Thanks to the advanced state of today’s dental health care, tooth loss has become much less of an overall concern. However, there are still times when it’s inevitable, such as when you have to have a tooth extracted due to a severe dental health condition. At our Austin, MN, dental office, we only recommend tooth extraction when absolutely necessary to preserve the rest of your oral health. We’ll also help you restore your smile’s health, appearance, and function by recommending an appropriate course of action afterward, such as replacing the tooth with a lifelike dental implant and crown.
How your condition got so bad
The need for tooth extraction is different for everyone. For some, it may be the result of third molar (or wisdom tooth) becoming impacted within the jawbone. In other cases, a tooth might be so infected with decay or structurally damaged that it can’t be restored and saved. Before suggesting tooth extraction, we’ll carefully examine the tooth and your oral health to determine if there are options for saving it. If not, then extracting the tooth may be the best way to remove the threat it poses and replace it with a biocompatible restoration.
What will happen if you hesitate
When extraction becomes a tooth’s best option, it’s because the tooth’s presence can threaten several aspects of your oral health. If a tooth is impacted, it will cause intense discomfort and could damage surrounding teeth and jawbone structure. If it’s severely damaged, it may scrape against soft oral tissues, making them bleed and vulnerable to infection. An extremely decayed tooth can also pose the risk of complex oral infections if the tooth isn’t treated or removed in time. In any case, hesitating to extract a tooth can give it time to lead to increasingly worse and more complex oral health concerns in the future.
What you should do after tooth extraction
For most teeth that have to be extracted, the best way to recover from the tooth’s loss is to replace it as soon as possible. While removing the tooth removes the threat it poses, it can also leave a gap in your smile that can affect the health and integrity of your remaining teeth and jawbone structure. To avoid these effects, we may suggest replacing the tooth with a dental implant and crown on the same day as your tooth extraction, or as soon as possible afterward.
Find out if you need tooth extraction
Extracting a tooth isn’t always necessary, but when it is, we make sure you know all there is to know about restoring and preserving your smile afterward. For more information, schedule a consultation by calling the Potach and Mitchell Dental Clinic in Austin, MN, today at 507-437-6312.
