When Is Extraction the Answer?
While most restorative dentists look to extraction as a final resort, there are many reasons an extraction can become necessary. Two of the most common are because of an infected or abscessed tooth (often due to untreated tooth decay) or in the case of wisdom teeth, which tend to only partially erupt, causing a great deal of discomfort and overcrowding of existing teeth.
In situations such as these an extraction can be used to help relieve the pain, eliminate the infection, or simply preserve the teeth’s existing alignment.
Is Treatment Painful?
Thanks to the use of anesthesia, the procedure itself should not be painful, and afterwards, recovery should be relatively swift. Most patients are required to go on a soft food diet for a few days following an extraction, but are then able to go back to eating and chewing as they did before the tooth removal.
Unless the tooth being extracted is a wisdom tooth, a prosthetic will likely be recommended to complete the smile cosmetically and to restore the function, as well. Dental implants are the most stable form of tooth replacement, and have become popular in recent years because of the added confidence they induce thanks to their stability and strength, but other options include partial dentures and dental bridges.