Screengrab of the viral video showing arrest of the French dentists

Written by Kashish Sharma | Published : September 15, 2022 9:34 PM IST

Two French dentists, father and son, have been booked and arrested for needlessly pulling out healthy teeth of low-income residents, in Marseille. They have been accused of fitting expensive bridges to make more money out of the patients. The father-son duo were reportedly charging a hefty fee for minor dental concerns like cavities, loose crowns and other conditions. While the situation may sound rare, this malpractice is not uncommon. Hence, it becomes important for us to know under what conditions we might need to get a tooth extraction done.

While the first instinct of any dental practitioner is to save the natural tooth, sometimes it may be too late to save a tooth by filling or by any other mode of treatment and, in such cases, tooth extraction will turn up as the last option.

Tooth extraction is a common dental procedure during which your tooth is completely removed from its socket. It is often called 'pulling' a tooth. The procedure is usually performed in the cases of severe tooth decay, a fractured tooth, crowded teeth, severe gum disease or dental injury. Also Read Poor Dental Hygiene: Here's How Bad Teeth Affects Your HealthNot Your Lifestyle Habits But Your Genes Can Be Responsible For Bad Oral HealthToothache, bad breath or teeth decay? Blame it on your genes More News

When the damage to your tooth is absolute and no treatment can save it, then your attending dentist might recommend you to go for a tooth removal. Here are a few situations that may require you to go for it:

You have a decayed tooth that couldn't be saved by a root canal

You have a root canal infection or severe gum disease that can spread to other parts.

Your teeth are overcrowded and can disalign the jaw causing severe pain

Your wisdom tooth is still inside the gum, resulting in inflammation and infection.

You have a tooth that is badly cracked, broken or injured

You might have a history of dental procedures on a tooth

When you develop a serious tooth infection, there are two treatment options available to you, a root canal or tooth extraction. Most dental professionals agree that a root canal is better for your overall dental health. Although tooth extraction may seem a simple and easy way to get rid of the infection, it can lead to complications in the long run.

A root canal is an inside part of the tooth that holds the nerve tissue, blood vessels, and other tissues called the pulp. Root canal therapy aims at repairing a tooth without actually pulling it out. The procedure makes use of three steps -

the dentist removes everything that is inside the root canal including the infected pulp tissue. The part is then cleaned and disinfected to remove any signs of bacteria

the dentist will then fill up the hollow canal with a rubber-like material. The procedure is commonly called 'filling'

Without pulp, the tooth becomes more fragile, so your health expert may cover it with an extra shield called a crown. The structure is more or less like a protective cap.

It might be interesting to know, that once the root canal therapy is done, your tooth is dead and you might feel no pain as the nerve tissue has been pulled out.

While getting an infected tooth removed seems to be a convenient option, one must not mindlessly get it done if other alternatives are available. The procedure involves some risks and one must know a couple of them-

Artificial can never be any better than natural, so the reason is enough to save your tooth

When a tooth is missing, the tooth next to it may shift places to fill the empty spot. This might lead to crooked teeth or a bad bite. If it gets complicated, it can result in the development of problems in the temporo-mandibular joint, causing difficulty in chewing and movement.

If the gums are not healthy, the chances of post-operative bleeding are very high

Sometimes, tooth extraction can cause post-operative infections.

As per some reports, there have been cases of malpractice among dentists who have opted for tooth removal as an easy alternative to the complex procedure of root canal therapy.

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