Do I Need an Extraction or a Root Canal?

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It can be intimidating for anyone to face up to tooth decay. Whether your mouth is beginning to hurt or you’ve just been putting off a procedure for a while, neither a tooth extraction nor a root canal is an easy procedure to schedule.

Here, we’ll look at how dentists in Athens, TX use these procedures to restore your oral health and give you a few core facts so you can better predict which one you need.

Tooth Extraction vs. Root Canal: What to Know

Put simply, you need a tooth extraction in Athens if your tooth has severely deteriorated. If a dentist can still save the structure, they’ll do a root canal to clean out the pulp and the nerve of the tooth, and then (usually) put a crown on the tooth to reinforce the natural tooth. This is because your tooth is inherently weakened after undergoing a root canal. However, if you need a root canal on a front tooth, you may not need a crown.

Why It Matters

As a general rule, you don’t want to get your tooth extracted if there’s a chance to save it. This will immediately weaken your oral health, and may only get worse if you don’t either get a bridge or an implant to replace it. The longer you wait, the more likely you are to need an extraction.

It might make you feel a little better to hear that tooth extractions and root canals have come a very long way over the past few decades. Neither procedure is particularly painful, especially if you visit a reputable dentist.

If you have questions about the best procedure for you, contact Athens Smiles for a consultation. No matter what the outcome is, it’s always better to do something than nothing.

Nervous About Your Tooth Extraction? What to Know

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Tooth extraction is a thing that happens when a tooth becomes so damaged or infected that it can’t be saved. A tooth extraction can sound scary to a patient, but knowing what’s coming and how your dentist in Athens, TX will handle the procedure can help. Before you get a tooth extraction, here’s what you need to know.

Before the Procedure

Your dentist will examine you before conducting the extraction to ensure that an extraction is the right course of treatment for you. Next, the dentist will discuss sedation dentistry options. Sedation dentistry is the use of sedation during dental procedures to ensure that the patient is comfortable. Sedation dentistry can relieve dental discomfort.

Procedure

During the dental procedure, the dentist will numb the area to ensure that you can’t feel pain. Then, they’ll use a dental tool to loosen your tooth and remove it from the socket. Finally, the dentist will disinfect the socket where the tooth used to be, and they may put in stitches to promote healing.

What to Expect After the Extraction

Once the extraction takes place, the dentist will put gauze in your socket and ask you to bite down. The gauze needs to stay in place until the bleeding has slowed. Your dentist will give you instructions for managing the bleeding and pain. Your dentist may recommend over-the-counter pain medication. Follow your dentist’s specific instructions.

How to Fill the Gap

Once you’ve had an extraction, your dentist may talk to you about options for filling the gap in your teeth, including dental implants and bridges. Do you need a tooth extraction in Athens, TX? The professionals at Athens Smiles can help. Call today.

How to Prepare for a Tooth Extraction

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People require tooth extractions in Athena TX for a variety of reasons. Some of the most common ones include removing a wisdom tooth, preparing for orthodontic treatment, and removing a tooth with extensive damage or decay.

What to Expect Before You Have Your Tooth Extracted

Before Dr. Briggs, Dr. Florence, or Dr. Rojas decide to remove a tooth, they will meet with you to go over your medical history and take several X-rays. Be sure to bring a list of all the medications you take to this appointment, including vitamins and over-the-counter pain relievers. The reason this is important is that the medications you take could affect how the anesthesia you receive before having your tooth removed affects you.

The Day Before Your Oral Surgery

You need to abstain from all foods and beverages for about eight hours before your procedure, but your dentist will let you know the exact timeframe. You should continue to take your medications with a small sip of water unless your dentist advises you to wait until after the tooth extraction. If you have a weakened immune system or have recently been sick, you will need to take an antibiotic pill several hours before your surgery.

Your Tooth Extraction Appointment

When you arrive for your appointment, you will receive anesthesia to block the pain receptors in your teeth and gums. Your dentist then removes the tooth with a piece of equipment called a dental elevator. Once the tooth is out, you need to bite down on a gauze pad and replace it with a clean one when it becomes soaked with blood. Plan to take pain relievers and consume a soft foods diet for a few days as you recover from the procedure.

Please contact us with questions or if you feel that you require tooth extractions in Athens TX.

What to Expect When You Need a Tooth Extracted

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Although our dentists try to avoid tooth extractions in Athens, TX, it is sometimes the next course of action when more conservative efforts to save the tooth fail. Severe tooth decay, infection, and the need to make more room for orthodontic treatment are the most common reasons why adult or pediatric patients need a tooth extracted. This blog lets you know what to expect if one of our dentists has recommended that you or your child have a tooth removed.

Preparing for Tooth Extraction

You will need to complete a consultation at Athens Smiles before scheduling an appointment for tooth extraction. The consultation consists of your dentist taking an X-ray of the tooth to be removed. You should bring a list of all the medications, vitamins, and supplements that you take to the appointment and be prepared to discuss your medical history.

Some conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, need to be stable before you proceed with the tooth extraction. You may need to take antibiotics before the procedure if you have a weakened immune system or certain medical conditions.

The Tooth Extraction Procedure

Your dentist will perform either a simple or surgical extraction after determining whether your tooth is impacted or visible. Simple extraction requires only local anesthetic that numbs the area surrounding your tooth. Although you will feel some pressure, you shouldn’t feel any pain. Your dentist will use an instrument called an elevator to loosen the tooth from its socket and then remove it with forceps.

If you need surgical extraction, you will receive intravenous and local anesthesia with the potential for general anesthesia. Your dentist will make an incision in your gums large enough to remove bone surrounding the tooth to make extraction easier.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have additional questions about tooth extractions in Athens, TX or would like to request a consultation.

Why You Don’t Have to Fear a Tooth Extraction

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If your dentist has recommended that you have a tooth extraction in Athens, TX, your first thought may be smiling with a big gap in your teeth. Even if the tooth extraction is from the rear of your mouth, you may worry about not being able to chew food or having a speech impediment. But tooth extractions don’t mean what they used to mean. You don’t have a dread a future filled with hiding your smile or worrying about what others will think of you. You don’t even have to worry about pain.

Pain Won’t Be an Issue

With modern day tooth extraction, pain isn’t usually an issue. You’ll likely be given a numbing agent in addition to mild sedation if you choose. In most cases, the offending tooth was causing a toothache, so the extraction will actually get rid of the pain that you may have been experiencing, not add to it.

You Don’t Have to Watch

You don’t have to watch your tooth being extracted. You can close your eyes and sit back and relax as it’s being done. If you want, you don’t have to see the tooth once it’s been extracted. Only after the entire treatment is over do you even need to open your eyes.

A Solution Can Happen at the Same Time

When a tooth needs extracted, your dentist in Athens, TX will offer you a few different solutions to choose from. This may be a dental implant, a bridge or something else. In many cases, the solution to your missing tooth can be implemented immediately after the tooth extraction. In other words, you may go home with no gap in between your teeth where the bad tooth was extracted.

With all of the treatment options available today, you don’t have to worry about tooth extractions. If you have a tooth that has gone bad or is giving you trouble, contact us today to find out your options.