There are times when it is necessary to remove a tooth. Sometimes a baby tooth has misshapen or long roots that prevent it from falling out as it should, and the tooth must be removed to make way for the permanent tooth to erupt. At other times, a tooth may have so much decay that it puts the surrounding teeth and jaw at risk of decay or infection. Wisdom teeth may not have adequate room to come in leading to pain or infection. If any of these are the case, we recommend the removal of the offending tooth or teeth.

When it is determined that a tooth needs to be removed, we may extract the tooth during a regular checkup or may schedule another visit for this procedure. The root of each tooth is encased within your jawbone in a “tooth socket,” and your tooth is held in that socket by a ligament. In order to extract a tooth, we must expand the socket and separate the tooth from the ligament holding it in place. While this procedure is typically very quick, some extractions can be more challenging. It is important to share with us any concerns or preferences for sedation.

Once a tooth has been removed, neighboring teeth may shift, causing problems with chewing or with the function of your jaw joint. To avoid these complications, we typically recommend replacing the missing tooth with either a bridge, an implant, or a removable partial denture (RPD).