to fit. Overcrowded teeth are generally addressed with a simple extraction.
• WISDOM TEETH
  Your back molars, also referred to as the wisdom teeth, will, in all likelihood, need to be pulled. The human jaw normally can't fit these additional teeth, so when they start to erupt from the gums (usually from ages 15 – 22), your dentist might recommend a surgical extraction. It's crucial to have the wisdom teeth removed as soon as you can, before your teeth become infected or impacted. But a small number of individuals never have to get their back molars taken out. Very rarely, some lucky people don't get all four molars or any whatsoever!
• TOOTH IMPACTION
  When you have tooth impaction, it indicates there is some kind of obstruction keeping the tooth from growing out of the gums. An impacted tooth could be obstructed by a primary tooth that still hasn't come out naturally, or it could be developing in the wrong direction and is obstructed by a neighboring adult (permanent) tooth. Depending upon the cause of the impaction, the dentist might suggest a surgical or simple extraction to ease pain or prevent an infection.
• TRAUMA TO THE TEETH
  Unfortunately, accidents can happen to the best of us, and, occasionally, our teeth might incur trauma. Although the preferred option is generally to make all efforts to preserve the tooth, it isn't always possible. The trauma may be a result of a car crash or maybe a sports or on-the-job incident, but whatever the reason, people in Houston, TX really should schedule a consultation with a dental professional if they have a mouth injury. Sometimes, the damage might not be visible right away.
• EXTREME DECAY
  When a cavity is ignored or not treated promptly, it will often eat into the pulp inside the tooth. While a root canal may potentially be used to save the tooth, it may have to be extracted if the damage is severe enough to undermine the tooth's structure. A simple extraction can keep the decay and disease from transferring to other teeth, the gums, jawbone, and, ultimately, your blood.

RECOVERY PERIOD FOR A TOOTH EXTRACTION
Following a tooth extraction, it's crucial to understand and diligently adhere to your dentist’s after-care instructions. A simple extraction will generally need less recovery time than a surgical extraction; however, it is going to vary according to every unique case. You might be prescribed antibiotics to prevent infection, as well as a pain medication. You may want to stick to a liquid diet for the first couple of days following the procedure, when your mouth is sore and healing. This is a fantastic opportunity to eat a little ice cream, but you need to also make protein shakes, etc., to get more nutritious meals. You need to stop ingesting all tobacco products, both prior to and after your procedure, as they will reduce your ability to heal correctly. Your dentist may tell you to use an antibiotic mouthwash until you given the okay to start flossing and brushing again.

THE SOLUTION TO A HEALTHIER, SEXIER SMILE MIGHT INCLUDE A TOOTH EXTRACTION
A dental extraction might be performed for many reasons, such as to prevent an infection from spreading, to treat an impaction, or just to give your other teeth additional space. Taking care of all of these issues at MINT dentistry in Elmsworth is key to achieving your dream smile. Visit our office in Houston, TX to arrange a consultation with our experienced staff to find out if a surgical or simple extraction might be the optimal option for your dental health.