Tooth Extractions

Our first priority at Aliso Smiles is to preserve natural tooth structure if possible. We encourage our patients to visit us regularly so that we can work together to promote optimal oral health through preventative care. Many people, we understand, have avoided seeing the dentist, sometimes for years, due to dental anxiety. If you find yourself in this category, and are dealing with advanced dental problems, we can help you. Dr. Patel provides gentle, compassionate care for patients of all ages, and performs procedures under sedation when needed to help a patient feel more comfortable.

When a tooth is broken or damaged, we will always try everything in our power to fix the problem, usually with a filling, crown, root canal, or other dental care procedure. However, sometimes repair simply isn’t possible. This is the number one reason that people have a tooth extracted.

Other reasons why you might have a tooth extracted include:

• Teeth blocking other teeth from erupting
• Making room for orthodontic work
• Teeth in the field of radiation might be extracted when patients are undergoing radiation to the head and neck
• Cancer drugs can cause tooth infections, and these teeth may require extraction
• Teeth that are at risk of infection might be pulled prior to an organ transplant because of the immune system suppression medications taken by transplant patients.
• Wisdom teeth are often extracted. These teeth, also referred to as third molars, usually come in by the age of 20 and can become impacted or lack the space to erupt properly.

You can always delay any treatment, but we generally don’t recommend that you do. This will only allow the problem to become worse, and if a cavity is forming, waiting will allow the cavity to become more serious. If the decay is advanced and calls for extraction, it is important to take care of the problem as early as possible. If not taken care of, the infection can spread, affecting other teeth and even affecting the jawbone or other parts of the body. A jaw infection can be life threatening.

We always recommend that you replace a tooth after extraction. A missing tooth can lead to other problems in the mouth, and we always want to avoid complicating matters when it comes to your oral health.

Your smile is in good hands with the team at Aliso Smiles. Contact us today for your appointment with Dr. Sajit Patel.