Tooth Extractions | Paso Robles
The goal of dentistry is to promote good oral health and comfort so that you can lead a healthier life and eat the foods you love. We recommend dental extractions only as a last resort to protect your health, eliminate symptoms, or reduce pain – and it is never a recommendation that we take lightly.
Conditions That May Require a Tooth Extraction
If you have injuries involving your head and neck, it is important to seek immediate medical treatment. We can address your dental concerns once any life-threatening injuries have been ruled out.
Common conditions requiring a dental extraction:
- Overcrowding
- Wisdom teeth
- Non-restorable fractures
- Advanced periodontal disease
- Unsuccessful root canal therapy
- A tooth broken at the gumline
- Trauma due to an accident
In many cases, we can plan for tooth replacement treatment prior to beginning your extraction so that we have a plan in place to restore your smile. In cases of overcrowding or wisdom tooth extractions, we will not need to replace missing teeth.
Personalized Dental Treatment Options
Our dentists will explain all your options and help you make a good decision regarding your oral health.
We understand that many of our patients have concerns about dental extractions. Will it hurt? What will happen to my oral health? How will it affect the appearance of my smile?
We'll take the time to make sure that these concerns are addressed and your questions are answered.
"While going to the dentist is not my favorite activity, I no longer dread the visit, thanks to the staff at Glenhaven. They are kind, helpful, and welcoming. The staff and dentists educate me on how to best care for and protect my teeth." - Karen
Your Dental Extraction Procedure
We make patient comfort a top priority. Our dentist will always use appropriate levels of anesthetic and wait for it to take effect before beginning. Our team communicates well and will be here to answer your questions. Together, we will design a solution that addresses each of your concerns.
We strive to provide efficient, effective, and successful dental extractions so that you can get on the road to recovery quickly.
Surgical extractions involve teeth that have not fully erupted from the gums. This often occurs when there is not enough space for the tooth or it is growing in at an angle. This condition, known as impaction, often causes pain and jaw discomfort. Removing your tooth can dramatically improve your comfort and protect your remaining teeth.
Simple extractions involve teeth that have erupted fully from the gums. In the case of simple extractions, we can see the crown of the tooth before we begin. They usually do not require stitches during the healing process.
Caring for your surgical site is important:
- Gently clean the area.
- Avoid smoking cigarettes or drinking through a straw.
- Avoid chewing on the area during the healing process.
- Follow aftercare instructions provided by your dentist.
Contact us to schedule an evaluation to get important answers regarding your oral health and smile.
We look forward to welcoming you to our dental practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
We are in the business of protecting teeth. When we recommend a dental extraction, it is only because no other option exists and we need to remove your tooth to relieve symptoms or to protect your oral health.
A dental extraction is not the end of the world, though it does create some concerns for our patients. We are here to help. While you may have some anxiety about you dental extraction, we always strive to provide gentle, comfortable treatment by using appropriate levels of anesthetic to make sure you don’t feel any pain.
Losing a tooth can cause concern about your smile and being able to eat the food you need to stay healthy and that you enjoy. We offer many tooth-replacement options to complete your smile. We will go over all of your options at your appointment and start an appropriate plan to have you feeling yourself again as quickly as possible.
Dental extractions are sometimes avoidable with preventive and restorative dentistry. If you notice something is wrong or if you feel any symptoms, including pain or swelling, contact us right away. Acting fast will often give us the opportunity to save your tooth.
Give us a call to schedule a dental appointment.
One of the priorities in our dental office is to provide comfortable, gentle dentistry for our patients. Dental extraction treatment is no different. Before we begin, we will discuss your history with dental care. If you have difficulty getting numb, let us know. We can take some extra time anesthetizing your tooth to make sure you have a comfortable experience. Gentle care is important to us and since each patient is different, we will discuss any concerns you may have before we even begin.
It is normal to have some discomfort and swelling following a dental extraction. Typically, this can be addressed with over-the-counter medication such as ibuprofen. We will talk to you about dosing recommendations and what to expect as you recover. Fortunately, the human mouth heals fairly quickly, as long as you avoid certain behaviors such as smoking and drinking through a straw following treatment.
You will likely feel dramatic improvement in a couple of days and will feel completely healed within a week or two. We will schedule a follow-up exam to monitor your healing and make sure that everything is on track. We will be here with you every step of the way.
We also offer a number of options for replacing missing teeth, if necessary. Contact us for an appointment and we will go over everything with you, so you feel comfortable with your dental treatment.
A dental extraction poses many questions regarding the future of your smile and your oral health. Unless you have a wisdom tooth extracted, we recommend replacing a missing tooth. This will prevent your teeth from shifting and causing additional problems with your oral health. When your teeth shift, it can expose roots and cause problems with your bite. When you replace a missing tooth, you prevent the shifting that occurs with tooth loss.
Additionally, replacing missing teeth makes it easier to chew and to smile confidently.
We offer a number of options to meet your needs:
Fixed dental bridge – We can replace a missing tooth with an artificial tooth anchored by two dental crowns. We will match your dental bridge to your existing teeth for an esthetic result.
Partial denture – If you are missing multiple teeth, we can replace multiple teeth at once with a partial denture. Partial dentures come in either a metal base or a lightweight acrylic base. We will discuss which option will work best for you.
Complete denture – If you are facing dental extractions of all of your teeth on your upper or lower arch, a complete denture will replace all of your teeth at once. Our dentures are highly esthetic and fit comfortably.
While our dentists can diagnose many conditions with a visual exam, we cannot always see what is happening beneath your protective tooth enamel or below your gumline. Digital dental x-rays make this possible and allow us to make an earlier diagnosis, potentially saving you time and money and allowing us to treat conditions before they become critical – or painful.
By offering digital dental x-rays, we have significantly improved the safety of the care we provide. Digital dental x-rays emit up to 80 percent less radiation than traditional x-rays and give us instant access to high-resolution images for proper diagnosis of conditions such as bone loss, decay, and infection.
The cost of dental x-rays is low compared to complex restorative dentistry, making them a good investment in your oral health and the appearance of your smile. Without them, we would only have part of the story when it comes to your health, and the rest would be left to chance.
If you have questions about the necessity, safety, or process of digital dental x-rays, we encourage you to call or ask at your next appointment. We are dedicated to providing quality dentistry that supports a healthy, comfortable smile, and we look forward to hearing from you.
Meet Our Doctor:
Denver B. Eslinger DDS
Dr. Eslinger grew up in the Central Valley just 2 hours from Paso Robles in a small town called Dos Palos. After completing his undergrad at Pacific Union College and graduating with a BA in Spanish, Dr. Eslinger took some time off to travel before starting dental school at Loma Linda University. During his time at LLU he had the opportunity on several occasions to do mission work and practice dentistry in Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru along with some of his fellow classmates.
For the last several years, Dr. Eslinger has ...