When you have a toothache, it’s hard to think about anything else. Dental pain can be intense and it’s very common to just want the offending tooth out of your mouth to make the pain stop.

However, dental extractions, or having a tooth pulled, is the last resort to solving dental emergencies. A dental extraction often needs to be followed up by a dental replacement, which can be inconvenient and expensive, so it’s always best to save the natural tooth whenever possible.

Here are the main reasons your dentist in North York would recommend a dental extraction:

• You have advanced periodontal disease (or periodontitis) that has deteriorated the tooth and the bone structure supporting it so badly that it cannot be repaired.
• Pro tip: Periodontitis is preventable! Periodontitis starts out as gingivitis, which can be prevented by twice-daily brushing and flossing. Plus, if gingivitis does develop it can be easily treated (and even reversed) if caught in its early stages – so be sure to keep up with those regular dental visits.
• There is a cavity in the tooth so large that the tooth cannot be restored by a crown or filling.
• You have intense, long-term dental pain that has not been resolved even after a crown, filling, or root canal.
• There is a severe abscess and the tooth needs to come out in order to release the infection.
• You have new teeth coming in and there is not enough space for them in your mouth.

Wisdom tooth extractions

Wisdom teeth are an additional set of molars that grow in the back of the mouth in a person’s late teens or early twenties. They get their name from the fact that they develop later in life. Because a person’s teeth have already been developed before the wisdom teeth begin to come through, this new set of molars creates a lot of problems and often requires extraction.

Here are the main reasons wisdom teeth need to be extracted:

• They are growing in on an angle
• They are pushing other teeth out of alignment to find space in the gumline
• They are infected or damaged

If you are experiencing pain or discomfort in your mouth and are concerned you might need a dental extraction, call the team at Lilac Family Dentistry today. We’ll schedule an appointment to assess your current condition, determine whether an extraction is the right course of action, and work together to determine the best treatment plan for you.