Biological Extractions

A tooth extraction is the complete removal of a primary or a permanent tooth. An extraction can be surgical or non-surgical, depending on the difficulty of the extraction, whether or not the tooth is impacted or erupted, and whether it has straight or curved roots. At our office we use advanced surgical techniques and products, in order to create the most successful outcome and allow a future implant or prosthetic the greatest chance for success.

Biological Extractions

A tooth extraction is the complete removal of a primary or a permanent tooth. An extraction can be surgical or non-surgical, depending on the difficulty of the extraction, whether or not the tooth is impacted or erupted, and whether it has straight or curved roots. At our office, we use advanced surgical techniques and products in order to create the most successful outcome and allow a future implant or prosthetic the greatest chance for success.

Typical reasons for a tooth extraction are:

A root-canaled tooth that has a chronic infection in the surrounding bone.
Advanced periodontal disease.
An abscessed tooth that cannot be saved.
A tooth with deep decay that causes the nerve to become irreversibly inflamed.
A tooth that has broken at the gum line and cannot be restored.
Impacted tooth (typically a “Wisdom Tooth”).

Root-Canaled Tooth Causing Infection In The Jaw-Bone.

After the tooth has been extracted, it is important that every effort be made to thoroughly clean the bony extraction socket using hand and rotary curettage. Our dentists use laser technology, and this process helps ensure proper healing of the extraction socket and prevention of cavitation. Cavitations (also called osteonecrosis) are areas of infected jawbone and have been linked to chronic pain in the extraction area as well as underlying health issues. Ozone water is then irrigated into the socket and ozone gas is injected into the surrounding tissues. A bone graft as well as PRF (platelet-rich fibrin) are placed into the tooth socket, to aid in bone regeneration. A membrane is placed over the surgical site, in order to guide the healing and regeneration matrix of the jawbone. This guided open-wound healing technique creates a protected space where the body can build new bone and tissue, preserving the ridge for a future dental implant or prosthetic. Additionally, patients are given the option of purchasing a homeopathic remedy (“Dental Pain”) by DesBio that is custom-made using our WaveFront-3000, to be taken post-operatively. All of this has been shown to help with the healing process as well as minimize discomfort once the anesthetic has worn off.

After an extraction is performed, our dentists will discuss the replacement of the missing tooth or teeth. If the space is left open, shifting of the remaining teeth could occur which can cause bite changes. An extracted tooth may be replaced by a temporary or permanent bridge, an implant, or by a partial or complete denture. Anyone undergoing a tooth extraction can benefit from seeing Alex for acupuncture afterward, as this therapy can greatly reduce pain and help the body reconnect disrupted pathways.

PRF (Platelet-Rich Fibrin)

At Natural Smiles, we offer PRF to help with proper healing after an oral surgery procedure. Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is a platelet concentrate prepared from a collection of the patient’s own blood, through a standard blood draw from the arm. About 2-6 small vials of blood are collected and then put through a centrifuge, which creates a natural fibrin-based biomaterial prepared without anticoagulants or artificial additives. This PRF is easy to prepare, non-toxic, and very biocompatible. The fibrin is a reservoir of platelets and white blood cells that will slowly release growth factors at the surgical site for 7-14 days, and accelerate the natural healing process. These are the key factors for regeneration of the bone and maturation of the soft tissue.