3 Reasons You May Need A Tooth Extraction
Ideally, you keep all your adult teeth, but this is not an ideal world, and many people need teeth pulled to help their overall oral health. Even teens may need healthy teeth removed to benefit their future smile. If you would like to know more, check out these three reasons you may need a tooth extraction.
1. Severe Decay or Trauma
Naturally, severe tooth decay may require tooth extraction. If your tooth's crown is fully destroyed from decay, it will need to be pulled. If only part of the crown is missing, the dentist may be able to rebuild the tooth. It will need a crown to strengthen it, and this process may not be a good idea for back teeth that face a lot of pressure.
Similarly, severe decay can cause an infected tooth, and there are only two ways to treat an infected tooth: root canal treatment and extraction. If you can't afford root canal treatment, or root canal treatment has failed, it may be time for extraction.
Trauma can also cause major damage to a tooth. It may cause most or all of the crown to get knocked off, or it may lead to unseen small cracks in the tooth's roots.
2. Impacted or Partially Erupted
Your teeth are supposed to grow so the crown fully emerges from the gums and their roots stay hidden in the gums. However, some teeth don't get the message. Some teeth grow at an angle, causing them to partially grow sideways. These teeth are hard to keep clean, but they can also cause damage by pushing into nearby teeth.
In other cases, the tooth grows straight, but it doesn't fully erupt from the gumline. This may happen if the tooth is not fully developed or if there is not enough space in the mouth. In fact, many people's wisdom teeth grow sideways or only partially erupt because there is such little space. If your tooth doesn't fully emerge, it can lead to infection.
3. Limited Space
Finally, some teeth are simply removed because there isn't enough space in the mouth. Again, this is a common reason why wisdom teeth are removed, but your child may also need teeth removed before they get braces.
Braces are supposed to make your teeth straight and flush, but if your child's mouth is too small, there simply isn't enough space for all the teeth to naturally fit. In this case, a few teeth are sacrificed for the overall health and beauty of the smile.
Preventative care can help you avoid a lot of dental issues, including tooth extraction. However, in some cases, teeth need to be removed to better improve the smile. If you would like to know more about tooth extractions, contact a dentist near you.