Despite regular brushing and flossing, tooth decay, gum disease, and tooth disease can still show up. While keeping a schedule of visits to your dentist for a routine dental checkup and having your teeth cleaned by a professional can catch many problems before they grow, sometimes a tooth cannot be saved by normal measures and a tooth extraction is necessary.
When a toothache appears, it’s often a sign that the tooth’s nerve is under attack by bacteria or tooth decay. A quick visit to a dentist can often repair and save the tooth by fixing the cavity with a porcelain filling or one made of metal or a metal alloy. Sometimes, however, the tooth disease or gum disease has progressed too far for even our excellent dentists to fix, and the tooth needs to be removed.
The Tooth Extraction Procedure
Molar removal with forceps.
Root tip broken during extraction.
Elevation attempted to retrieve the root tip.
Root tip removed.
After the extraction a blood clot will form in the socket and the area will begin to fill in with bone.
Eventually the socket will fill in with bone.
The caring and gentle treatment we give our patients is certainly appreciated by them if this is the case. We will do everything we can to reduce your stress and anxiety so that your tooth removal is as quick and simple as possible. Since much of the pain associated with tooth loss may come from the work done by the dentist during the removal and not the missing tooth at all, our dentists take special care not to irritate the gum and bone any more than is absolutely necessary.
After the tooth has been removed, it’s always best to replace the gap it creates with dental bridge work or a dental implant. Not only does this permit normal eating, chewing, and smiling, it eliminates an ugly gap into which the other teeth may drift. This movement of teeth can create nooks and crannies that can harbor bacteria, trap food, and lead to disease.
If you have a toothache, a cavity, or have a loose tooth or broken tooth, please call us at or contact us online to arrange an office visit. There is valet parking available at our building, or you may use the free public parking right across the street, but however you get here, you’ll find our indulgent service welcome and rewarding. For more information about tooth extractions, please visit iVillage.
