Tooth Extraction Los Angeles

The team of experts at Wilshire Smile Studio, including a leading oral surgeon, will do everything they can to preserve your natural teeth, from keeping the gums that hold them in place healthy to performing root canals to clean out deep infection.

But there are cases when the best way to preserve the health of the rest of your mouth is to remove a tooth. Some of the conditions include:

• A broken tooth can’t be repaired and will need to be replaced by an implant or a bridge between the neighboring teeth to keep the gap created from causing misalignment of the rest of the teeth.
• A filling or crown comes off and reveals that the tooth underneath is too decayed to simply be fixed.
• Too many teeth are crowded in one area so that they are hard to clean and don’t provide an attractive smile.
• Wisdom teeth (the last one at the back of each side of the upper and lower jaw) have not emerged through the gums in the right way, so that food gets trapped below the gum line and the wisdom teeth put pressure on the others, causing crowding that creates further cleaning problems.
• Advanced gum disease that has caused the underlying bone holding the tooth to deteriorate, requiring the extraction and then a bone graft.
• The removal is needed to prepare for orthodontic work or to improve the fit of dentures.
• Extraction is required because a tooth is infected with cancer or affected by radiation.

Wilshire Smile Studio has a team of experts and the latest tools to make extraction easy:

First, we take a digital x-ray (which uses a tiny amount of radiation) to show what the tooth looks like under the gum and the amount of bone underlying it. The shape might require a special approach, such as dividing the tooth in two before removal.

Second, we take a 3-D CT scan to provide a more detailed view of the teeth and nerves to determine the exact course our oral surgeon should take.

Third, before the operation, a topical numbing solution is applied and a local injection to be fixed simply, then you will have your choice of further anesthesia through nitrous oxide, partial sedation with a mild benzodiazepine pill, or a stronger or an intravenous drip. Afterward, you will be prescribed the appropriate pain medication to be taken for a short time before switching to over-the-counter options.

Once the surgery is completed, we will give you a gauze pad to bite on for 30-60 minutes or until a blood clot is formed.  We will instruct you that an ice pack or even a bag of frozen vegetables should be applied to the area to keep swelling to a minimum, which subsides after 48 hours.

You should drink lots of fluids and only eat soft, nutritious foods (avoid hard or crunchy foods like nuts and popcorn) for two or three days, and avoid drinking through a straw, spitting, or smoking (resume normal habits when comfortable).

Call now to make an appointment to have your oral health evaluated, including any need for oral surgical services: 323-DENTIST (336-8478).