Is It Ever a Good Idea to Extract a Baby Tooth?

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For much of your child’s oral health care, you’ve heard that preserving their healthy primary (baby) teeth is important to preserving their long-term oral health. Therefore, it may be surprising to learn that, as part of their oral health care, some children may require the removal of their primary teeth even if they haven’t fallen out on their own yet. However, if it becomes necessary, then it’s important not to hesitate, as it’s never a good idea to give the problem time to grow even worse.

The unique nature of primary teeth

Primary teeth are meant to help build out your child’s smile and make room for their permanent teeth and fully-grown oral structures. Preserving their health and integrity for as long as they remain is important to preserving the growth and development of your child’s smile and oral structures. However, primary teeth can still be subject to decay (tooth infection), structural damage, and a wide range of other potential issues that could become severe threats to your child’s oral health. If the tooth can’t be restored and saved, then we may suggest removing it to avoid it causing more complications.

When tooth extraction might be a good idea

  • The tooth is severely compromised – Tooth damage can usually be restored with a conservative restoration, such as a custom-designed dental crown. However, severe cases of tooth damage can leave a primary tooth unable to support your child’s bite, and may pose a threat to surrounding soft oral tissues.
  • The tooth won’t fall out on its own – Sometimes, a baby tooth won’t fall out properly and can remain long after it was meant to. If left unattended, the tooth can interrupt the proper development and eruption of the permanent tooth underneath it, leading to a host of potentially serious oral health problems.
  • The tooth’s in the way of orthodontic treatment – Orthodontic treatment is meant to correct the alignment of your child’s teeth and jaws to improve their oral health bite function. If a tooth is too severely misaligned, it may interfere with this treatment, and could require extraction beforehand.

Find out if your child needs tooth extraction

Preserving your child’s primary teeth until they’re ready to fall out is usually the best option, but in some cases, your child’s oral health could depend on removing a troublesome baby tooth. For more information, 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.

filed under: Restorations for Kids