20 Mar Don’t Wait Too Long to Extract a Damaged Tooth
Has your dentist or oral surgeon informed you that you are in need of a tooth extraction? If so, our team strongly encourages you not to avoid putting off this important procedure. Some patients forego receiving a tooth extraction because they feel the affected tooth is not a pressing oral health matter or they feel that the procedure can wait for a long period of time because the tooth requiring extraction does not produce discomfort or pain. Even though most extractions don’t require immediate action, waiting too long to extract a tooth can lead to infection, orthodontic problems, and abscesses.
If a tooth needs to be extracted because it is infected and unsalvageable with endodontic treatment, patients should schedule their procedure with an oral surgeon as soon as they can. A severely diseased tooth can produce significant pain and can infect the surrounding gum tissue. In some cases when patients forego a necessary extraction, a tooth can become abscessed as well.
Younger patients undergoing orthodontic treatment may need extractions to prevent orthodontic issues such as crowding and overlapping of teeth. Severely crowded and overlapped teeth present many threats to oral health including decay. Extractions during orthodontic treatment can also create room in the mouth to shift teeth into a straighter position.
Wisdom Tooth Extractions
One of the most common teeth to require extraction is wisdom teeth. These unnecessary third molars erupt the gum line later in life, normally between the ages of 17 and 25. When wisdom teeth begin to emerge, they often come in sideways or crowd existing teeth. They can become impacted into the gum tissue and lead to infection, too. If a patient waits too long to have wisdom teeth extracted, these teeth can severely affect the alignment of teeth and produce moderate facial pain and toothaches. Furthermore, it is best to extract wisdom teeth as soon as possible before their roots are firmly established in the jawbone.
When it comes to extractions, our skilled team of oral surgeons take great care to ensure that our patients enjoy a comfortable and relaxing visit to our office. To learn more about tooth extractions or to reserve an appointment, contact any of our four convenient locations today.