Mind the gap!
Root Canal Specialist London
We’d all like to think that our teeth will last forever – but sometimes they don’t. Whether it’s through injury or decay, our teeth may become damaged or painful and we might need our dentists to repair them or, in the worst case, remove them.
Removing teeth is not, however, a desired option. Obviously, a missing tooth can be a significant aesthetic concern, especially if it is in the front of the mouth – but there are other health issues that can come from having a tooth extracted. These include:
- Dry socket – a common complication after extraction, occurs when a blood clot has failed to form in the socket, or the blood clot that did form has been dislodged. This leaves the underlying bone and nerves exposed to air and food. Often quite painful, dry socket typically appears two to five days after extraction and can cause a bad odour or taste.
- Infection – sometimes the socket from which your tooth is removed can become infected, this can result in extreme pain and may even affect the health of the surrounding teeth. Your dentist will need to prescribe antibiotics to stop the infection.
- Tooth instability – a gap in your dentition can compromise the stability of the other teeth around it. Otherwise healthy teeth might move or become less secure, leading to further complications over time. Particularly when several teeth have been extracted, another possible long-term problem is thinning of the jawbone, which then becomes easier to break.
- Nerve injury – if the nerve is near to the extraction site, it can be damaged during tooth removal, leading to discomfort and / or loss of feeling.
Your dentist will normally do everything they can to avoid having to extract a tooth because they will never be able to replace it with something that is as biologically compatible or beneficial for your other teeth. Not even dental implants, which are an increasingly effective option for missing teeth, can fully replicate the benefits of a natural tooth.
Endodontics can save a tooth before extraction is required. Incredibly effective, these treatments, including root canal procedures, can save a natural tooth from further decay and damage. By extracting the damaged or infected parts of the tooth, an endodontist can retain the majority of a tooth and avoid having to remove it.
As yet, this is the only way of preserving a natural tooth that has become compromised through damage or decay and has helped many people retain their natural smiles for longer.
Root Canal Specialist London
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Endocare/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EndoCareDentist
