Losing a tooth is a major milestone in the life of any child. While your child’s baby teeth should fall out naturally, there may come a time when your emergency dentist recommends a tooth extraction for your son or daughter. Whether you are getting ready for braces, or you are at the emergency dentist to treat an impacted tooth, there are many reasons why your dentist may recommend an extraction for your child. An office that provides dental care near Park Ridge can perform a tooth extraction using gentle and pain free techniques. Here are three reasons why kids may need tooth extractions.

Prepare for Braces

Tooth extractions may be required to prepare a child for braces. When a kid’s smile is overcrowded with teeth, it may not be possible to achieve proper alignment. Your dentist can assess whether your child’s teeth can be straightened without pulling a tooth, or whether additional space is required to achieve the best results from an orthodontic treatment. After the overcrowding has been solved through extraction, your child will be ready for braces.

Tooth Infection

A severely infected tooth may need to be extracted in order to protect the health of your child’s mouth. While some tooth infections can be resolved through root canal therapies, others may result in the tooth getting pulled. If your child is showing signs of an infected tooth, you will want to make an immediate trip to the emergency dentist. When the infection remains untreated, it could spread to other areas of the teeth and gums.

Impacted Tooth

Wisdom teeth are notorious for becoming impacted when they start to erupt in a child’s mouth. Thorough diagnostic X-rays and examinations, your dentist will be able to determine whether your child’s wisdom teeth are in danger of becoming impacted or infected. In order to prevent impaction, your dentist may recommend that your child have his or her wisdom teeth extracted before they have been allowed to fully develop.