Making Way for Better Oral Health
The good thing about modern general and restorative dental treatment is that there’s almost always a solution to rebuilding your smile. Even in severe cases of tooth damage or tooth decay, your dentist can usually customize a treatment to repair any tooth damage, restore any lost tooth structure, and reestablish the tooth’s ability to function. However, in some cases, that restoration isn’t possible and the only way to save your smile is to extract the tooth, making way for your dentist to replace it with a lifelike prosthesis. Because tooth extraction often requires a follow-up tooth replacement procedure, we only recommend it when absolutely necessary.
Common Reasons for Tooth Extraction
Wisdom tooth impaction
Wisdom teeth are the final four molars to develop at the ends of your dental ridge. They often have trouble erupting fully from the gum line due to insufficient room, leading to one or more of them becoming impacted. This impaction can lead to the forceful shifting of your other teeth, increased risks of tooth damage, and severe levels of discomfort. The only way to alleviate these symptoms and save your oral health is often to extract the wisdom teeth.
Severely invasive tooth decay
Tooth decay is most commonly known for the cavities that it causes, which can usually be treated with customized tooth fillings (or root canal treatment, in advanced cases). However, the infection in your tooth structure can sometimes become so invasive that it doesn’t leave enough healthy tooth structure to restore. To stop the infection from spreading and reestablish your bite’s function, we may suggest extracting the tooth and replacing it with a bridge or implant-supported crown.
Extensive tooth fracture/break
Just like tooth decay, tooth damage can typically be addressed with comfortable, minimally invasive restorative treatment. Also like tooth decay, some tooth fractures and breaks can be too severe to restore, making tooth extraction the most viable option. This is especially true when a tooth’s root is damaged.
Learn if Tooth Extraction Can Improve Your Oral Health
Sometimes, saving a tooth just isn’t possible, but extracting and replacing it can still save your smile and preserve it for the rest of your life. For more information, schedule a consultation with us by calling Gateway Dental Group in downtown Des Moines, IA, today at (515) 244-9565. We also proudly serve patients from West Des Moines, Ankeny, Urbandale, Johnston, and all surrounding communities.