Quick and Easy Tooth Extraction at WEDental
The Tooth Extraction Process
At WEDental, we offer tooth extractions when they are necessary. Expressions such as “like getting teeth pulled” show what society at large believes about the dental extraction process, but that unpleasant mental image is a very outdated one. A modern dental practice such as WEDental has all the right tools to ensure that your extraction will be as comfortable as possible. It usually takes less than an hour, and with a local anesthetic and IV sedation, if necessary, the tooth can be painlessly removed.
When Extraction Is The Best Option
A tooth may require extraction for a variety of reasons. Good dentists only use tooth extraction as a last resort when other solutions won’t be effective, but there are still many reasons why it could be necessary, whether for baby teeth or adult teeth.
The nerve has died or is dying.
The most common reason for tooth extraction is that decay or injury has killed the root.
There is a dental abscess.
Tooth infections or abscesses can be extremely dangerous — even life-threatening — and they need to be addressed right away. First we will look for the source, whether it’s in the gums or the tooth itself. If it’s in the tooth, we may have to extract it, but we will do everything we can to save it first! (Symptoms of an abscess include intense tooth pain and swollen, possibly oozing gums.)
Complications with wisdom teeth.
Many people don’t have room in their jaws to accommodate the third molar or wisdom tooth, and they have crooked roots, they’re infected, or they’ve become impacted (meaning they try to come in sideways, endangering the roots of the neighboring teeth). In these cases, we extract them.
Severe tooth decay.
Most of the time, root canals can save a tooth that’s been damaged by decay, but if the decay is extensive beneath the gumline, it may need to be pulled.
Periodontitis.
Severe gum disease can compromise the gum and bone around the teeth enough to leave them loose. At this point, they are often too late to save through tum treatment, but periodontitis is preventable with good oral hygiene habits, limited sugar consumption, and regular dental checkups.
Failure of previous root canal treatment.
Rather than retreating it, if a tooth has low chances of improvement after a failed root canal, we may sometimes recommend tooth extraction.
Crowding.
If there isn’t enough space for all of the teeth, even with orthodontic treatment, or a tooth is too far out of position, we may need to extract.
Baby teeth.
Sometimes parents ask us to remove a baby tooth that is already loose, typically when they need assistance with extraction. If it isn’t very loose already, we prefer not to pull it unless we can confirm that the adult tooth is ready to come in behind it. We will pull a tooth if it poses a choking hazard.
Fractured roots or fractured post crown.
If everything has been done to try to save a tooth before and it hasn’t succeeded, it will need to be extracted.
Before a major surgery.
Sometimes teeth need to be removed before jaw surgery if they pose an infection risk or could impede the final results.
What Dr. Worrell Can Do For Your Tooth
If you have a tooth that’s been bothering you, there’s no need for you to keep suffering out of fear of the dentist, and the problem is likely to worsen if it isn’t treated. Call us at 425-773-4909 or email us to schedule your appointment today, and Dr. Worrell will be able to determine if tooth extraction is what you need or if there are other options, such as root canal treatment.