Extractions

What are extractions?

Extractions are the professional removal of teeth from your child’s mouth. Some extractions are surgical, while others are nonsurgical. If the tooth that’s getting extracted has already emerged through your child’s gums, your dentist can likely remove it without surgery. If their tooth is impacted (stuck under the gum), however, your child might require minor oral surgery. 

Oral surgery is different from regular surgery, in most cases. When people hear the word surgery, they tend to think of general anesthesia and extended hospital stays with lengthy recovery times. Oral surgery, on the other hand, is usually done under local anesthesia in your dentist’s office and is performed as an outpatient procedure, so your child goes home the same day of their treatment.

Why might my child need extractions?

There are a few different reasons why your child might need a tooth extraction. If they have a tooth with extensive decay or infection that can’t be treated with a root canal, your dentist might suggest extracting the tooth. Significant crowding might also be a reason to extract a tooth, in order to make room in your child’s mouth to properly align their remaining teeth with orthodontic treatment.

The most common reason for extracting a tooth, however, is the emergence of a wisdom tooth when there isn’t enough room in your child’s mouth. Wisdom teeth are our third set of molars, and they typically emerge in our mouths between the ages of 17 and 25.

These molars used to be essential to our early human ancestors, who needed the extra grinding space in order to properly chew their food. They’re largely useless to us now that we have cooking technology that makes it easier to grind up our food, and since our jaws have shrunk over time, they can actually be harmful to our oral health when we don’t have enough space for them in our mouths.

What happens during an extraction?

If your child is having an extraction on a tooth that’s already emerged through the gums, it’s called a simple extraction. With a simple extraction, the team at Leeward Pediatric Dentistry uses a tool called an elevator to loosen your child’s tooth from its socket before simply removing it. Your dentist uses a local anesthetic to numb your child’s tooth and surrounding tissue before the procedure, so they won’t feel any pain during their extraction. 

If your child’s tooth is stuck under the gumline, your oral surgeon will need to perform a surgical extraction to remove it. This involves making a small incision in your child’s gums before removing the tooth. In some cases, your oral surgeon breaks the tooth up into smaller pieces before removing it, which makes it easier to extract. Your child is also anesthetized during a surgical extraction, so they won’t feel any pain during their procedure.

Schedule your child’s extraction with Leeward Pediatric Dentistry by calling the office or booking online today.