In most situations, extracting a tooth is a procedure of last resort. Even if you take good care of your teeth by brushing twice each day and flossing regularly, impaction, infection, overcrowding, and damage can occur to your teeth, meaning an extraction is necessary. Wisdom teeth, in particular, are prone to painful impaction, precipitating the need for wisdom tooth extractions from your Allentown dentist.

Signs a Tooth Needs to Be Extracted

Impaction or Overcrowding

Wisdom teeth often become impacted because there is simply no room in the jaw for these third molars to grow in properly. Although our ancestors needed these large teeth for chewing, we have to use for these teeth with today’s modern diets. If they have become impacted, or if they have erupted and are crowding your other teeth, they need to be removed.

Damage

Sometimes a tooth becomes so severely damaged from decay or trauma that there is no way to save it, and extraction is the best way to protect the health of your other teeth.

Infection

When a tooth becomes infected, this needs to be addressed immediately. If the infection is left untreated, it can spread to the tooth pulp of the affected tooth—and the infection can spread to your healthy teeth, putting them at risk. Your dentist will usually recommend a root canal to treat an infection in the tooth root, which can save your tooth. If the damage is too extensive, however, an extraction might be your only option.

Reach Out to our Allentown, PA Dental Office

When you need wisdom tooth extractions or any other type of extraction in Allentown, give us a call. You can visit with one of our doctors so we can discuss all your options and decide if having a tooth removed is the best option. Call us today!