No one ever wants to lose a tooth, but sometimes, it’s necessary for optimal oral health. There are several reasons why a tooth would need to be extracted, whether due to decay or improper growth. Your Harmony Dental Pearland dentist will help you decide if extraction is the best option for you.
Not everyone gets their wisdom teeth, but they usually come in during the late teens and early 20s. Often, they are impacted or do not fully emerge. This can cause pain and swelling, and also has the potential to develop an infection or a cyst.
In addition, because wisdom teeth are found in the far corners of the mouth and have many pits and grooves on the surface, they are harder to clean with a toothbrush and are more susceptible to developing cavities as a result.
For these reasons, dentists often recommend wisdom teeth removal to prevent these problems to allow for optimal oral health.
A broken or decayed tooth may be saved using a filling or crown if the damage is not too extensive. However, in the cases of severe damage, where a root canal procedure has failed several times or a tooth has been loosened and cannot be repositioned, extraction is necessary.
During the planning of orthodontic treatment, it may be determined that you have too many teeth for your dental arch. To relieve crowding and provide a healthy bite and straight smile, extraction may be necessary.
Occasionally, baby teeth don’t fall out when they are supposed to, and permanent teeth are unable to come in. Extraction is needed to allow the proper growth of the permanent teeth. Conversely, if there are too many teeth present and cannot fit comfortably within the dental arch, it will be necessary to remove the extra teeth to allow the best health for the remaining teeth.