Basic tooth extraction is a very safe procedure that may be necessary for any number of reasons. Most commonly, a tooth is too badly damaged or decayed to be effectively repaired, and should be extracted to preserve the health of the rest of your mouth. Other times, severe tooth decay may reach the pulp of your tooth, causing an infection. If the infection is too severe to be treated with antibiotics or root canal therapy, the tooth must be removed to stop the infection from spreading. Teeth may also be removed if their size or position is abnormal to the point that they would greatly obstruct necessary orthodontic procedures.

If you need to have a tooth extracted, such a procedure will typically go as follows:

In a few cases, wisdom teeth will come in healthy, correctly positioned, and functional, and in these cases, it may not be necessary to remove them. Very often, however, wisdom teeth do not have adequate room to erupt, and can cause very serious problems, the risk of which greatly outweighs the negligible benefit of keeping them.

Wisdom teeth can impact with your other teeth, damaging them and pushing them out of alignment. Unhealthy wisdom teeth may inflame the tissue of your gums, resulting in swelling, and even pockets between your teeth where bacteria colonies can grow. It’s even possible for cysts to form around the new teeth, causing lasting nerve damage if left untreated.