Timing is more important than many people realize when it comes to addressing most dental issues. For example, treating a tooth for damage or decay might be simple in its earliest stages, but the more it progresses, the more complex that treatment will have to be. In some cases, given enough time, a tooth can become so compromised that it’s beyond saving, and extracting it is the only way to successfully restore your smile. At our Dallas, TX, dental office, we’ll only recommend extracting a tooth when it’s absolutely necessary, and we can perform both simple and surgical extractions in-office to help make restoring your smile more convenient.
1. A wisdom tooth becomes impacted
Wisdom teeth, or third molars, are the most frequently problematic teeth to develop. That’s largely because the average adult’s dental ridges don’t have enough room to accommodate the extra molars, leading to issues with spacing, crowding, and impaction. When a wisdom tooth becomes impacted, the only solution is to remove it, which often requires surgical tooth extraction to remove the tooth structure impacted within your jawbone. At our office, we can perform surgical extraction to help patients alleviate their wisdom tooth problems without having to visit a separate dental office.
2. A damaged tooth can’t be restored
While impacted wisdom teeth are common targets for extraction, other teeth may also require extraction when they can’t be successfully restored. For example, a tooth that’s extensively damaged may not be stable enough to support a dental crown or other restoration. Or, the tooth’s root may be damaged, and without any way to repair it, extracting and replacing the tooth may be the best option. If your tooth already has a restoration and the restoration fails, then the damage to your tooth may grow worse and lead to the need for extraction.
3. A decaying tooth can’t be saved
When a tooth starts to decay, the most obvious sign is the development of a cavity. That includes increasing sensitivity in your tooth, which is often enough to prompt patients to receive cavity treatment (such as tooth-colored filling) as soon as possible. However, if a tooth is damaged and bacteria infect its inner structures directly, or if you ignore tooth decay’s progression long enough, then it can erode too much of your healthy, natural tooth structure to be saved. To stop the infection from becoming more severe and potentially affecting the rest of your oral health, we might recommend extracting the tooth.
Find out if extracting your tooth is a good idea
Sometimes, preserving your smile means extracting a tooth when no other treatment options can save it. To find out if your tooth needs to be extracted, schedule a consultation by calling Columbia Dental & Orthodontics in Dallas, TX, today at (214) 827-8000. We also proudly serve patients who live in Mesquite, Oak Cliff, Garland, and all surrounding communities.