Seattle Dentist Seattle Dentist Abscessed Teeth

Modern dentistry has come a long way since the time that the only treatment for an abscessed tooth was extraction by your Seattle Dentist or Bellevue Dentist. Although an infected tooth that has an abscess and is very painful may have to be extracted, new dental technologies are being introduced for use to assist in saving diseased and damaged teeth that once would have been extracted by your Seattle Family Dentist or Bellevue Family Dentist. In addition to untreatable abscesses, many other reasons exist that may require your dentist to extract one of your teeth. Some of these reasons are:

Severely decayed or broken teeth that cannot be repaired
Teeth with severely advanced periodontal disease with considerable bone loss
Impacted wisdom teeth
Poorly positioned or crowded teeth in preparation for orthodontic treatment

Upon presenting your Brookside Dental dentist with an abscess, you most likely will be presented with various alternative treatments instead of extraction of the tooth. While extraction of a tooth may seem initially to be the least expensive option proposed, it may not be the best method or even the cheapest in the long run. Saving the tooth is always the best option.

Endodontic treatment, or root canal therapy, is the most common method to treat an abscessed tooth. The first step in a root canal is the removal of the pulp from the interior of the infected tooth. The abscess is drained and treated to prevent any further infection. A crown is subsequently placed over the tooth to maintain the integrity of the tooth structure and to avoid future infections.

Periodontal abscesses arise from gum diseases around teeth. Gum Infections and abscesses if not treated can eventually cause damage to the bone structure around teeth. Gum disease should be treated before this situation occurs or additional complications develop. Antibiotics are usually given as a follow up to any type of abscess to kill any bacteria that might be at the infection site or have become systemic. Before the development of root canals, periodontal treatments, and antibiotics, extraction was the only way to treat an abscessed tooth. When a tooth is extracted, neighboring teeth may shift positions, which may cause severe dental problems, such as difficulty chewing or sore jaw joints. The shifted teeth may develop problems themselves because of the shift. If it is not possible to save a tooth and it becomes necessary to extract that tooth, your dentists, Dr Cynthia Pauley, Dr Patricia Pauley, or Dr Carrie Magnuson, at Brookside Dental will most likely recommend that you replace the extracted tooth with an Implant Dental Crown or a dental bridge containing a pontic for the space attached to abutments anchored on the adjacent teeth.

Your Seattle Dentists and Bellevue Dentists will recommend that you maintain good home care and oral hygiene in order to help prevent gum disease or tooth decay from occurring. Good home care along with regular visits to the dentists at Brookside Dental will help prevent painful and expensive dental treatments in the future for your teeth and gums.

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