Tooth Extractions – Allen, TX

Why Your Child Might Need a Tooth Extracted

As pediatric dentists in Allen, Dr. Justin and Dr. Sage regularly encounter various situations in which they must decide whether a tooth extraction is in the best interest of a child’s oral health. They’ll always do whatever they can to preserve the natural teeth whenever possible, but if a tooth cannot be salvaged any other way, then an extraction might be the healthiest choice.

 

What the Process is Like

You can typically expect your child’s tooth extraction to look something like this:

 

• Our dentists take X-rays of your little one’s mouth to get a closer look at the health of their tooth roots and jawbone.
• Before removing the tooth, we’ll administer a local anesthetic to the area of your child’s mouth where we’ll be working.
• Depending on the severity of the problem as well as your child’s mental state, we may recommend a type of sedation, such as nitrous oxide, to set their mind at ease and improve comfort.
• With gentle pressure and careful precision, our dentists will use a special instrument to wiggle the tooth until it easily breaks free.

 

Supernumerary (Extra) Tooth Extractions

It's actually not uncommon for a child to have “extra” teeth. Unfortunately, it is common for these teeth – known as supernumerary teeth – to result in problems such as the normal teeth erupting in strange positions (leading to orthodontic issues in the future) or even failing to erupt at all. Detecting and extracting supernumerary teeth early on can reduce the treatment times for orthodontics and prevent issues like severe overcrowding and bite misalignment in the adult teeth.

A supernumerary tooth extraction is similar to the process of removing any other tooth. However, if these extra teeth are impacted (stuck underneath the gum line), our dentists may need to take additional steps to access the teeth. This may involve creating small incisions in the gum tissue or bone, or sectioning a tooth into multiple pieces and removing them individually. Otherwise, the tooth can be gently rocked back and forth with our dental instruments until it comes out.

 

Aftercare Tips

Once we’re finished extracting your child’s tooth, you’ll want to make sure they have a smooth and speedy recovery. We’ll provide you with aftercare tips that may include:

 

• Encourage them to bite down gently yet continuously on the gauze pads we’ve placed. This allows a blood clot to form and begin healing.
• Make sure they don’t rinse out their mouth for at least 24 hours following their procedure since it could disturb the blood clot. Also, make sure they avoid spitting or drinking through a straw. After 24 hours have passed, they can clean their mouth by rinsing with warm saltwater.
• Provide your child with a recommended dose of Tylenol to reduce discomfort and an ice pack to curb swelling.
• Keep them hydrated with water.
• Ensure they eat only soft foods for several days after the procedure, and avoid crunchy, hard foods for at least one week.

 

Understanding the Cost of Tooth Extractions  

If you’ve been informed that your child needs a tooth extracted, it’s understandable to wonder how much this treatment will cost. Because tooth extraction is considered a major procedure, it makes sense that you’d want to ensure it’s affordable before getting on your child’s dentist’s schedule. Although we cannot provide you with a specific price until your child has been seen by Dr. Justin or Dr. Sage, here are a few factors that could affect the cost of their treatment.

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