Teeth Extractions in Wheat Ridge
When it comes to treatment we try to be as conservative as we can, but sometimes extractions end up being the only option for your child.
Circumstances when extractions may be needed include:
- When your child has a tooth infection
- When baby teeth get in the way of the correct placement of adult teeth.
Extractions can be an emotional challenge for most people, adults and kids alike. We highly recommend that all parents with children that need extractions take a close look at our parent guidelines. Most children are capable of tolerating this procedure well, especially when parents and our team work together.
Baby teeth extractions
Most extractions of baby teeth are mainly due to infection. In this case, we usually treat with the case-by-case process. If the child is in extreme pain from severe infection or a dying nerve, we might place the patient on antibiotics for at least 3 days before proceeding.
Sometimes we do baby teeth extractions at the request of the patient’s orthodontist to improve spacing and alignment for adult teeth. On a positive note, baby teeth have much smaller and shorter roots that make the procedure easier and the healing process faster.
Coronal extractions
We offer this extraction when a baby tooth becomes very loose, and the child is too fearful to take it out.
- Generally, we prefer to give children a deadline and motivate them to do it by themselves. We always encourage the patients not to let the baby tooth stay too long because it can cause inflammation of the gum due to the lack of brushing in the area.
- If a child can’t remove the tooth, we start the coronal extraction with a numbing gel (since nothing other than the gum is attached to the tooth).
- Most of the time we will do a lot of calming conversing with your child so they can be at ease for the procedure.
- Often, the child can be extremely nervous, so with your consent, we will help the tooth out with a special surprise method. This usually takes about 5 seconds. For an extremely nervous child, the thought of the procedure can be more painful than the extraction.
Extractions of adult teeth
Most of our adult teeth extractions are recommend from the patient’s orthodontist. Most parents get nervous on the concept of taking out healthy adult teeth to make the rest of the teeth straight.
No worries parents, this is actually the most stable and conservative approach to create space for older kids who wear braces. After evaluating your child’s space discrepancies, most orthodontists will choose the least functional teeth to recommend for extraction.
Extractions due to infection
In an event we absolutely exhaust all resources to save a tooth we have to, unfortunately, extract it. Aside from orthodontic extractions, we will most likely refer our patients to get extractions done by an oral surgeon. Between the density of new young bone and the length of the roots, patients will have a better treatment and healing time if they see an oral surgeon. We know many, are will ensure you’re placed in good hands!
Wisdom teeth extractions
Wisdom teeth or 3rd molars are the last set of adult teeth that develop in the mouth. We often recommend that patients get them removed.
Why extract wisdom teeth?
Wisdom teeth are often impacted because of where they are located and how late they develop. Impaction is when a tooth fails to emerge through the gums. This can happen with any tooth, but is most prevalent with wisdom teeth. This usually happens due to lack of space in the mouth, or the direction in which the wisdom teeth develop. In certain circumstances, keeping a child’s wisdom teeth may result in jaw problems or have a negative impact on existing teeth.
Written By: Dr. Ngo
We know that parents tend to have a lot of concerns about the before and after treatment, please look at our pre-op and post-op information for detailed instructions. If you still have questions, please do not hesitate to call. We want you and your child to be as comfortable as possible during this stressful treatment.
Also, take a look at our post on Wisdom Teeth Extractions.