Tooth Extractions – Corpus Christi, TX
Removing The Source of Your Discomfort
No one wants to hear that they need a tooth extraction in Corpus Christi. However, this last resort treatment will remove the source of your discomfort from your smile. Often, patients experience severe toothaches when gum disease, cavities, or infection is harming their pearly white. If we can’t treat the condition or salvage the tooth, the best way to restore your oral health and comfort is to extract the problem. In a matter of minutes, our team can help you get back to life as usual!
Why Choose South Texas Periodontics & Implants For Tooth Extractions?
- We Provide IV Sedation For Anxious Patients
- Board-Certified Periodontist With 10+ Years Of Experience
- We Accept Dental Insurance
Reasons Why Tooth Extractions Are Necessary
Modern dental technology has come a long way, but natural teeth are still better than any inorganic replacement. So why might we recommend removing one from your smile? We’ll always salvage a pearly white when possible, however, there are extreme situations when leaving it alone can actually do more harm than good to your oral health.
If a deep infection makes your tooth unviable, for example, then extracting it could very well be the only way to stop the infection from spreading to your other teeth. And if you have wisdom teeth that aren’t growing in properly, they can damage your jawbone or dental nerves, or shove your existing teeth out of alignment.
The Process of Removing a Tooth
The process for removing a tooth is slightly different for a simple extraction than it is a surgical extraction. Here’s what you can expect for each type:
Simple extractions are, well, simple! Dr. Garcia or Dr. Wu will numb your mouth and provide IV sedation if requested, then gently rock your tooth back and forth until it comes loose.
Surgical extractions are more common for patients with impacted wisdom teeth. Since the teeth are partially or fully trapped below the gumline, Dr. Garcia or Dr. Wu will have to make a small incision in order to reach it. Then they’ll cut the tooth into smaller pieces for safe removal.
Tooth Extraction Aftercare
After your tooth extraction in Corpus Christi, it’s important not to dislodge the protective blood clot that will form over your now-empty socket. You’ll have to take it easy during recovery, which means:
- No smoking, drinking through straws, spitting, or brushing the socket for 24 hours or so after your treatment.
- Sleeping with your head elevated.
- Sticking to a soft food diet.
- Not chewing with the empty socket.
- Getting plenty of rest!
It’s also a good idea to keep your medicine cabinet well-stocked with over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen. You’ll likely be a bit sore, and these medications can help you manage discomfort.
Understanding the Cost of Tooth Extractions
As with any dental procedure, you may be concerned that a tooth extraction is going to end up costing you a ton of money. Although the process is often the same, we approach each one as unique. As a result, we don’t give out general estimates. We need to know all the information before we can determine a fair price. Only after you’ve been examined, can our team of periodontists and our front desk team calculate the cost for your specific tooth extraction. Considering the risks of keeping a badly injured, infected, or loose tooth that needs to be extracted, this procedure is worth going through to protect your smile for the long term.
Factors That Can Affect Tooth Extraction Cost
Most erupted teeth typically require very little effort or time to extract out of the socket, meaning they are likely to cost less than more complex teeth to remove. The ones near the front are especially simple! On the other hand, surgical extractions require more skill, training, and time to safely and effectively take out the submerged tooth from the gums.
Also, if you choose to get IV sedation, prepare for the overall price to go up. We recommend sedation, not only to calm nerves but also to further reduce any discomfort or unpleasant experiences while in the chair.
Does Dental Insurance Cover Tooth Extractions?
Although one plan often varies from another in specific coverage amounts, most dental insurance policies pay for about half of the total cost of a tooth extraction. This means, roughly, that you’ll need to pay for the other half out-of-pocket. Prior to the procedure, we will double-check your information with your insurance company to confirm benefits and find out how much you’ll owe after they give us their contribution.
How to Make Tooth Extractions Affordable
Even with dental insurance’s help, paying to have tooth removed can seem difficult or even uncomfortable for your budget, especially if you will eventually need to replace this lost tooth. Thankfully, our team at South Texas Periodontic & Implants provide a few other options to alleviate financial pressure. Instead of paying the entire total immediately upon service, you can apply for CareCredit, a highly trusted financing company that enables you to make monthly payments with a relatively low interest rate compared to other forms of financing.
Tooth Extractions FAQs
Is there an alternative treatment for a tooth extraction?
It’s natural to feel anxious about having a troublesome tooth removed, and many patients in Corpus Christi want to know whether there’s any other way to repair the damage. If you have a toothache or severely damaged enamel, sometimes a root canal can address the underlying infection causing your discomfort. Then, a dental crown can be placed to protect the treated tooth while allowing you to continue using it normally.
However, if our team has recommended an extraction, we’ve likely already determined that your condition has deteriorated to the point that removing the problematic tooth is the best way to preserve your oral health.
Does it hurt to have a tooth removed?
You’re not alone if you’re scared that your extraction will be a long and agonizing process, but that’s thankfully not usually the case. For starters, our team will apply a local anesthetic to numb the area before getting started, to help you feel more comfortable.
We also offer IV dental sedation that can help your entire body relax and induce an overall feeling of ease. You won’t be ‘knocked out’, but you’re also not likely to remember the details of your appointment afterward. Many anxious patients consider this to be just another benefit of the medication.
Can I leave the socket empty after my extraction?
It can be tempting to leave the socket empty after your tooth is removed, but doing so can lead to oral health issues. For instance, without a root in place to stimulate new bone growth in your jaw when you bite down, the bone begins to thin. In time, it can become too frail to support your teeth, and you might suffer additional losses.
Furthermore, your remaining teeth are prone to shifting out of place to close the gap, which can wear down your enamel, causing cavities and injuries. We usually recommend that you replace your extracted tooth as soon as possible.
What are the options for replacing my extracted tooth?
Although some general dentists offer dentures and dental bridges, at our office in Corpus Christi, we focus offer dental implants, which many experts consider to be the gold standard of replacement teeth. These restorations are the only ones that involve surgically embedding a titanium rod into your jawbone to function like a root.
It can take several months to recover because your jawbone must produce enough new growth to fuse with the biocompatible support pole. Then, we cap it with a customized dental crown (or other appropriate restoration) to close the gap in your grin.