Alternatives
to Single Tooth Extraction
What are your choices for treating a problem tooth? When
you're thinking about how to treat a problem tooth, you
have three options:
• Remove it
• Save it
• Delay treatment
Removing a tooth
Sometimes, you may not have an alternative, and your tooth
may have to be removed. It's important to replace a tooth
after it's been extracted. A missing tooth can set off
a chain reaction resulting in many new problems. When
a tooth is lost, the biting force changes on the teeth
next to the space, and they begin to shift, and when a
tooth no longer has anything to chew against, it can begin
to extrude out of its socket. As your bite changes, your
jaw joint may be damaged. And it's much harder to clean
teeth that have shifted, so harmful plaque and tartar
can accumulate, causing cavities and periodontal disease.
Saving a tooth
If a tooth is healthy enough be saved, the alternatives
to having it removed may be having root canal therapy
and a crown, or using surgical procedures such as bone
grafting or root amputation.
Delaying treatment
Delaying treatment is a risky alternative because the
problem will only get worse. If the tooth has a cavity,
it will get deeper and get into the nerve. If there's
bone loss around the tooth, you'll lose more bone, and
if the damage has gone too far, and the tooth has to be
removed, then delaying treatment lets the infection spread
to other teeth, or, worse yet, to the rest of your body.
Your life can even be threatened by infections in the
jaw.
 |
 |
 |
| Tooth must be removed |
Teeth need each other
for support |
Root canal therapy |
Alternatives to Wisdom Teeth Extraction
What
are your choices for treating wisdom teeth?
When you're thinking about how to deal with your wisdom
teeth, you have two options:
• Keep them
• Remove them
A few lucky people are able to keep their wisdom teeth,
use them, and take proper care of them. In most cases,
though, keeping wisdom teeth isn't possible, and wisdom
teeth have to be removed. In these cases, delaying removal
can cause serious problems.
Why
remove wisdom teeth?
An impacted wisdom tooth is one that hasn’t come
in or has come in only partially. Sometimes an impacted
wisdom tooth can become infected. This can be excruciatingly
painful. This is a common dental emergency and can cause
pain for days, even after antibiotics are started, and
can even be life threatening. An impacted wisdom tooth
may push on other teeth.
A misaligned wisdom tooth can also cause cavities in
the tooth next to it because the area where they touch
can’t be kept free of bacteria and plaque.
Wisdom teeth are nearly impossible to keep free of plaque,
even when the rest of the teeth are completely free of
plaque. In addition to cavities, plaque also causes periodontal
disease, which may start near the wisdom teeth and spread
throughout
the mouth.
Sometimes cysts form around impacted wisdom teeth, and
cysts can destroy a tremendous amount of bone before they're
noticed and sometimes require surgery to repair.
With time, the roots of wisdom teeth may grow around a
nerve in the jaw, which can then be damaged during extraction.
This could leave your lip and chin permanently numb.
Choosing removal
Because of these many serious problems, it's usually better
to remove wisdom teeth early, even before they break through
the gums.
Homecare – Extractions
Instructions for homecare following a tooth extraction
The initial healing period usually takes one to
two weeks, and you’ll likely experience some swelling
for the first 48 hours.
• Before the procedure began, you were given an anesthetic
to ensure your comfort. This anesthetic typically leaves
your lips, teeth and tongue feeling numb after the appointment.
For this reason, you should avoid chewing for 2 hours following
surgery, or until the numbness has completely worn off.
• Some discomfort after the extraction is normal. An
over-the-counter pain reliever, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen,
is usually sufficient. We can also give you a prescription
for a stronger pain reliever if needed.
• To avoid nausea, do not take pain medication on an
empty stomach.
• You can also decrease pain and swelling by applying
an ice pack — 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off —
for the first 6 hours following the extraction.
• Ablood clot will form on the extraction site, and
this clot is vital to the healing process. To keep the clot
intact, avoid touching the extraction site with your tongue
or fingers, do not drink liquids through a straw, and do
not spit vigorously.
• Blowing your nose or sneezing violently can also
dislodge the blood clot and impair healing, so if you have
an upper respiratory infection or suffer from allergies,
be sure to have the appropriate sinus medication on hand.
• Do not rinse your mouth the day of the surgery.
• Smoking and allowing food particles to pack into
the tooth’s socket should be avoided, as both will
significantly affect the healing process.
• Twenty-four hours following the procedure, you can
rinse gently with mouthwash or a warm salt water solution
(dissolve one teaspoon of salt with one cup of warm water);
gently swish the solution around the affected area, and
spit carefully. You should do this 2-3 times each day for
the week following the extraction.
• If antibiotics were prescribed, continue to take
them for the indicated length of time, even if all symptoms
and signs of infection are gone.
