Bernstein Dental Care: Blog

Your wisdom teeth are the final set of molars that emerge. When they emerge, they will either come in naturally or crowd your gums. If your wisdom teeth protrude your gums, they need to be extracted at your local dentist. At Bernstein Dental Care, we can tell you if your wisdom teeth need to be removed through routine x-rays. In most cases, wisdom teeth will grow in on an angle which can cause crowding for your teeth and possible damage to your jawbone or nerves. Wisdom teeth that develop that only partially impact your gums increases the chance for bacteria to build which leads to more cavities and gum disease. If your wisdom teeth are causing you pain or there appears to be an infection, please give us a call. We can schedule your appointment for x-rays and have your wisdom teeth removed in no time. The sooner you remove your wisdom teeth, the less shifting the rest of your mouth will do. Dr. Paul Bernstein runs Bernstein Dental Care at 350 91 st  St, Suite 1C, Brooklyn, New York, 11...

At Bernstein Dental Care in Bay Ridge, we’ve saved many peoples’ teeth over the years. However, there are times when extractions are the more practical approach, and to help patients to understand their options, we wanted to explain why that might be. The most common reason for extractions is overcrowding. The wisdom teeth, the molars furthest in back, are large and do not usually erupt until the patient is in their late teens. This is a problem because major orthodontic correction works best in children and young teenagers but wisdom teeth threaten to undo orthodontic work while getting stuck and creating a trap for bacteria. The upper canine teeth and incisors next to them can also get stuck, and while orthodontic work is used to guide them into position in teenagers, this may not be possible for adults or doable within a particular timeframe. Teeth may also need to be extracted in cases of infection. While root canals remove infected pulp, an infection may return if the tooth had hi...

When it comes to extractions, Bernstein Dental Care is quick and painless. Although we do everything we can to save a patient’s teeth, when removal is necessary, we want to make sure they are prepared for their replacements as soon as possible. Sparing a patient from discomfort and possible complications sometimes requires a tooth to be sectioned. We discussed in an earlier blog post how the molars have strong ligaments and multiple roots anchoring them in place. This is good if they are well-positioned, but if they’re stuck and need to be taken out, it can be a problem. Attempting to yank a molar out all at once could cause it to break or the patient to be subjected to a dangerous amount of force. As an alternative, we can use a drill to cut a molar into smaller pieces. The patient is kept numb for this and feels nothing, but once the molar is split up, each part can be removed separately. This eliminates the need to twist the tooth around while trying to find the perfect way in which...

We do everything we can at Bernstein Dental Care to save our patients’ teeth, but when they have to be extracted, we do it efficiently and with maximum care for the patient’s comfort. While not done lightly, extractions are a routine procedure and very rarely lead to complications. When something does go wrong, it’s usually a dry socket, which we endeavor to educate patients on how to prevent. After a tooth is pulled, a bit of blood will pool in the empty socket. This blood will ideally form a clot, which will protect the socket from dryness and infection while it closes. However, there are some medications which prevent blood from clotting, which is why it’s very important for patients to share their medication history with us. A successful clot could still be dislodged by suction, which is why patients shouldn’t suck on straws after surgery. If they are in severe pain more than two days after the extraction, they should come see us for painkillers, antibiotics, and moisturizing medic...