Taking care of your smile is a process that will accompany you throughout the course of your life. While concerns such as decay and gum infection may not seem like such a huge worry early on in your smile’s development, keep in mind that there are several factors out there that can work in conjunction with one another to wreak havoc on your grin. In other words, your teeth could use all of the help they can get in fending off these issues. In today’s blog, your Houston, TX dentist explores a few circumstances or situations that may warrant the need for a tooth extraction, as well as what you can expect from this process.
Infection from Impacted Structures
Whether you were aware of it or not, your smile is subject to the wear and tear of various threats over the years. These can range anywhere from traditional issues such as decay, gum disease, and dental emergencies, to nontraditional issues such as sleep disorders like bruxism and obstructive sleep apnea.
The dangerous thing about bacteria-related concerns and emergencies, however, is that they can occur at any given moment and will only continue to worsen with time. Because of this, your dentist recommends seeking treatment as soon as possible. While this is great practice, in theory, sometimes infections can develop and spread much more rapidly than you might expect. In cases such as this, your dentist may recommend removing the compromised structure.
You see, we recognize that nobody’s first choice is to lose a natural tooth, but oftentimes, this choice is completely out of one’s hands. Take, for example, when your wisdom teeth become impacted. They will not erupt properly, and instead, cause significant pain or infection. Times such as these make extraction the best option.
A Threat to Neighboring Teeth
Another instance in which your dentist may recommend removing a troubling tooth includes when a structure that has endured significant infection or damage has become a threat to neighboring or surrounding teeth.
Believe it or not, an infection will not go away on its own. In fact, it will only continue to spread. This means it can and will spread to neighboring healthy teeth and cause their downfall as well. In order to prevent this from happening, your dentist will want to mitigate the issue at its source. To learn more about this process and how our team can help, give us a call today.
Beyond the Point of Return
A third and final situation warranting a tooth’s removal is if the structure is simply past the point of return. Though restorative care exists in a number of forms to address a variety of issues, if the tooth is mostly compromised, no treatment will suffice to save it. Instead of waiting for the structure to fall out on its own, it is in best practice to have it removed.
Schedule Your Next Appointment
To learn more about your dental extraction options, contact Sue Ellen Richardson, DDS in Houston, TX by calling 713-796-9600 to schedule your next appointment with a member of our team today.
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