Tooth Extraction & Space Maintainers in Corona, CA

At All Smiles Kids, we do everything possible to keep baby teeth intact for as long as possible. However, there are times when the best solution is to remove a tooth for your child’s overall oral health.

You can rest assured that if we think baby tooth extraction is necessary we will use x-rays to show you why we recommend removing the tooth and explain how it will benefit your child’s oral health.

Reasons We Recommend Baby Tooth Extraction

Some cases where our Corona pediatric dentist would recommend baby tooth extraction are:

Tooth Decay

Baby teeth are prone to decay because they have a thinner layer of enamel than adult teeth. If decay in a baby tooth is left untreated, your child is also at risk for other, more serious oral health problems. When a baby tooth is infected or decayed, bacteria can spread to other teeth and even affect adult teeth that haven’t yet emerged. 

Dental Trauma or Injury to the Tooth

Childhood accidents are common, and kids can easily suffer dental trauma as a result. Our dentists may be able to save the tooth with a baby root canal or by protecting it with a dental crown, depending on how damaged the tooth is. 

However, in many cases, we need to remove the tooth and replace it with a space maintainer until the adult tooth comes in.

Preparing for Orthodontic Treatment

Baby teeth come in at a specific age and sequence. Baby teeth that don’t erupt when they should lead to more complex orthodontic issues. If your child is due to start orthodontic treatment but still has baby teeth that have not erupted, our orthodontist may recommend removing them. The extra space provided by extracting the tooth allows permanent teeth to move and emerge correctly.

Impacted Wisdom Teeth

Third molars or wisdom teeth are problematic because there’s often insufficient space in the mouth for them to erupt correctly. This causes them to get stuck in the gums (impacted), and we often recommend removing the tooth to minimize the risk of disease or jaw misalignment.

Our pediatric dentist takes the following steps when removing a baby tooth:

Step 1: Take a Tooth X-Ray 

Our dentists need to see an x-ray of your child’s tooth and mouth to understand what they are dealing with and prepare for any possible complications.

Step 2: Administer Local Anesthesia & Sedation

Performing an extraction on a baby tooth is done under local anesthesia to numb the area of the mouth we’re treating. The effects of the anesthesia last long enough to keep your child comfortable during the procedure and dissipate a few hours later.

In most cases, we recommend sedation dentistry to keep your child comfortable and allow our dentist to work most efficiently. We offer light sedation with nitrous oxide or IV sedation provided by an anesthesiologist at our Corona dental office.

Step 3: Remove the Tooth

When we’re sure your child’s mouth is numb, our dentists use small instruments to carefully remove the tooth and ensure there’s no damage to the bone around the tooth. After Dr. Nguyen removes the tooth, he will place sterile gauze on the extraction site and apply pressure for 20 minutes. 

Step 4: Add a Space Maintainer

When we remove baby teeth, our orthodontist will often recommend a device called a space maintainer placed in the gap left by the lost baby tooth. The space maintainer helps prevent neighboring teeth from drifting into the open space and permits the adult tooth to move and emerge properly.

If you have a question about tooth extractions or space maintainers, please call our Corona, CA pediatric dental office to schedule an appointment. We look forward to helping your child or teen achieve excellent oral health!