Moses Lake Dentist

If you are a little apprehensive about having dental work performed, the thought of a tooth extraction is probably enough to send you running for the door. Before you hit the back button on your browser and swear off this idea for good, we’d like you to at least read through this post with an open mind. In the end, you might come to realize that a tooth extraction is a possibility you should consider. And, you may also learn that it’s not quite as scary as you thought.

In this post, we’ll discuss some of the basics of a tooth extraction, including how it is generally performed, reasons it is used as a treatment option, and more. At Lakeside Dental, the comfort and oral health of our patients is our top priority, so we don’t take any treatment decision lightly. If you’d like to chat with a member of our team about your current oral health situation and what we may be able to offer, please contact us right away.

What is a Tooth Extraction?

As the name clearly states, this treatment is the removal – or extraction – of a tooth. It may be that you need to have just a single tooth extracted, or there may be multiple teeth in your mouth that need to go. When performed by a qualified, experienced dentist, tooth extraction doesn’t have to be a scary process, and it can mean great things for your long-term oral health.

How Is It Performed?

The main fear for many patients facing a tooth extraction, of course, is pain. This is something that sounds painful to endure, so it makes sense that patients would fear what they will experience once they sit down in the chair. Fortunately, those fears are generally unfounded, and the actual procedure is far less uncomfortable as you may believe.

To get started, the area around the tooth will be numbed. This will immediately make you more comfortable about what is to come, since you won’t be able to feel the area around the tooth that is going to be pulled. In addition, other sedation can be used when necessary to make the patient comfortable. Ask your dentist prior to the procedure about pain management and how your extraction will be handled.

With numbing and sedation in place, the tooth will then be pulled. There is a good chance that this is less of an event than you have built up in your mind, and it will probably be over quite quickly. Every case is unique, of course, but many patients report that this procedure is not what they had feared it to be.

A Variety of Reasons

Tooth extraction can be the best option in a number of different situations, depending on the needs of the patient and their oral health outlook. Let’s take a look at a few reasons that your dentist may bring up the idea of extracting a tooth.

  • Significant gum disease. At some point, gum disease becomes so advanced that it isn’t practical to keep the teeth in that area of the mouth in place. Healthy, strong gums are needed to support healthy teeth – without those gums doing their job, the rest of the system will struggle. In some cases, taking one or more teeth out of an affected area will help avoid even greater tooth loss down the line.
  • Too much damage to the tooth. If you have a tooth that has very little remaining healthy structure, it might not be possible to save that tooth with methods like fillings or crowns. In such a case, taking the tooth out of the mouth and then turning to tooth replacement options will be the best course of action.
  • Wisdom teeth. Impacted wisdom teeth are a common issue, and tooth extraction is typically how this problem is managed. The wisdom teeth that come in at the back of your mouth are prone to be impacted – meaning they grow into each other rather than erupting properly – and that issue can lead to infections and be painful. Pulling the wisdom teeth will alleviate the pain and help the patient avoid future issues.
  • Prepare for a full denture. For patients who have had ongoing oral health issues, and have lost many teeth previously as a result, it may be best to pull whatever natural teeth are left before preparing a full denture. This is obviously not a decision to take lightly, but in some cases, it is going to be the best available option.

One-on-One Discussion

The nature of dental work is such that each case has to be managed individually. What might be right for one patient could be wrong for another, even if their situations are similar. With that in mind, the only way to figure out whether tooth extraction is right for you is to talk directly with your dentist about the situation. Researching possible treatments online is fine at the beginning, but you need the help of a professional to make an informed, sound decision.

After a proper examination, your dentist will be able to lay out the treatment options available and discuss the pros and cons with you. With something as important as your oral health, you want to know exactly what you are dealing with before making a choice. This is why it is so important to have a healthy, honest relationship with your dentist. You should feel comfortable asking questions, and you should have the trust in your dentist to provide you with upfront answers that are delivered in plain language.

We’d Love to Serve you!

At Lakeside Dental, our sole focus is on delivering you the best possible dental care. In some cases, that will mean a tooth extraction – in other cases, it will be some other dental procedure. Whatever the case, you can count on our team to provide attentive, friendly, professional care. Please contact us today to make an appointment or ask any questions you may have. Thanks for stopping by!