About Tooth Extractions
- Significant decay or damage to the tooth. When a tooth is badly damaged enough that reconstructive work, such as fillings and crowns, wouldn’t be effective, extraction is sometimes the best treatment.
- Periodontal disease. Due to poor dental hygiene and a build-up of plaque and calculus (tartar) on a tooth, the gums may become inflamed and infected, also known as periodontal disease. If not treated promptly, periodontal disease will likely damage the underlying bone and other tissues around the tooth’s root.
- Infection prevention. Even after the best care, an infection can occur on rare occasions. If the risk of infection is high, then it might be best to extract the tooth.
- As part of orthodontic treatment, your orthodontist may recommend the removal of teeth. For example, if your teeth are too big for your mouth or extra teeth are coming through, causing overcrowding and discomfort, your dentist might remove a tooth or two to help the rest come through easily.
- Vertical cracks in a tooth. If a tooth is fractured vertically, a crack may extend from the tooth’s chewing surface to the root surface. These cracks often show minimal signs and symptoms and can often go unnoticed.
- Baby teeth. When baby teeth don’t fall out in time for adult teeth to come through, they may need to be removed, so they don’t hinder the growth of the adult teeth.
- Wisdom teeth. Sometimes, wisdom teeth cause several painful issues, so it can be best to have them removed.
- Overcrowding. Wisdom teeth were useful to our ancestors, who had a rougher diet of leaves, roots, and tough meat. They needed the third set of molars, as their first two sets would wear down with use. However, modern humans no longer need the extra set. Our mouths have grown smaller to accommodate our new diets, but our wisdom teeth remain, leading to overcrowding. For some people, their wisdom teeth don’t cause any difficulties as there is plenty of room for them to erupt and come into the mouth. However, many people do experience problems due to a lack of space, causing the impaction of the teeth.
- Tooth decay. A wisdom tooth may partially erupt through the gum before impacting on the last molar, causing chronic gum irritations, infections, and bad breath as the area around the partially erupted tooth becomes difficult to clean. Without proper cleaning, wisdom teeth can decay, and if left untreated, it will spread to other healthy molars.
- Recurring pain. Sometimes, wisdom teeth can erupt without fully coming through. They may continue to do this over and over, causing recurring pain.
- Orthodontic reasons. If you’re looking at orthodontic solutions to address overcrowdedness, it might be a good idea to ask your dentist about the impact of your wisdom teeth. If there’s a chance they’ll cause issues when they erupt, it might be worthwhile to organise a wisdom teeth extraction.
- Impacted tooth. When wisdom teeth come through, they sometimes interfere with existing molars by growing into their space. This can lead to an impacted tooth, which has the potential to cause severe dental problems if left unaddressed. Regular x-rays typically tell us whether or not wisdom teeth will become impacted, and if they do become impacted between visits, trust us when we say you’ll feel it.
