Tooth Extraction

When You Can Longer Have Them

Removal of a tooth from the mouth is termed as tooth extraction. When we say tooth extraction, the general reason that comes to our mind is the extreme tooth decay where the tooth cannot be savaged. But there are many other reasons also that can contribute to extracting the tooth from the mouth. They are

• A tooth may be removed to create space during an orthodontic treatment. However when a patient opts for Damon Braces, the need for extraction of healthy tooth for want of space is mostly absent.
• Overcrowding in the mouth can sometimes necessitate tooth extraction. This reason can be seen in tandem with orthodontic treatment.
• Teeth that are damaged beyond repair due to a fall or violent face trauma have to be extracted and there is no choice left.
• Badly affected tooth due to gum disease may warrant extraction because the tooth has become too loose that it cannot be salvaged anymore.
• Wisdom tooth impaction – A phenomenon where the wisdom tooth does not erupt properly and begins to impact the healthy adjacent teeth. If the impact is painful and is causing disruption to the adjacent teeth, the only way out is to extract the wisdom tooth.

How is a tooth extracted?

Tooth can simply be pulled with a dental forceps or by surgical procedures. While the former is simple, the later is not. Simple pulling of tooth using a dental forceps is employed when the tooth is already loose. Surgical removal of tooth is accomplished only for healthy tooth (for subsequent orthodontic treatments) that are pretty visible and the wisdom tooth that are not visible in most of the cases.

Wisdom Tooth and the Problems they Cause

Wisdom teeth are the last set of molars that are found at the back. Most people have their wisdom teeth eruption when they are in their fag end of their teen age or in the early twenties. For some not at all the four wisdom teeth might erupt. For some the wisdom tooth might partially erupt and they may or may not impact the adjacent molars. It is reported that some people do not have wisdom teeth at all. Call it the game of evolution. So it is really a mixed bag.

Impacted wisdom teeth occurs when the erupting wisdom teeth grows inwards, or to the side, and when sometimes they position themselves horizontally. To make things worse the impaction of the wisdom tooth can sometimes lead to the wisdom tooth touching the nerves. This condition causes severe pain. The impacted wisdom tooth not only causes damage to the adjacent tooth, they might also harbor food particles and can cause decay of the adjacent healthy tooth rapidly. This scenario happens more so in partially erupted wisdom tooth.

Wisdom Tooth Extraction

At Smile One, if we find that the reason for your tooth ache may be because of wisdom tooth impaction, we would recommend you to take an X-ray. An X-ray clearly tells how the wisdom tooth is impacting and it can also tell if they are impacting or touching any nerves. We then proceed to extract them surgically. Often during surgical extraction, the teeth might break into pieces and we diligently extract the tooth wholly. If we know prior that the wisdom tooth is touching a nerve, we take extra precaution while extracting them.