When you get your adult teeth, you anticipate keeping them for life, but you sometimes have to have one of them pulled as an adult. At Alpenglow Dental, we want you to understand why your dentist sometimes recommends tooth extractions for Whitefish, MT patients instead of trying to save the tooth.
Reasons for Extracting a Tooth
Our dentist might recommend an extraction for a few reasons. Typically, pulling the tooth provides the only alternative to giving you a healthier overall mouth.
- Your tooth caused so much decay or trauma that the dentist can’t repair it.
- Your misaligned or crowded teeth preclude orthodontia to create proper alignment. Orthodontia can’t work if you have oversized teeth for your mouth.
- Your adult tooth cannot erupt through the gumline due to overcrowding.
- Infection that extends to the pulp of the or extensive tooth decay can cause bacteria to develop. If antibiotics cannot treat it or root canal therapy (RCT) can’t solve it, tooth extraction saves the rest of the mouth’s health.
- Risk of infection provides another reason a dentist removes a tooth. Rather than let it become infected and cause risk to someone who's immune system is compromised, the dentist pulls the tooth.
- In cases of periodontal disease, also called gum disease, the gum infection loosens the teeth, and the dentist must remove them.
If there’s any chance that an infection will form after the tooth extractions, the Whitefish, MT dentist prescribes antibiotics. You may need to take antibiotics before and after the extraction. For this reason, you must tell the dentist about any medications or over-the-counter (OTC) drugs you take.
Call Alpenglow Dental for an appointment for general dentistry or cosmetic dentistry. Our dentist may recommend tooth extractions for Whitefish, MT patients, but will always explain why and apprise you of any other treatment alternatives, too. This provides you with the ability to make an informed decision about your dental health. Call us for an appointment at (406) 862-3839.