Wisdom Tooth Extractions
What is a Tooth Extraction?
A tooth extraction also called a tooth removal, or pulling a tooth is very common, and can be done in the comfort of our dental office.
Teeth are not rigidly fixed to the jaw bone. Instead, they’re attached to the bone by fibers called periodontal ligaments. By carefully manipulating a tooth, the ligaments can be detached and the tooth can be extracted.
Wisdom Tooth Removal in Miami
Most people have four wisdom teeth that come through the gum line during the later teen/early adult years. Their official name is third molars.
Often times, there is not enough room in the jaw for these molars. When they try to push their way up past the gum line, they may cause several oral health problems. When our team at Flash Smile Dental takes x-rays, we check to see if the wisdom teeth are causing any problems such as:
- Your jaw is too small for the wisdom teeth to properly come through the gum line
- The wisdom teeth are only partially coming through the gums
- The wisdom teeth are coming in at an angle
- The wisdom teeth are damaging the adjacent teeth
- The wisdom teeth are damaging the jaw bone
- The wisdom teeth are leading to gum infection
Our dentist may recommend you have the wisdom teeth removed to eliminate existing problems or to prevent future ones. It’s easiest to have the wisdom teeth extracted before the age of 25. That’s because the wisdom tooth roots are not fully developed yet and the jaw bone is not as dense as it will be later in life.
Other Tooth Extractions
There are several reasons why people come to Flash Smile Dental to have a tooth removed. Common reasons for tooth extractions include:
- Tooth is severely cracked or broken
In many cases, a tooth that is cracked or broken can be fixed with a crown. In other cases, the damage has reached the pulp of the tooth and the tooth needs a root canal and a crown in order to save it. However, there are times when the tooth is so severely damaged that it cannot be saved. In those cases, our dentist will recommend the damaged tooth or rotten teeth be removed.
- Severe decay (cavity)
Dental decay is an infection that erodes the tooth enamel causing a cavity (hole) in the tooth. Small cavities can be fixed with a filling and larger cavities can typically be fixed with a crown. If you have a severely infected tooth and are in pain, there are two options for toothache relief. If a root canal is not a viable toothache remedy, then the dentist may recommend the tooth be pulled.
- Baby tooth retained
A retained baby tooth is a primary tooth that does not fall out on its own. That means the permanent tooth behind it cannot emerge through the gum line. In this case, the dentist will remove the baby tooth so the permanent tooth is able to come through.
- Space needs to be created before orthodontic treatment
Sometimes the jaw is too small to hold all the teeth in proper alignment. The teeth can crowd each other, moving them out of position. A dentist may extract a tooth in order to make room for the other teeth. Often, an extraction of a tooth is followed by orthodontic treatment including braces in order to properly align the remaining teeth.>
- Advanced gum disease
Periodontal disease is also known as gum disease. Just like the bacteria in your mouth can attack the enamel of the tooth and create cavities, the bacteria can attack the gum tissue, causing it to pull away from the tooth and eroding the ligaments holding the tooth to the jaw bone. If the tooth becomes too loose, it can fall out or need to be extracted.
- Wisdom teeth hurt
Wisdom teeth are the third molars that typically push through the gum line at the back of the jaw when a person is between the ages of 17 and 25. In many cases, there is not room for the wisdom teeth to come in. If the wisdom tooth remains partially or completely under the gum line and is impacting the tooth next to it, it’s called an impacted wisdom tooth. A dentist may refer you to an oral surgeon to remove the impacted tooth.
Generally speaking, a tooth extraction is a routine dental procedure that can be performed by a general dentist right in the comfort of our Doral office. In some cases, however, our dentist may refer you to an oral surgeon to perform the tooth extraction.