Caring for Teeth

A routine examination is simply an examination of your mouth, teeth and gums to identify any problems.

Our dentist will examine your teeth and gums for signs of tooth decay, gingivitis, and other dental health problems.

You should see our dentists once or twice a year. Our dentists will recommend how often you should have routine checkups.

Root canal treatment, also known as endodontic treatment, is the process of removing infected, injured or dead pulp from your tooth.

The space inside the hard layers of each tooth is called the root canal system. This system is filled with soft dental pulp made up of nerves and blood vessels that help your tooth grow and develop.

Common symptoms of a root canal infection

• Sharp, acute and intense pain
• Sharp pain when biting
• Lingering pain after eating hot or cold food
• Dull ache and pressure
• Tenderness and swelling in the nearby gums

An extraction means to have a tooth removed, usually because of disease, trauma or crowding.

If you need an extraction, your dentist will first numb the area to lessen any discomfort. After the extraction, your dentist will advise you on what post extraction regimen to follow. In most cases a small amount of bleeding is normal. Your mouth will slowly fill in the bone where the tooth root was through the formation of a blood clot.

Simple tooth extraction is referred to as the procedure of removing a tooth that has an upright position and the process of extruding it is considered to be “simple”.

A complex tooth extraction will encompass all the other types of extractions wherein the process is not as straightforward as prying on a tooth and pulling it out.

In fact, teeth have a myriad of ways to position themselves and in order to take them out surgery is often needed.

Even simple tooth extractions might end up as complex ones if, for example, a decayed tooth is being pulled out but it cracks and part of the root is left in the jaw.

A well-trained dentist is well prepared to deal with these situations and for this reason, once the tooth is pulled out the first thing they do is to check that the tooth came out completely.

So what happens if you need to have a tooth extracted that has nothing left above the gum line and there is nowhere the dentist can use their forceps to grasp the tooth and pull it out?

Usually, in these cases, a sharp instrument will be used to pry out the root by exerting pressure between the root and the surrounding bone structure, this technique is known as luxation.

Molars usually have multiple roots and sometimes they will be removed separately. However not all roots or fragments of roots can be removed this easily, thus the oral surgeon will go ahead and make an incision in the gums and around the tooth to raise a flap of tissue so that the tooth and surrounding bone are exposed.

Removing a tooth is an art, it requires the expertise of a well-trained oral surgeon and also the professional assessment of the position and knowledge of the risks that this procedure might involve.

An oral and maxillofacial surgeon or our dentist can remove (extract) a wisdom tooth. The procedure often can be done in the dentist’s or surgeon’s office. You may have the surgery in the hospital, especially if you are having all your wisdom teeth pulled at one time or if you are at high risk for complications.

If you have any infections, surgery will usually be delayed until the infection has cleared up. Our doctor or dentist may have you take antibiotics to help heal the infection.

Before removing a wisdom tooth, our dentist will give you a local anaesthetic to numb the area where the tooth will be removed. A General anaesthetic may be used, especially if several or all of your wisdom teeth will be removed at the same time. A general anaesthetic prevents pain in the whole body and will cause you to sleep through the procedure. Your dentist will probably recommend that you don’t eat or drink after midnight on the night before surgery so that you are prepared for the aesthetic.

To remove the wisdom tooth, our dentist will open up the gum tissue over the tooth and take out any bone that is covering the tooth. He or she will separate the tissue connecting the tooth to the bone and then remove the tooth. Sometimes the dentist will cut the tooth into smaller pieces to make it easier to remove.

After the tooth is removed, you may need stitches. Some stitches dissolve over time and some have to be removed after a few days. our dentist will tell you whether your stitches need to be removed. A folded cotton gauze pad placed over the wound will help stop the bleeding.