Dr. Joseph C. McMurray is offering this educational blog to his patients and the community. Our hope at South Valley Oral and Facial Surgery is that our blog will talk about the topics that you and your family may be interested in.
Why Would We Need to Section a Tooth Prior to Extraction?
Posted on 11/20/2019 by Dr McMurray
Tooth extraction is one of the most common practices in the dental world. Teeth can be extracted for a variety of reasons. Some are often extracted because of advanced periodontal disease; severe decay or when they have been broken in a way that's beyond repair. Others can be eliminated for simply being positioned in a way that's not ideal, or in preparation for Dentofacial Orthopedics. Either way, when we agree that a tooth should be extracted, it's simply so that the rest of the teeth and mouth in general can be better off. During the extraction of said teeth, some teeth are usually so firmly anchored to the gums and jaws so much so that we need to utilize a special technique called sectioning before the extraction can be done. Sectioning a Tooth Also known as controlled tooth division, this procedure is crucial in lowering extraction difficulty, especially for deeply rooted teeth such as the wisdom teeth. In cases where teeth are firmly entrenched to the jawbone and gums, it's not wise to extract the entire tooth as a whole. In such instances, the tooth socket cannot expand enough to remove it and therefore the tooth needs to be cut into various sections so that each can be removed one at a time. This way, the tooth can be successfully extracted while avoiding any complications that would have occurred if it was forced out. Benefits of Sectioning Tooth sectioning is crucial because it makes the tooth come out without placing too much strain on the tooth. As such, it's less likely that the jaw joint will be irritated, and also it will lessen the possibility of a root fracture which can be quite complicated to solve itself. What's more, sectioning the tooth will make multi-rooted teeth easier to deal with. When the tooth has been sectioned, each root can be identified and curved off individually. Since this process can be a bit technical and take some time, you must know the ups and downs of the procedure. If you have any questions, feel free to make an appointment with us and we'll make sure every question is well answered.... Read more...
