You finally started going back to the Dentist. After all this time you are actually kind of pleased with yourself for taking the responsibility, but then of course–turns out you need a tooth extracted. What could have happened?
We will explore a few of the most common reasons why you need a tooth extracted and why you would need a surgical extraction over a traditional extraction.
Reasons why you need a tooth extracted
- Trauma: If your teeth, jaw, or face have been struck by something–or youve suffered a traumatic injury or event; you may need dental work. Sometimes this dental work will also require surgery, or a surgical extraction. Every patient is different.
- Dental Infection: Especially if you have been away for awhile, you may come back and realize you need a lot of work done in your mouth. The most common culprit is advanced dental infection. This infection is a byproduct of not cleaning your teeth properly, regularly, or at all. These food particles fester and form bacteria farms, where harmful tissue-eating bacteria grows like corn in Iowa.
- Disease: It could be dental disease, and it could be other kinds of immune compromising disease, or nutrient depleting disease. There are plenty of unfortunate or scary conditions out there that wreak havoc on your teeth and gums, and in some cases those teeth have to be removed.
All of this being addressed, why would a patient need a surgical extraction over a traditional extraction?
A traditional extraction involves a local anesthesia, or comparable sedation, and the dentist will use different tools and leverages to pry the tooth from the patient’s mouth. However, in many cases the degradation of the tooth is so advanced that the dentist will require precision surgical equipment, and possibly higher level sedation.
Reasons why you need a Surgical Extraction
1. Infection: In this case the tooth and the gums are infected, and in order to get the harmful gum tissue out with the tooth, and not cut up the healthy gums, a surgical instrument would be more precise. Infection is by far the most common form of dental disease, and all it really takes to avoid it is proper hygiene.
2. Broken/Decayed Tooth: If the Doctor is not certain that the tooth is going to come out of the jaw cleanly, they cannot risk pulling it out in the traditional manner. This could lead to pieces breaking off in the gumline, or pieces of tooth becoming lodged elsewhere in the mouth or throat. The tooth could be broken from trauma, or it could be coming apart due to advanced decay of the dentin and enamel.
3. Crowded Teeth: If the teeth are layered over each other, the extraction process may cause them to shift or put tremendous pressure on the jaw itself. You want to make sure the Doctor is precise, and this require precision tools.
See your Dentist
Before the surgery is scheduled, take your time now to speak to your dentist about available options.