Oral surgery is recommended to address issues that cannot be treated with a filling or crown, preventing your smile from developing serious complications. In today’s blog, your Austin, MN, dentists will look at two different procedures, tooth extraction and dental implant placement, and how they can help your smile.
The Dangers of Wisdom Teeth
As we approach our late teens and early adulthood, this is when up to four new teeth erupt in the back of our mouths. Known as wisdom teeth, these molars could cause major problems with your smile. For example, they could cause misalignment, damaged teeth, infection, and discomfort. Removing them is crucial for avoiding these complications and preserving the current state of your smile! We may also suggest extracting teeth that have become severely infected or damaged, preventing oral health complications from springing up that impact the rest of your smile. Extraction could also make room for orthodontic treatment or allow us to take out teeth loosened by gum disease.
The Tooth Extraction Process
The process is a fairly simple one. We take detailed digital images to plan it in detail, and then we administer a local numbing agent and dental sedation to help you enter a deep state of relaxation. Next, we use forceps to gently loosen and remove the teeth. We take steps to preserve the extraction site to allow clotting and facilitate a faster healing process. The entire procedure often takes as little as 30 minutes.
Replacing Missing Teeth
If you lose teeth, or need them extracted to protect overall oral health, this leaves behind a gap in your smile. This gap causes more than just embarrassment, but could lead to trouble eating or speaking, complications like TMJ disorder and bruxism, and could even cause the jawbone tissue to lose mass and density, leading to further tooth loss and for many, a prematurely aged appearance. To combat these issues and protect your smile, we may replace missing teeth with dental implants. These are inserted directly into the jawbone, where they bond with the bone like natural roots. We then connect an abutment and restoration. If you have multiple missing teeth, we could connect a dent for a fixed prosthetic that looks and functions like a natural smile.
If you have any questions about how we treat issues like missing teeth or how we remove a tooth, then contact our team today. We could use oral surgery to improve your smile’s health and beauty!
Talk To Your Austin, MN Dentist About Oral Surgery
Whether you need a tooth replaced or removed, we can help. To find out more about our approach to oral surgery, then contact your Austin, MN, dentists, Dr. Potach and Dr. Mitchell, by calling 507-437-6312.
