Tooth extraction is the removal of a tooth from its socket in the bone.
What It's Used For
If your tooth is damaged it may be fixed using a filling, crown or other treatment. At times it may be necessary to have a tooth removed, often called a dental extraction. Common reasons for this include:
- Baby teeth that don’t fall out in time to let the permanent teeth grow in.
- Teeth that block other teeth from coming in.
- Removal of teeth to make room for proper alignment of remaining teeth.
- People receiving radiation to the head and neck may need to have teeth in the field of radiation extracted.
- Wisdom teeth.
- Misaligned or non-functioning teeth
- Tooth trauma or damage
If you expect to have treatment with intravenous drugs called bisphosphonates for a medical condition, be sure to see your dentist first. If any teeth need to be extracted, this should be done before your drug treatment begins. Having a tooth extraction after bisphosphonate treatment increases the risk of osteonecrosis (death of bone) in the jaw.
Preparation
Before your dental extraction at our office your dentist will give you an injection of local anesthetic to numb the area where the tooth will be removed from. If it is a simple extraction the tooth is visible above the gum line. The tooth is loosened with an instrument called an elevator. Forceps are instruments that are used to remove the tooth. A complex tooth extraction involves a tooth that is not visible above the gum line. This can be due to a tooth being broken off or has not grown in yet. A small incision is made to expose the tooth. It may be necessary to remove some of the bone around the tooth. The tooth may be removed in 1 or more pieces.
During a dental extraction you may feel pressure but not pain. Afterwards you may have discomfort. The amount depends on how difficult it was to remove the tooth. Recovery may take a couple days. The following are ways to help speed recovery and reduce the risk of infection:
- Take pain medications as prescribed
- Bite firmly on a gauze pad
- Apply an ice pack to the area of the face where the tooth was removed for 15minutes at a time.
- Do not smoke, it can slow healing
- Eat soft foods like pudding, soup and yogurt
- Brush and floss you teeth. Be sure to avoid the area where the tooth was extracted
Be sure to call us at Cedar Springs Dental if you notice that the swelling gets worse, have trouble swallowing, have uncontrolled bleeding, have fever or chills, if the area continues to bleed after the first 24 hours or your lip/chin/tongue feel numb for more than 4 hours after the dental extraction.