With restorative dentistry, our team can offer lifelike and durable crowns to address damaged teeth. But what if the tooth is damaged or decayed to the point that saving it with a crown or root canal is not possible? In these cases, protecting your smile from the spread of infection may involve removing the tooth! In today’s blog, your Shrewsbury, MA, dentist talks about our tooth extractions.

The Reasons to Consider a Tooth Extraction

When does a tooth need to be removed? A tooth extraction could be needed if a tooth is too damaged to be repaired with a crown, or if you have a case of tooth decay or infection too severe for treatment with a root canal and crown. If left alone, these issues could lead to worsening pain and the spread of infection to other parts of your smile.

We could also remove teeth loosened by gum disease, or to make room for orthodontic treatment. The extraction could also help improve bite balance and chewing function, and could pave the way for dentures or other dental prosthetics. One of the more common reasons to seek a tooth extraction is to prevent the eruption of the wisdom teeth. These additional molars arrive in our late teens and early 20s and without treatment, they could lead to impaction, misalignment, infection, and damaged teeth!

Planning Your Procedure in Detail

We take care to ensure your procedure is comfortable and effective, and in many cases the entire process takes as little as a half hour. To begin, we will examine your smile with digital x-rays and intraoral cameras. We want to pinpoint the position of the tooth and plan removal to ensure we don’t come into contact with nerve tissues, blood vessels, and sinus cavities. In addition, we can administer a local anesthetic to numb the area to keep you comfortable. We also have dental sedation, which can help ensure nervous patients or those with special needs enter a deep state of calm and relaxation, often with little to no memory of the procedure at all.

Gently Removing the Tooth

When you are ready and we have planned the procedure in detail, our team will gently extract the tooth with a pair of forceps. If we are removing wisdom teeth, we will open the gums above them to access and extract them. We then suture the area closed, and provide detailed aftercare information. Most people return to their normal routine after 24 to 48 hours of rest.

Learn More About Custom Restorative Dentistry

Our team wants to offer lifelike and durable dental restorations. To schedule a visit for our restorative treatment options, call Modern Dentistry of Shrewsbury in Shrewsbury, MA at (508) 842-8838 today.