Tooth Extractions – Altavista, VA
Extract Damaged Teeth, Preserve Your Oral Health
At Hooks Family Dentistry, our top priority is to preserve your natural teeth at all costs, which is why you can trust that we’ll never recommend extracting a tooth unless there’s no way we can repair it. In these cases, a tooth extraction in Altavista may be the saving grace for your overall oral health. After all, many worsening oral health problems, like infections, can spread if left alone. In these situations, our team can conduct a comfortable extraction to preserve the health of your smile.
Why Choose Hooks Family Dentistry for Tooth Extractions?
- Experienced Team of Dentists with a Gentle Touch
- Dental Insurance Accepted & Maximized
- Comprehensive Dentistry for the Whole Family
Reasons Why Tooth Extractions Are Necessary
Typically, our emergency dentist recommends tooth extractions in the following situations:
- A tooth is causing you unbearable pain or discomfort.
- A tooth infection has reoccurred in an already-treated tooth.
- Severe decay has impacted a tooth beyond the ability of us to repair it with a filling.
- A tooth has been damaged or cracked, and our team cannot repair it with a dental crown.
- You want to undergo orthodontic treatment but don’t have enough room in your mouth.
- Advanced gum disease has broken down the supportive soft and hard tissues surrounding a tooth.
If you have any questions during our examination, we will be happy to answer them as well as further explain our findings, diagnoses, and treatment recommendations. We’re here to help and are always open to hearing your concerns!
The Process of Removing a Tooth
There are two ways we can remove the tooth in question: with a simple extraction or with a surgical extraction. A simple extraction is typically recommended when the tooth has broken through the gumline, allowing Dr. Hooks to gently rock it loose until it’s ready to be removed. Conversely, a surgical extraction is used when the tooth is trapped underneath. If that’s the case, she will need to create a small incision in your gums first. Then, she can remove the tooth section by section before tending to the extraction site.
Important note: In both cases, your mouth will be thoroughly numbed beforehand! So, you don’t have to worry – you won’t feel any pain as we work to remove your tooth.
Tooth Extraction Aftercare
There are a few things we want to avoid following your procedure, including a dry socket. For that reason, we will provide you with aftercare instructions like:
- Using a cold compress or towel-wrapped ice pack for 10 minutes at a time
- Taking prescribed or OTC pain medication as directed
- Sticking to a liquid diet
- Not smoking, drinking through a straw, spitting, or drinking alcohol
- Keeping your head elevated
- Changing the gauze pads as needed
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