Extraction is the complete removal of a primary or a permanent tooth.
An extraction can be surgical or non-surgical, depending on the difficulty of the extraction, whether the tooth is impacted or erupted, and whether it has straight or curved roots. An extraction may be done at this office or you may be referred to an Oral Surgeon (someone who specializes in difficult or surgical extractions).
No one looks forward to an extraction, but modern anesthesia will help keep you comfortable throughout the procedure. If the time comes that you need an extraction, you can trust that the doctors at the Colonial Dental Group have your comfort in mind.
Reasons for an extraction are:
- Advanced Gum Disease. This is the #1 reason adults lose their teeth!
- An abscessed tooth that cannot be saved.
- A tooth with decay too deep to save the tooth.
- A tooth that has broken at the gum line and cannot be saved.
- An impacted tooth (typically a “Wisdom Tooth”).
- An orthodontic situation where the mouth is too crowded.
If you have made the decision to remove a tooth, whether to avoid a root canal, or to eliminate an infected or root-canaled tooth, it is important that every effort be made to thoroughly clean the bony extraction socket of the tooth to help insure proper healing and prevention of a residual bony defect. Colonial Dental Group makes every effort to extract teeth as painlessly as possible and to clean the bone as thoroughly as possible.
After an extraction is performed, it is important to put something in the place of the missing tooth or teeth. If the space is just left open, your teeth will shift and cause many unnecessary complications. An extracted tooth may be replaced by a temporary or permanent bridge, an implant, or by a partial or complete denture.