Tooth Extractions

 Ideally, your child would never need to have a tooth pulled. However, this procedure is sometimes necessary to better your youngster’s overall health. Our dentist may have to perform an extraction for a variety of reasons, including extensive tooth decay, injury, and as part of orthodontic treatment. While they may seem daunting to parents and children, extractions are relatively common treatments in most dental offices. The difficulty of the procedure varies depending on the case and the patient. No matter the circumstances, our doctor will use anesthesia to numb the area, minimizing your child’s discomfort and helping to ensure the success of their extraction. Contact A Safari Dental today to learn more about tooth extraction or schedule a consultation with us.

Types of Extractions

There are two forms of extraction: simple and surgical extractions.

Simple Extractions

Our dentists perform simple extractions on teeth that have already erupted, meaning they can be seen in the mouth. They most often remove these teeth due to decay or injury, usually under local anesthesia. If your child requires this procedure, our dentist will gently extract the affected tooth with forceps and loosen it by moving the instrument back and forth. At this point, the tooth should easily slide out, completing the procedure.

Surgical Extractions

Surgical extractions are more complicated procedures. These treatments involve removing teeth that have either broken off at the gum line or have not yet erupted (such as wisdom teeth that have not fully developed). To remove these teeth, your oral surgeon will create an incision into the gum tissue to gain access to the region. This will allow him or her to see the tooth that requires removal. We usually recommend just local anesthesia for surgical extractions, but we may suggest general anesthesia in certain circumstances.

Reasons for Tooth Extraction

The most common reason for removal of a tooth is severe decay or breakage of a tooth. However, the dentist may recommend removing a tooth because:

• It is affected by extensive tooth decay such that it cannot be remedied with a composite filling.
• Its pulp (the blood vessels, nerves, and other tissues at the center of the tooth) becomes severely infected or inflamed, and it cannot be repaired with root canal therapy or another endodontic treatment.
• It is an additional, unnecessary tooth that blocks others from growing in properly. This is especially problematic when a child’s primary tooth prevents the permanent tooth from erupting as it should.
• The tissue around it is infected, causing gum disease.
• It is causing crowding or interfering with orthodontic treatment.
• The tooth is cracked or fractured such that it cannot be restored with bonding material.
• To make room for a dental prosthesis, such as a bridge or denture.
• It has become discolored, is misshapen, or presents another cosmetic concern.
• Regardless of the reason a tooth must be pulled, we usually reserve extraction only for cases in which no other treatment option will cure the infection or resolve the problem.