Clear Aligners

There are times when dentists may need to perform extractions. Teeth are extracted for a variety of reasons. Extractions are necessary if a tooth is severely damaged and cannot be repaired if a tooth is impacted or if there is overcrowding in the mouth.

Tooth Decay

While cavities can be treated with fillings, severe decay may require an extraction to preserve the tooth and your healthy smile. If left untreated, tooth decay will eventually lead to the loss of the affected tooth. Severe cases of tooth decay may lead to infections or abscesses that require emergency dental care.

The bacteria in your mouth feed on whatever sugars are available and produce acid as a waste product. This acid attacks the enamel of your teeth, causing holes to form. Once the cavity has reached the interior pulp of the tooth, an infection is likely present as well. To preserve your oral health and prevent further damage to your smile, our Bolingbrook dentist may extract the tooth in question.

Impacted Teeth

An impacted tooth is a tooth that hasn’t erupted as it should. This can be caused by several different factors, including a tooth that is blocked by another tooth or bone in the mouth.

If teeth are impacted and can’t erupt normally, they become more susceptible to infection because they can’t get the proper cleaning they need. In order to prevent this from happening, it’s important to see your dentist regularly so they can monitor this issue and provide treatment if necessary. Treatment options may vary based on how the teeth are positioned and how severe the situation has become.

If an impacted tooth is next to a tooth with decay, the decay could spread to the tooth that isn’t visible. For this reason, it’s important to make regular visits to the dentist, so any issues can be detected and treated early.

Crowding

Sometimes, extractions are necessary to make room for other teeth in the mouth that haven’t erupted yet. If a tooth is extracted before the adult teeth come in, the other teeth may shift into the space where the tooth used to be. This can create problems with bite alignment and jaw health down the road. In order to prevent this from occurring, extractions should be performed only if absolutely necessary.

Orthodontic Treatment

Overcrowding is a primary cause of misalignment and other orthodontic issues, and tooth extractions are often necessary to achieve the proper alignment for orthodontic treatment to work as intended. This is particularly true of crowded front teeth that need to be straightened to allow the other teeth to fit together properly.

Braces and other braces treatments are designed to align the teeth in ideal positions that will make them easier to clean while also resulting in a more attractive smile. However, if crowding is severe enough, it can make these treatments less successful or even impossible to perform. In these cases, removing one or more teeth can create enough space to straighten the rest of your teeth.

To find out more about the dental services offered at Solace Dental, call (630) 759-3595 or schedule an online consultation. You can also visit us at 287 N Weber Rd, Bolingbrook, IL, 60490.