Tooth extractions in Cape Coral, Florida

Teeth are not firmly fixed to the jaw bone. They’re attached to the bone by fibers called periodontal ligaments. By expertly manipulating a tooth, our dentist can detach the ligaments and remove the tooth.

Why a Tooth May Need to be Removed

Typically, it’s the pain of a toothache that brings patients to our office. Our first priority is to try and save the tooth. But there are times when a tooth is too decayed or damaged to be salvaged. Common reasons for tooth extractions include:

• Severe decay (cavity)
  Tooth pain may indicate that the tooth is decayed. Dental decay is an infection that erodes the tooth enamel causing a cavity (hole) in the tooth. Small cavities can be fixed with a filling and larger cavities can typically be fixed with a crown. If the pain is especially severe, the dentist may attempt to save it by doing a root canal and then capping the tooth. The last resort for toothache pain is the removal of the tooth.
• Severely cracked or broken tooth
  There are many things that can cause a tooth to crack or break including grinding your teeth at night, biting down too hard on a popcorn kernel or stopping a baseball with your face. If the damage is minor, it can be capped with a crown. If the damage has reached the connective tissue inside the tooth, called the pulp, you may require a root canal before a crown in placed on the tooth. But if the dentist determines that the tooth is too rotten or damaged to save, you may need to have the tooth extracted.
• Baby tooth doesn’t fall out
  Nature intends that our first teeth, our baby teeth, eventually be replaced by permanent teeth. But sometimes a baby tooth fails to fall out naturally and prevents the permanent tooth from growing in. When this occurs, the dentist may need to remove the baby tooth.
• Crowded teeth / Tooth removal for orthodontic treatment
  If all goes as nature intended, our tooth will emerge through the gum line naturally. However, sometimes the jaw is too small to hold all your teeth and then begin to crowd each other and push the other teeth out of position. When this occurs, your dentist may recommend extracting one or more permanent teeth to give the others to grow in straight. The dentist also may suggest getting braces or other orthodontic treatment to straighten the teeth.
• Advanced periodontal disease
  Just like the bacteria in your mouth can attack the enamel of the tooth and create cavities, the bacteria can attack the gum tissue, causing it to pull away from the tooth and erode the ligaments holding the tooth to the jaw bone. This is known as periodontal disease, or gum disease. If the tooth becomes too loose, it can fall out or need to be extracted.
• Impacted wisdom tooth or teeth
  A third set of molars generally begins pushing through the gum line at the back of the jaw between the age of 17 and 25. They’re called wisdom teeth because they begin coming in at the age of maturity. Oftentimes, there is not enough room in the jaw for the wisdom teeth to properly emerge through the gum line. If the wisdom tooth remains partially or completely under the gum line and is impacting the tooth next to it, it’s called an impacted wisdom tooth. A dentist may refer you to an oral surgeon to remove the impacted tooth.

If you hear our dentist in Cape Coral refer to the type of extraction you need as a “simple tooth extraction,” that means the dentist has determined that the shape and condition of the tooth roots will allow the tooth to be easily removed. This is also referred to as an uncomplicated extraction.

Usually a tooth extraction is a routine dental procedure that can be performed by a general dentist in the comfort of our Towncare Dental Associates of Cape Coral office. In other cases, our dentist may refer you to an oral surgeon to perform the tooth extraction.

Wisdom Tooth Removal in Cape Coral

Most people’s four wisdom teeth begin emerging through the gum line during their late teens or early 20s. When there is not enough room in the jaw for this third set of molars, various oral health problems can ensue. Our team at Towncare Dental Associates of Cape Coral will take x-rays to determine what problems the wisdom teeth are causing. Problems include:

• A jaw is too small for the wisdom teeth to properly emerge through the gum line
• Wisdom teeth that are only partially coming through the gums
• Wisdom teeth that are growing in at an angle
• Wisdom teeth that are damaging the adjacent teeth
• Wisdom teeth that are damaging the jaw bone
• Wisdom teeth that are causing a gum infection

Removing the problematic wisdom teeth can eliminate existing problems or to prevent future ones. Dentists advise extracting the wisdom teeth before the age of 25 because the wisdom tooth roots are not fully developed yet and the jaw bone is not as dense as it will be later in life. If our dentist cannot extract the wisdom teeth, you may be referred to an oral surgeon.

Call Towncare Dental Associates of Cape Coral Today to Schedule an Exam

The first step to determining whether you need to have any teeth extracted is to schedule a dental exam. We’ll take x-rays, evaluate the condition of your teeth and discuss any concerns you might have. Following this evaluation, we can determine if the natural tooth can be restored or if it would be better to remove the tooth.

If you have any questions about tooth extractions, feel free to call our office today at (239) 214-2982.