Finding A Great Dentist

Common Reasons That A Tooth May Need To Be Extracted

3 January 2019

Kenzi Thompson

One dental procedure that you may need at some point is a tooth extraction. It's a procedure that is more common than you think, and may be necessary in the following situations.

Your Tooth Is Not Erupting

It's possible that you have a tooth underneath your gums that has not erupted fully. It's a problem that happens when a tooth doesn't develop fully, and can happen to any tooth in your mouth. However, it is more common with wisdom teeth. A partially erupted tooth will be very difficult to clean and be more likely to cause problems with decay later on. A dentist may recommend to extract the tooth early and avoid potential problems that it will cause.

Your Tooth Is Impacting Other Teeth

It's possible that the tooth that is growing in is actually growing sideways or at an odd angle, and it will start growing into other teeth. If you had braces to straighten your teeth, the impaction can cause all of your orthodontic work to become ruined as it slowly pushes on your teeth. A dentist will recommend removing the tooth before it gets to the point where it starts causing more damage.

Your Tooth Is Broken

Did you suffer some sort of trauma to a tooth that caused it to break? This may be a sports-related injury where the tooth shattered, biting down on something hard that caused a large part of the tooth to break off, or have a tooth become weak from decay. If so, there may not be enough tooth left to repair it, requiring it to be extracted.

The Tooth Is Dead

Another possibility is that you have a tooth that is completely dead, and your dentist will recommend extracting is so that a stronger tooth can be put in its place. For example, you may have a tooth with a deep cavity, and a root canal will not be possible to fix it due to extensive decay.

If the dead tooth is extracted, you'll have a few options to replace it. A dental implant will be one of the strongest methods to replace the tooth, which replaces the tooth with a titanium post and dental crown to simulate the look and strength of a real tooth. Another option is to use a dental bridge, which suspends a fake tooth between two healthy teeth. You can also receive a partial denture, even if it is for a single tooth.

A dentist will walk you through the options to replace a tooth if oral surgery is necessary.

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