You May Need Tooth Extractions if You Have Advanced Periodontal Disease

If you have gum disease, tooth extractions may be in your future.  Your gums can become infected when bacteria get in between your gums and your teeth. The bacteria can start to irritate and attack your gums.  As a result, they may become swollen, painful and start to bleed.  This early stage is referred to as gingivitis and can typically be treated by simply removing the bacteria and performing a deep cleaning.  If you have your teeth cleaned twice a year, this is easy to catch and treat before it spreads.

When gum disease grows, the damage becomes far more severe.  It can cause your gums to start to recede and pockets to be created in your gum tissue.  These pockets look like small holes and can expose the structure of your tooth and even your roots. This is problematic for several reasons. The exposed area can be sensitive to air and food, which will be painful. Bacteria can gather in these pockets and start to attack your tooth and roots. If the infection spreads from the gums and into your bone structure, your teeth and jawbone can become weaker.

When your teeth and jaw become infected or bone loss occurs, it creates a situation where your teeth may fall out.  In this level of advanced periodontal disease, many patients need to schedule tooth extractions.  If you have reached the point where your teeth are going to fall out, it can be better to have them professionally removed so that it is clean, and your risk of infection is reduced.  We never want it to reach this point and provide preventative care in order to avoid it.  The problem is that when people don't see a dentist on a regular basis there is no way for us to prevent, detect or treat the disease.  This makes it extremely important to keep regularly scheduled dental appointments.

When it is time to remove your tooth, the dentist will numb the area.  Your tooth, jawbone, and gums will become numb by using a local anesthetic. Next we will wiggle the tooth back and forth in order to create more room for it to be removed. You may feel pressure during this time but shouldn't feel any pain. 
 
In cases of severe periodontal disease, the tooth is typically already loose, making it easy to pull it out.  At times, as with wisdom teeth, the tooth cannot be pulled outright and must be sectioned first.  This is where we cut the tooth into several sections and remove one at a time because the roots are holding on too tightly to allow us to remove it in one piece.

When your tooth extractions are over the blood must clot before we can do anything else.  We do this using gauze for around forty-five minutes.  For the next couple of days, you need to take it easy and watch what you eat along with your activity levels.  We will provide specific care instructions after the procedure, and it is important to follow them.

If you are concerned about the health of your teeth or gums, give us a call.