When Tooth Extraction Is Part of Your Child’s Treatment

Posted June 23, 2020

The differences between children’s dental care and dental treatment for adults are often more subtle than you might realize. For instance, teeth of all ages need certain routine care and preventive measures, such as routine dental checkups and cleanings. For both adults and children, the goal of consistent dental care is typically to preserve as much healthy, natural tooth structure as possible. Also, like adults, children may sometimes face severe oral health concerns in which extracting a tooth is the better option for preserving the rest of their smiles. Today, we explore a few instance when tooth extraction should be part of your child’s treatment, and why extracting the tooth may be the best idea.

When tooth decay is too severe to treat

Tooth decay is the most common serious concern that your child’s teeth might face. It’s the product of oral bacteria infecting your child’s tooth structure and leading to the formation of a cavity, or hole in the tooth. Fortunately, tooth decay can often be treated conservatively by placing a tooth filling in your child’s cavity, or performing pulpotomy for more severe cases of decay. However, in extreme cases, the tooth might not retain enough healthy structure to save, and extracting it could be necessary to mitigating the threat that the infection can pose to the rest of your child’s oral health.

When your child’s tooth suffers severe trauma

Structural damage to your child’s tooth is similar to tooth decay in that, if ignored, it can grow increasingly worse over time. However, when your child’s tooth experiences traumatic injury, the threat can be serious from the start, and it can quickly grow too extreme for a child’s dental restoration to fix it. Restoring your child’s good oral health and bite function are still important, and in severe cases, extracting the damaged tooth could be vital to that goal. If necessary, tooth extraction can pave the way for a durable tooth replacement, or your child’s dentist may recommend a custom-designed space retainer to ensure the permanent tooth has adequate space to erupt properly.

When your child’s tooth is severely misaligned

Tooth misalignment isn’t as common as tooth decay, but it can still be a frequent concern for children of all ages. When an alignment issue occurs, it can have several important impacts on your child’s oral health, including increased risks of tooth decay and damage, as well as more profound impacts on your child’s bite function. If a tooth is too severely misaligned, or if it interferes with your child’s orthodontic treatment, then extracting it may be an important part of improving your child’s bite alignment and oral health.

Learn if your child’s tooth should be extracted

Our goal is typically to help your child preserve all of their healthy, natural teeth, but in some cases, extracting a tooth might be the best thing for your child’s smile. 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.