You can generally expect your dentist to do everything within their power to protect and preserve your natural teeth. As a result, it’s natural to feel surprised or even shocked if they’ve recently recommended an extraction, especially if you didn’t anticipate needing one. You might question whether this procedure is truly necessary or wonder how removing a tooth can benefit your oral health.
Rest assured, your provider wouldn’t suggest taking a troublesome tooth out if they didn’t believe it was the best way to protect and preserve your smile. Continue reading to learn more about three of the advantages of having a dental extraction!
Benefit #1: Relieve Pain
Many people don’t consider visiting the dentist unless they have an immediate issue, like a toothache. This can result from decay, progressive gum disease, infection, or an abscess that has damaged the tender nerves inside of your pearly white. Often, dentists can address this type of discomfort with a root canal procedure to remove the infected materials and then sanitize and seal your tooth to prevent additional harm.
However, in more extreme instances, it may already be too injured to be saved. In these cases, eradicating the culprit is often the only way to relieve your pain in the long run.
Benefit #2: Protect Your Grin
Did you know that tooth decay is contagious? If a cavity is left untreated, it can spread to neighboring teeth, your gums, and even your jawbone. Over time, your jaw weakens and can eventually grow too frail to serve as a firm foundation. This increases the likelihood of tooth loss which only speeds up the process of dental degradation. As more teeth are lost, you must consider different replacement options like dental implants, bridges, or dentures, which can be pricey.
Your dentist can preserve your oral well-being (and your budget!) by extracting the decayed tooth before this process occurs.
Benefit #3: Create Space
If you’re seeking orthodontic treatment like braces or need to be fitted with dentures, you might be surprised to learn that a tooth extraction is sometimes required to create more room in your mouth. Overcrowded teeth can be challenging to clean because you can’t access all surfaces equally, leaving them more vulnerable to injury, disease, and decay. Braces can pull them into their rightful places, but not if your jawbone has inadequate real estate.
In these circumstances, one or more teeth might be removed to allow everything to sit evenly side-by-side. Similarly, if you’ve lost most but not all of your natural teeth and are being fitted for dentures, your provider might need to extract the ones remaining so your restoration will fit correctly.
As you can see, there are many different reasons a tooth might need to be pulled, and they all work in your favor!
About the Practice
At Northern Virginia Oral, Maxillofacial, & Implant Surgery, you benefit from a team of oral surgeons who offer a wide range of cosmetic, surgical, and restorative services. With 20+ years of combined experience, there’s no issue too simple or complicated for them to tackle. They are well-known across the state and work with top dentists and doctors to ensure you receive top-quality care. They combine a compassionate approach with state-of-the-art technology to deliver accurate, long-lasting results. If you need a tooth extraction, you can request a consultation on the website or call our Burke office at (703) 425-5010.