There are various tooth defects, infections, and conditions that can cause severe pain and put you at risk of health complications. Unfortunately, the solution to these conditions, infections, or defects is the removal of the erring tooth. A good example of this situation is severe tooth decay.
Tooth decay is damage to your teeth that can degenerate into worse dental conditions such as dental cavities, abscessed teeth, and even unnatural tooth loss. Tooth decay is caused by the activities of a species of bacteria that is present in a dental plaque.
Dental plaques are formed when the bacteria in the mouth is mixed with saliva and sugary/starchy food particles. They are sticky films that cover the surface of the teeth and can harden to become tartar, and cause discoloration. A buildup of plaque in the mouth causes the bacteria in it to convert the sugar/starch in your food into acid. This acid wears down your tooth enamel and leads to decay.
Tooth decay starts with the loss of your tooth enamel’s minerals because of exposure to plaque bacteria. Loss of the enamel’s minerals might be characterized by white spots appearing on a tooth. The enamel weakens and is broken down further. The white spots might then begin to darken to brownish color and small holes known as cavities or dental caries start to form. Then the dentin decays, the tooth pulp is damaged, and abscesses begin to form.
Abscessed teeth can cause severe pain and this is the last stage of degeneration. At this stage, the tooth is damaged beyond repair. Other symptoms include swelling of the face, gums, lymph nodes, fever, etc. Quick action is required at this point because the infection might start to spread to other teeth. To save other teeth from damage, tooth extraction in Seminole, FL, has to be carried out.
Tooth extraction is a procedure through which a defective tooth is removed with a patient under the influence of local, general, or intravenous anaesthesia, by a dental professional or a dentist in Seminole, FL. A Seminole dentist considers tooth extraction as a last resort to save other teeth from damage. That is, a tooth extraction procedure is only carried out when all other forms of dental treatments fail. The major reason for tooth extraction procedures is severe tooth decay that threatens other teeth. However, there are other reasons for which one or more teeth can be extracted. These include:
- Overcrowded teeth: This occurs when there is not enough space in the mouth for all the permanent teeth to grow. This leads to malocclusion and can only be fixed by extracting some teeth.
- Impacted teeth: These are teeth that do not grow above the gumline. They can cause pain, bad breath, difficulty in opening the mouth, etc. Therefore, they need to be extracted.
- Tooth infections.
- Periodontal diseases.
- Dental Caries.
- Prosthetic indications.
- Failed dental treatments.
- Dental braces: Wearing dental braces causes the teeth to straighten out and align. Some teeth might need to be extracted to enable the teeth to align in place
Tooth Extraction Procedure
There are two types of tooth extraction procedures. They are:
Simple Extraction
This type of tooth extraction is used to remove defective or unneeded visible teeth. That is, this procedure can only be used in extracting teeth that can be seen above the gumline. This procedure can be performed by any general dentist near you and it involves numbing the tooth and gum tissues near it. The tooth is then pulled out with dental forceps.
Surgical Extraction
A surgical extraction, as its name implies, requires surgery. This kind of extraction is carried out to remove impacted teeth or teeth that have broken off at the gumline. It involves administering anaesthesia, making a small incision into the gums, and removing the underlying tooth.
This procedure is mostly carried out by an oral surgeon but can be carried out by a general dentist also.
Tooth Extraction Aftercare
Rest for twenty-four hours after the procedure and limit your physical activities. Rinse your mouth with salt and warm water after about twenty-four hours. Take painkillers as prescribed to ease discomfort. Apply icepacks to the extraction site occasionally and report excess bleeding or other abnormalities to your dentist.
