If you think you need a tooth extraction, contact our Chapel Hill, NC dental office for a consultation with Dr. Furgurson or Dr. White. Your Chapel Hill dentist will evaluate your oral health condition and make recommendations for a full treatment plan.

Root Canal vs. Tooth Extraction

When you have tooth pain, it may seem like the best treatment is to have the tooth pulled. In most cases, however, we will support the decision to preserve the natural tooth. For teeth with decay, this can be accomplished with root canal treatment, cracked or broken teeth can often be restored with a dental crown or tooth bonding.

There are situations, however, where a tooth extraction is the best choice. In these cases, your dentist will design a treatment plan to remove the tooth and, if necessary, replace it either with a dental implant, dental bridge or denture. It is important to replace missing teeth quickly to prevent supporting bone from deteriorating and remaining teeth from shifting.

For your complete comfort, we offer dental sedation. Your dentist will discuss your concerns and needs before recommending the most suitable sedation to be used during your procedure. Depending on the type of sedation being used, you may need to arrange transportation to and from your dental appointment.

Wisdom Tooth Removal

As family dentists, we will monitor the development of your child’s wisdom teeth. These typically begin to erupt in the late teens and early twenties, but can be seen on dental x-rays beforehand. For most patients, wisdom teeth removal is recommended to support optimal long term dental health.

Depending on the condition and position of the wisdom teeth, Dr. Furgurson or Dr. White may perform the wisdom tooth extraction in the comfort of our Chapel Hill dentist office. For more complex cases, we may elect to refer you to a local oral surgeon for treatment. Contact our office at 919.213.9767 or schedule an appointment online.

Tooth extraction can be a relatively simple procedure when the teeth are partially or fully erupted and there is no impact on adjacent teeth. In these situations, patients can be made comfortable with a local anesthetic while your dentist removes the teeth.

If wisdom teeth are impacted in the jaw bone and putting pressure on neighboring teeth, a surgical procedure is necessary to remove the teeth and stabilize the soft tissue. Small sutures may be placed to enable healing. This type of removal may have a lengthier recovery due to impacted bone and soft tissues.

Whenever a tooth extraction is performed, our staff will provide detailed instructions for at home care to ensure your recover as quickly as possible. A soft diet may be recommended for a specific period of time to reduce the incidence of complications or infection.