Extractions & Wisdom Teeth

Removing Teeth

It has always been our practice philosophy that tooth extraction be an absolute last resort and this is still the way that we would advise anybody. However, there is sometimes no option but to remove an unrestorable tooth or to provide a more predictable long-term option.

We would like to ensure that our clients have all of the information necessary for them to make a decision about extraction before they make a commitment.

Because we provide a lot of surgical dentistry we are able to offer lots of options with regards to extractions. Broadly speaking there are 3 different types of extraction technique:

• Conventional – this is the quickest technique used when access is easy and a tooth may already be loose
• Surgical – this technique is used when either the tooth is below the gum level or broken down. In any case it will require the cutting of either the tooth and/or the gum to remove the tooth. This may also mean that stitches may be necessary to close the site.
• Surgical extraction for implant placement – we use this technique either when we are planning to place an implant for the client or if that person may be conisdering an implant in the near future. This is a very intricate technique where we go out of our way to conserve the bone in the area for use in implant surgery afterwards.

 

Whichever technique is appropriate for your case, rest assured that we will ensure that we make the procedure easy and as pain-free as possible.

Removing teeth is often considered a good option in the short term when people present with severe pain. When they are in this situation it is often difficult to think rationally.

It is very important to note that if one tooth is removed you could lose the function of two or more teeth. That is because the teeth below that one being removed have nothing to bite against. If there are already other teeth missing this can lead to the remaining teeth becoming overloaded which will then start a downward spiral leading to multiple teeth being lost. It is also very common after tooth loss to see the adjacent and opposing teeth start to drift around.

Wisdom Teeth

Classically wisdom teeth have caused people a lot of problems. The main reason for this is that with evolution the size of human jaws has been reducing and yet the number of teeth that we are born with stays the same. As a result, it means that many people do not have enough space in their mouths for their third molars (wisdom teeth).

People may present with recurrent jaw pain, difficulty opening and closing or pain that radiates. Its is quite common for wisdom teeth related problems to be intermittent. In these cases the problem is usually a soft-tissue infection of the gum surrounding the unerupted wisdom tooth. This problem can affect other developing teeth as well and is know as pericoronitis.

At Skin & Smiles we remove a lot of wisdom teeth through the year. There is no waiting list as there is with the Health Service so if you feel that you are having problems and would like a quick solution please do give us a call.

We will take digital X-ray images to assess the position of the tooth or teeth giving you a problem and then give advice accordingly.

Last Updated: 2nd January 2024 at 1:47 pm