When The Time Comes For Tooth Extraction
We recently explained how the pulpotomy can allow us to treat an infected tooth and keep it in place. But what happens if a severe oral health issue arises, one in which we can no longer restore the tooth? To help improve oral health, your Dallas, TX, pediatric dentist may need to conduct a safe and gentle tooth extraction!
The Need for Removing a Tooth
What situations call for a tooth extraction? As we touched on above, when a tooth is too infected to be treated with a pulpotomy and crown, then we may need to remove it to prevent the infection from spreading to other teeth or moving into the jawbone itself. Likewise, if decay is beyond treatment with a filling or crown, or if a tooth is too damaged to be adequately treated with a dental crown.
But we could also remove teeth to aid in orthodontic treatment, working alongside your orthodontist as part of the process. Our team could take out teeth to improve bite function too. We know the idea of oral surgery, even one as minor as a tooth extraction, could be anxiety-inducing. But we take time to ensure the comfort of your child!
Ensuring Your Child Remains Comfortable
Our team knows how to talk to kids, ensuring they feel comfortable and listened to, answering their questions and concerns. We will discuss the procedure in detail so they know what to expect, and we will discuss the tools we will use as well. Our team can numb the area directly with a local anesthesia. We could also offer sedation options to help kids enter a deep state of calm, with little to no memory of the procedure afterward. We have nitrous oxide, which is administered through a gas and wears off once the treatment ends. For a deeper state of calm, we have oral conscious sedation, taken in pill or liquid form prior to the procedure. IV sedation, the deepest form of calming we offer, is administered intravenously. We will have a trained and board-certified anesthesiologist on hand throughout the process, monitoring your little one.
What Happens Next?
When your child is prepared and ready, we will gently extract the tooth with a pair of forceps. We then suture the area closed and provide detailed aftercare instructions to ensure the area heals quickly and a clot forms. Kids can usually return to their normal routines after 24 to 48 hours of rest. We also provide prescriptions for medications to aid in the healing process.
PDC Kids Provides Oral Surgery for Kids
A tooth extraction could be necessary to help improve your little one’s oral health and bite function. To find out more about removing a tooth, call Pediatric Dental Care at Casa Linda in Dallas, TX, today at (214) 321-4880.
filed under: Restorations for Kids