Replacing a Missing Tooth is Accomplished in Phases

Patients are understandably a bit nervous about the prospect of having teeth extracted, and there are several things I do as a dentist to help them remain comfortable throughout the entire procedure. All of us here in the practice have the patient’s comfort as our highest priority, so we offer words of comfort in addition to the actual anesthetic and post-surgical protocols.

Bearing in mind that it is always a goal to save the tooth and not extract it unless it cannot be saved and restored to health, I tell patients that extractions are required for three extreme reasons. One is periodontal disease, where the tooth is very loose in the gums and causing pain every time the patient bites on it. Another reason for an extraction would be that the tooth is cracked and the resulting cavity is below the gum line. A third reason for extraction is removing wisdom teeth that are not growing properly—in which case we refer the patient to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

Sometimes when we take out a tooth we must prepare the surgical site before placing an implant in the removed tooth’s space, which requires bone grafting. This situation would occur, unfortunately, due to infection and periodontal disease. When these conditions are present they lead to bone loss and instability—so there is not enough bone quality to accept the implant at the time the tooth is removed.

The treatment consists of removing the tooth, then cleaning the site completely of all infectious material, and then creating a foundation for a future implant by adding bone growth material. This is bone grafting, and the result is that your own bone grows into the area in which we deposited bone growth material. Today’s dentistry is really quite remarkable in terms of materials available to meet our patient’s needs very well.

New Patients Welcome!

-Dr. Alexander Lezhansky Office in Manhattan and Brooklyn