Questions You Might Have About Your Child’s Tooth Extraction

Posted July 29, 2020

Keeping up with your child’s good oral health can be a challenge, which is why we offer a wide range of treatments and services to help optimize their oral health as much as possible. While that challenge can be successfully met, there may be times when the best thing for your child’s overall oral health is to extract a tooth that’s become problematic. Today, we answer a few questions you might have about your child’s need for tooth extraction, and what you should do next to help preserve their healthy smiles in the future.

What could lead to a need for tooth extraction?

Extracting a tooth isn’t usually the first option for addressing a tooth problem. In most cases, the ultimate goal is to help your child preserve as much healthy, natural tooth structure as possible to improve their long-term oral health. However, certain conditions can make extracting a tooth necessary, such as a tooth infection that has become so invasive that it has eroded most of a tooth’s natural structure. An extremely worn-down, damaged, or misaligned tooth might also require extraction to avoid any further complications that it might cause. The need for tooth extraction can be unique, but before recommending it, we’ll ensure that it’s the best option for your child’s tooth and oral health.

Should baby teeth ever be extracted?

When the tooth that’s compromised is a baby tooth, or primary tooth, that’s meant to fall out eventually, you may question if extracting the tooth early is the right option. In most cases, it isn’t, as the permanent tooth underneath still needs time to fully develop and grow before it’s ready to erupt. However, a severely compromised baby tooth that can’t be restored can pose a threat to the healthy permanent tooth structure underneath if it isn’t removed. To avoid any complications with the permanent tooth’s growth and development, we may suggest putting a space retainer in place after tooth extraction.

What should happen next?

In addition to utilizing a space maintainer after extracting a baby tooth, there are other considerations and steps to be taken following your child’s tooth extraction procedure. For example, if the tooth was a permanent tooth and not a primary one, then replacing the tooth may be part of your child’s overall smile restoration plan. After carefully examining your child’s teeth and oral health, we can help you understand what the extraction could mean for your child’s smile and what you should consider next to preserve their healthy smile in the future.

Learn if your child may benefit from tooth extraction

If your child needs tooth extraction, then we’ll be happy to answer all of your questions about the procedure and how it can help your child’s oral health. To learn more, schedule an appointment by calling Pediatric Dental Care at Casa Linda in Dallas, TX today at 214-321-4880. We proudly serve patients who live around Casa Linda and all surrounding Dallas communities.