Thanks to advances in modern medicine, having a tooth extracted is no longer the nightmare it used to be. It used to be a painful and difficult procedure, and that is where we get the expression “it’s like pulling teeth” from. In fact, most tooth extractions these days are pretty routine. Read on to learn more about wisdom teeth removal and general tooth extraction.

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Wisdom Teeth

Your wisdom teeth are your third and last molars, the backmost teeth, that erupt in your late teens to early twenties. It is pretty common knowledge that people get them removed. However, did you know that some people’s wisdom teeth never erupt? This is rare and sometimes these teeth will still need to be extracted, but other times they won’t if they’re not causing problems.

Because wisdom teeth are the farthest back teeth, they can be difficult to clean. This can lead to tooth decay and enable bacteria to flourish which can negatively affect your gums and other teeth. Wisdom teeth can also cause jaw pain if they are impacted, unable to erupt, or causing alignment issues with other teeth.

Tooth Extraction

People get their teeth removed for a variety of reasons besides needing their wisdom teeth out. Sometimes a tooth is too decayed and needs to be extracted. This may be from a poor diet and a lack of proper oral hygiene or from prolonged gum disease and infection.

People with diabetes are more likely to need teeth extracted than those without diabetes because their immune system is not as strong to fight off infection. If someone is going through chemotherapy/radiation therapy, they may have a tooth become infected as an unintended side effect.

Need an Appointment?

If you have a tooth that is causing you pain and needs to be removed please call our office at (903) 984-1108 to schedule an appointment with our dentist in Kilgore, Texas.

Come join the Kilgore Dental Care patient family!