Tooth Extraction
Why we may need to remove teeth infected with periodontal disease The roots of your teeth are encased in sockets in your jawbone, and are held in place by ligaments. When your teeth and gums are healthy, the bone comes up high against the necks of your teeth and holds them tightly within their sockets. Healthy gums are even and firm against your teeth.

Left untreated, periodontal disease (also known as gum disease) destroys the bone and connective tissue that hold your teeth in place. Periodontal disease is the number-one cause of tooth loss in the United States today. It attacks your teeth and gums, as well as the bone that surrounds the teeth.

What is periodontal disease?
Plaque, a sticky film of food and bacteria, forms constantly on teeth. If it isn’t removed daily, it hardens and forms tartar (calculus). As the plaque and tartar work their way down below the gum line, the gums begin to separate away from the teeth, forming pockets. At this point, the disease accelerates, as new, even more destructive types of bacteria grow and reproduce inside the pockets. If we don’t remove the tartar, your body produces enzymes as part of its natural response to the infection. These enzymes destroy the bone that holds your teeth in place. Over time, if periodontal disease goes unchecked, bone loss continues until eventually, so much bone is lost that teeth begin to loosen. Sadly, at this point the destructive effects of periodontal disease are irreversible; once bone is lost, it doesn’t grow back.

Can we save the tooth?
Aggressive periodontal therapy, frequent visits to our dental office in mumbai india and meticulous oral hygiene can halt the progression of periodontal
disease and stop the bone loss. But as we mentioned above, the bone that has already been lost will not grow back. If your teeth continue to loosen and the destruction continues, our only option will be to remove the affected teeth.

Moderate periodontal disease	Removing tartar	Meticulous oral hygiene

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Extracting a Decayed Tooth
Dentistry has come a long way, and we’ll use all the technology at our disposal to save your natural teeth. But unfortunately, some situations exist where teeth have been so badly damaged by decay that our only option is to remove them.

Sometimes, we can save a decayed tooth
The roots of your teeth extend down into your jawbone. A restoration called a crown is often used to cover, protect and restore a tooth that's been damaged by decay. The crown fits over the part of the tooth that's above the bone; this means there needs to be an adequate amount of healthy tooth structure above the gums for us to attach the crown.

However, if half of your tooth or more has been damaged by decay, we reach a point when there just isn't enough tooth structure left for us to restore your tooth with a crown. If this is the case, we have no choice but to remove what remains of the tooth.

Protecting your remaining teeth after extraction
To protect your remaining teeth, it’s important to fill the space that’s left by an extracted tooth. This will prevent the adjoining teeth from shifting to fill the space left by the extracted tooth. It’s vital that we prevent this shifting, because it can cause a chain reaction of problems that affect your entire mouth. This space can be filled with a bridge or a dental implant. We’ll discuss these options with you, answer any questions you might have, and then together we’ll choose the option that will work best for your situation.

Some teeth must be extracted	A crown protects a damaged tooth	A bridge supports remaining teeth

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Removing Primary Teeth
Why we extract primary teeth
When things go right, baby teeth fall out on their own without any special attention. The permanent teeth, which lie right below the gums, come in directly underneath the baby teeth. As the permanent teeth grow in, the roots of the baby teeth dissolve away, causing them to loosen and eventually fall out.

Why baby teeth may not fall out
Sometimes, permanent teeth don't come in directly under the baby teeth. As a result, the roots of the baby teeth remain strong and fail to dissolve as they should. Other times, the baby teeth become loose, but not loose enough to fall out on their own. In these cases, the permanent and baby teeth end up sitting side-by-side, and we must remove the remaining baby teeth.

Extracting damaged baby teeth
If a baby tooth becomes damaged and the permanent tooth below it isn’t due to come in for a while, it's usually best to restore the baby tooth. However, if an X-ray indicates that the permanent tooth is ready to come in, it’s best to simply extract the damaged baby tooth. We may remove a baby tooth if it has been damaged beyond repair, even if the permanent tooth isn’t ready to come in. We will then use a space maintainer to hold the rest of the teeth in place until the permanent tooth is ready to come in.

Natural tooth loss	Permanent and baby teeth side-by-side	Space maintainer

Why Do We Remove Wisdom Teeth?
Your last molars, called the third molars or wisdom teeth, typically begin to come in (erupt) during the late teen years or early twenties. When they don’t have room to grow in, or they’re trapped in your jaw because they are tilted or rotated, they are impacted.

An impacted wisdom tooth can cause pain, infection, tooth damage
• As your wisdom tooth tries to erupt at an angle, it can push on the neighboring tooth, causing pain and possibly damaging the tooth.
• Food gets trapped next to the wisdom tooth, making the area a breeding ground for the bacteria that cause decay and periodontal
(gum) disease.
• An infection called pericoronitis may develop around the impacted tooth, and this infection can spread into the face and jaw.
• Your jaw may become painful and the surrounding gums may swell and become tender.
• A fluid-filled sac called a cyst may develop around the impacted tooth; this can destroy a great deal of jaw bone.

Early removal can prevent problems
You can avoid the pain and possible damaging effects of an impacted wisdom tooth by having it removed early, before its roots are fully developed. We can monitor the development of your wisdom teeth with X-rays, and remove them as soon as we determine that they will likely cause difficulties.

Why we sometimes extract fully emerged wisdom teeth
Even if your wisdom teeth came in properly, they can still cause problems. They’re located at the back of your mouth, making them
extremely difficult to brush and floss, so it’s easy for plaque to collect on them. Plaque buildup can cause decay and periodontal disease, which can result in a host of other difficulties. For these reasons, we’ll usually recommend removing wisdom teeth, even if they’ve emerged.

An impacted wisdom tooth	Early removal is best

 

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