Hearing your dentist suggest removing one of your teeth can cause a bit of alarm. After all, the main goal of dental care is protecting the health and maintenance of all of your natural teeth. But sometimes, removing a tooth can help prevent further damage to your oral cavity, stop your pain, and allow you to plan the restoration of your injured tooth. When a dental filling or crown cannot repair a severely worn tooth, think of performing an extraction as simply the first step in receiving a new prosthetic.
At your Katy, TX, dental practice, we understand how urgently our patients desire relief from painful infections and sensitive nerves. While we strive to save your natural material whenever possible, removing one of your teeth can cure your pain and free space to place a replacement tooth. If you experience a serious case of decay or infection that will not respond to root canal therapy, removal may be necessary to return your health.
Why We Suggest Removing A Tooth
We may need to remove one of your teeth if it becomes infected, too decayed, or physically damaged to restore with a cap above your gumline. While dental crowns can return stability to an injury, they require enough healthy material below to support their placement. Whenever you have an infection, we must always remove all bacteria to stop the spread of disease, and sometimes a root canal is not successful.
We even perform this maneuver whenever your wisdom teeth threaten to become impacted. When this happens, they can trap in your jawbone or gums and cause decay, infection, and other oral health problems. If years of gum disease destabilizes your smile, we may also remove your few remaining teeth to set you up for a full set of dentures.
Removing Your Problem Tooth
To get a full picture of your tooth both above and below your gumline, we begin by taking X-rays of your jaw. This will show us oral tissues such as your nerves, sinus cavities, and blood vessels. Taking into account protecting these tissues, we design a procedure to remove your tooth. Beforehand, we apply a local anesthetic to provide your comfort throughout. When done properly, you should experience no more pain than any other standard dental procedure.
For patients with anxiety, we could offer dental sedation to place you in a calm and relaxed state. Using special tools, we then rock the tooth back and forth until it is free from your socket. To begin your recovery, we suture the open socket to promote its healing over the coming weeks. If you receive sedation, we suggest bringing a friend or family member to help you get home after your procedure.
Talk To Your Katy, TX, Dentist About Your Restorative Dental Care Needs
When we suggest extracting one of your teeth, it can help stop your pain and prevent further damage to your smile. For more information on our restorative dental treatments, including removing a problem tooth, then call Lathrop Dental Center in Katy, TX at (832) 437-3849 and schedule a visit.
