Wisdom Tooth Extractions
Wisdom tooth procedures remind us of our high school or college days. Whether you jokingly called your friends chipmunks or offered to bring them mashed potatoes, you knew about the wisdom tooth extraction surgery. Some people’s wisdom teeth come in early while others don’t start showing until adulthood. Additionally, some people’s wisdom teeth cause overcrowding while others complete a smile. All of these circumstances are completely normal. As long as you take x-rays each year and follow your dentist’s recommendations, your smile will be just fine.
Why Do Some People Keep Their Wisdom Teeth?
In most cases, wisdom teeth affect the alignment of your teeth. Whether this happens as a teen or adult, the angle of your wisdom teeth could overcrowd your smile and lead to crooked teeth. In rare cases, wisdom teeth grow into the mouth perfectly and don’t cause any problems to your teeth or jaw. Though we love when this happens, it’s unfortunately not common. Even in adulthood, it’s normal for wisdom teeth to start causing problems. To make sure your wisdom teeth don’t ruin your beautiful smile, get an x-ray of your teeth once a year.
Reasons for Adult Tooth Extractions
Sometimes, your teeth or jawline show enough damage that extractions are necessary. In these cases, we’ll let you know our recommendations for future treatment, such as dentures or dental implants.
Infection, Decay, and Erosion
Sometimes, a bacterial infection is so deep in your tooth that a root canal cannot fix it. In these cases, your oral health depends on extraction in order to avoid spreading the infection or creating gum erosion. Additionally, infections generally get more and more uncomfortable over time. Ultimately, decay in your gums results in tooth loss, but the process would be much more painful than an extraction.
Trauma
Some deep chips and cracks in your teeth culminate from genetic aspects. Others directly result from trauma to your teeth, such as accidents or falls. In either case, your dentist will discuss your options, with extraction as the last resort.
Crowded Teeth
Some people were simply born with too many teeth一it happens. In these cases, we will extract an extra tooth in order to reduce the overcrowding of your smile. Without extraction, you could face misalignment, an uneven bite, or a displaced jaw. All of these issues can cause you more pain and discomfort over time but extraction will bring you relief.
Getting a Tooth Extraction
During the procedure, your dentist will give you a strong local anesthetic, depending on your needs. If you have an impacted tooth, your dentist may also have to remove excess gum surrounding the tooth. Though this may sound scary, there is no need to worry. Your dentist will make sure your procedure is as safe and painless as possible with laser dentistry.
After pulling a tooth, your dentist will place dissolvable stitches to mend the area and pack gauze in your mouth to help form blood clots. In rare cases, the blood clot will break loose. This painful condition, dry socket, exposes the bone. If you experience dry socket after your procedure, call your dentist right away so we can apply a topical sedative treatment to the affected area and relieve your pain.
Easy, Painless Tooth Extractions in Marietta
If you experience severe decay or trauma in your smile, make sure you find a restorative dentistry specialist for an extraction. At the office of Rory B. Sprouse DMD, we stay up-to-date with all the latest methods and invest in the best technology to make sure your procedure is easy and painless. Schedule an appointment by calling us at (770) 973-1380 for a consultation today.
