As dental medicine has improved over the years, dentists have found new and better ways to enhance your smile and to keep your teeth healthy. But there are still occasions in which it may be necessary to extract a tooth.
Not all of those reasons are because of trauma or damage. If you need braces or are planning for another orthodontic procedure, some of your teeth may need to be removed for the procedure to be effective. If you have too many teeth in your mouth, which is also known as ‘tooth crowding,” your dentist may extract some teeth relieve the problem. If your wisdom teeth are impacted, or coming in at improper angles, or if there is no room for them in your mouth, surgery may be needed to take them out. And if a tooth is no longer viable because of damage or decay, your dentist may remove it with a simple extraction.
In a simple extraction, the dentist will loosen your tooth with a tool called an elevator. Once the tooth is sufficiently loose, it will be extracted with a pair of forceps. If necessary, the dentist will close the socket with a single, dissolvable stitch. Or, he may send you home after making an appointment to check how the site is healing, and to discuss replacement options.
While you are recovering, you should eat cool, soft foods, chewing on the opposite side of your mouth for the first 24 hours. You may brush your other teeth, but you should rinse the extraction site with a warm salt water solution or an antibacterial mouthwash. Tobacco will slow the healing process, and smoking or using straws could create suction which could rupture or remove the blood clot, which is protecting your socket from infection.
If you need help dealing with a troublesome tooth, you need to see our dentist, Dr. Joshua Burton, who will give you an exam and give you options for treatment. If you would like to make an appointment at Burton Dental Care in Marietta, Georgia, call 770-973-4034 today.