Getting a Tooth Extraction? What to Know

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Getting a tooth extraction can sound like a scary experience, but for many patients, it’s relatively painless and quick. As yourdentist in Owensboro and Beaver Dam, KY, the dental professionals at Dr. Travis Wilson Family Dentistry prioritize good patient care to help ensure a smooth experience during a tooth extraction.

Two Types of Tooth Extractions

There are multiple ways to extract a tooth: simple and surgical. To determine the right path forward for you, we’ll perform an exam and get digital X-rays.

Simple Extractions

Many patients are able to get a simple surgical extraction. During the simple extraction, we’ll numb the area, so you can’t feel anything that’s being done to the tooth.

Next, we’ll use the dental elevator to loosen the tooth in its socket. Finally, we’ll use the forceps to remove the tooth from its place in your mouth. Once the area is numb, the procedure takes only a few minutes.

Surgical Extractions

Surgical extractions are necessary when a tooth is partially enclosed in the gum. This might happen if the tooth breaks off below the gum line or if it’s an impacted wisdom tooth.

For this procedure, we’ll give you general anesthesia or conscious sedation, so you’ll most likely need a ride home. Then, we’ll create an incision in your gums and start the extraction.

After the Procedure 

Once the tooth has been removed, we’ll have you bite down on sterile gauze to help the wound to clot. We’ll recommend over the counter pain medication and give you instructions to help the procedure be successful.

Have more questions abouttooth extractions in Owensboro and Beaver Dam, KY? Call Dr. Travis Wilson Family Dentistry today to make an appointment. It’s important for you to get ready for your procedure, so we’re here to help.

Why Is Follow-Up Dental Care So Important After a Tooth Extraction?

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There are several reasons your dentist in Owensboro, KY, may wish to see you after a tooth extraction. Initially, they may want to make sure you’re healing properly and not having issues with infection. You may also have stitches that need to be removed. More importantly, however, your dentist needs to discuss techniques to prevent bone loss.

Bone loss happens when you lose a tooth and put nothing in its place to fill the hole. Over time, the bone beneath the gum in this area will recede, leaving a large dip you can easily feel with your tongue. This dip worsens over time, and may cause a host of problems, including the following:

Gaps Between Teeth

As bone loss worsens, the teeth surrounding the empty space may shift and begin to spread out from one another. The result could leave you with an unsightly gap where you once had none. A tooth gap may not be a serious issue, but it does affect the appearance of your smile and possibly your self-esteem.

Open Bite

An open bite is more serious because it prevents your upper and lower teeth from coming together at the front of your mouth. It may be difficult to speak clearly with an open bite. It’s also more difficult to eat, bite, and chew. Your risk of choking is greater with an open bite, and something so simple as eating a sandwich may feel impossible.

Facial Deformity

Over time, if left untreated, dental bone loss can lead to facial deformity. The structure of your face may change, making you appear much older than your biological age. It’s important to follow up with your dentist after a tooth extraction if you wish to maintain a youthful appearance. In most instances, simple dental implant surgery is the solution.

For more information on dental implants in Ownensboro, KY, call Travis Wilson, D.M.D. today to schedule a consultation.

tooth extraction Owensboro and Beaver Dam KY

Why Not Just Wait For a Bad Tooth to Fall Out on Its Own?

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If your dentist has told you that you need tooth extraction in Owensboro, KY, you may be wondering about why you need this service. After all, in the “olden days,” people just let bad teeth come out on their own. Why not just wait for your bad tooth to fall out on its own? There are many reasons why you need to opt for professional tooth extraction.

The Bad Tooth Can Infect Abutting Teeth

Bad teeth are usually rife with bacteria. This bacteria can readily infect abutting teeth, causing you to have not just one but two or more bad teeth. When your tooth has gone bad, the best thing you can do is to contact your Owensboro dentist to see if it needs to come out. If it does, then you should have the tooth extraction done as soon as possible; before the bad tooth has a chance to endanger the health of nearby teeth.

Bad Teeth Cause Bite Problems

When you have a bad tooth in your mouth, your bite is off. You can’t chew properly, and you end up making tiny adjustments to how you bite and chew. In turn, this ends up affecting the rest of your teeth, and can actually cause even more serious issues with bit alignment.

Bad Teeth Can Cause Nutrition Problems

Depending upon where your bad tooth is, it could actually cause nutrition problems. If it causes you to be unable to eat certain foods, you may become nutritionally deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. Considering the fact that a bad tooth can potentially stay in the mouth for years, that’s a long time to go without proper nutrition.

Risking your overall health isn’t worth hanging onto a bad tooth that needs to be removed. Contact us today for safe tooth extraction in Owensboro, KY.

Woman holds fingers on her cheek showing toothache

The Dangers of DIY Tooth Extraction

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You notice one of your teeth is severely loose—should you pull it yourself? No matter how loose a permanent tooth may be, you are much better off to trust tooth extraction in Owensboro to a qualified dentist. Here is a look at some of the things that can go wrong with a DIY tooth extraction.

Severe Pain

Tooth extraction can be painful. You are essentially ripping the tooth away from the soft connective tissue that supports it. Even a tooth that is really loose can have bits of connective tissue still in place. This is why dentists inject a local anesthetic to numb the nerves in the area and keep you comfortable throughout the procedure.

Nerve Damage

The mouth, gums, and jaws are filled with important nerves. Trigeminal nerves that lie near the teeth can actually be connected to multiple other points, such as the lips, gums, and chin. Damage to these nerves during extraction can bring about severe side effects, such as changes in speech or constant electrical pulse sensations. If you don’t know where these nerves are located, you could easily damage them during a DIY attempt to pull a permanent tooth.

Damage to Surrounding Teeth

When your tooth is pulled by a dentist, they do x-rays and thorough examinations to get familiar with the shape of your jaws and the positions of the surrounding teeth. They do this to make sure they can dislodge the existing tooth safely without causing damage to any of the surrounding teeth. When you attempt to pull a tooth on your own, you could easily cause permanent damage to the teeth that surround the area.

Work with an Owensboro Dentist to Have a Tooth Pulled

While teeth extractions are a highly routine dental procedure, this is a procedure that should be trusted to an Owensboro dentist. If you have a tooth that you suspect should be pulled, please reach out to us at the office of Dr. Travis Wilson DMD to schedule an appointment.