No one wants to lose a tooth, but unfortunately, sometimes, extractions can be necessary for many reasons, including extensive decay, trauma, or for making space for other teeth in a crowded mouth. Your dentist will try to save your decayed or damaged teeth with fillings, crowns, or root canals, but some teeth that are so badly damaged cannot be saved, or saving them could compromise the health of other teeth. In such cases, a dental extraction is necessary.
Emergency Tooth Extraction can be performed for various health reasons that may include:
Tooth extractions can be of two types – simple extractions and surgical extractions:
A simple extraction is done on teeth that are visible in the mouth. A simple extraction can be performed by a general dentist after administering local anesthesia.
A surgical extraction is a process of removing a tooth that cannot easily be reached, either because it has not fully erupted or has broken off at the gum line.
After examining your affected teeth and determining your candidacy for extraction, we will numb your tooth, jaw bone, and gums surrounding the area by administering a local anesthetic. The tooth will then be pulled using special appliances devised to grip the tooth. But if the tooth to be extracted is impacted or broken, the dentist may make an incision into the gum to perform the extraction. The incision will be closed with sutures after the process.
After the tooth extraction process, you will be asked to bite on a gauze pad for 30-45 minutes immediately after tooth extraction to form a blood clot to stop the bleeding and begin the healing process. If the bleeding doesn’t stop, place another gauze pad and bite firmly for another 30 minutes.
After the formation of the blood clot, it is important not to disturb or dislodge the clot. Do not rinse vigorously, smoke, drink alcohol, suck on straws, or brush your teeth next to the extraction site for 72 hours, as these activities may hinder the healing process.
If you experience some pain and swelling after the extraction, an ice pack or an unopened bag of frozen peas or corn applied to the area will keep swelling to a minimum. Also, take the pain medications as prescribed by your dentist. Drink lots of fluids and eat soft, nutritious food on the day of the extraction.
If you experience severe tooth pain and require tooth removal, call us today or request an appointment online.