While your Newhall, CA, dentist strives to help protect teeth and repair any damage or oral health issues to preserve them, sometimes protecting your oral health means actually removing a tooth. With a surgical tooth extraction, we can help prevent the complications of wisdom tooth impaction or even an infected to severely damaged tooth.
Wisdom Teeth and Other Concerns
The most frequent reason to extract a tooth is to prevent the impaction of wisdom teeth. In our late teens and early 20s, up to four new molars could erupt. There is often little to no room for them, so they may only partially erupt, causing a painful impaction. Soon, your smile could develop misalignment, infection, or even damaged teeth. Removing the teeth prevents these complications. We also take out teeth loosened by gum disease, or to help make room to reposition the others in an orthodontic procedure. Our team can also take them out to prevent the spread of infection to other teeth as a result of advanced tooth decay or infected/abscessed teeth.
The Extraction Process
To start, we will carefully begin the process and administer a local anesthetic near the teeth in question. Next, we offer sedation to help you enter a calm and relaxed state. You will have pretty much no memory of the procedure, and feel relaxed the entire time. We gently remove the tooth with a pair of forceps, and suture the area closed. A friend or family then brings you home, as the sedation may take time to wear off completely. We will send you home with detailed aftercare instructions and prescriptions for antibiotics and possibly pain medication.
What Happens Next
Once you get home, you will begin taking your antibiotics to facilitate a complication-free healing process. In the first day or two, you should avoid strenuous activities and be sure to consume soft food items. Don’t drink with a straw, and please don’t prod the extraction site with your tongue. After a day or two you can return to your normal daily activities and in a follow-up visit, we will remove your sutures. If you had a tooth removed due to infection or damage and have a gap in your smile, we could discuss replacement options, such as a custom-made dental bridge or even an advanced dental implant. If you have any questions about extraction or any of our other restorative treatment options, then contact our team today to learn more.
Do You Have Questions About Tooth Removal?
With a tooth extraction, our team can help restore the health of your smile and prevent serious complications. To learn more about our oral surgery, please schedule a consultation by calling Newhall Dental Arts in Newhall, CA, today at (661) 259-7760.