Your teeth’s roots rest within a socket in your gums, which your dentist will widen and loosen gently before extracting it.
Your oral surgeon will likely administer local anesthesia to numb the area before beginning, as well as possible sedation or painkillers based on your specific needs and medical history.
Numbing
At the start of a simple extraction procedure, your dentist or oral surgeon will administer local anesthetic. Depending on the tooth involved, this could involve one or multiple injections.
Anesthesia injections typically produce a pins and needles sensation, though its intensity will depend on where the anesthetic was administered. Please inform us immediately of any pain or discomfort during this timeframe.
Once the area is numb, your dentist will begin extracting the tooth. They may need to break it into pieces first for easier extraction; additionally, any obstruction such as bone sequestra fragments that would normally dissolve during healing may require immediate removal if they become intractable or cause pain.
Once your tooth has been extracted, your dentist or oral surgeon will clean and pack its socket with blood-clotting material, prompting you to bite firmly on gauze for several minutes as part of a blood clotting technique.
Extracting the Tooth
Your dentist or oral surgeon will place a piece of gauze in your mouth and ask you to bite down with firm pressure in order to reduce bleeding and form a blood clot in the empty tooth socket, which promotes healing while decreasing dry socket risks.
In general, an extraction begins with an injection of local anesthetic. Next, they open the gum tissue to expose both tooth and root and use dental forceps to extract it. For an impacted tooth extraction procedure, dental elevator (also referred to as desmotome or pointed periosteal elevator) tools may need to be used first to break apart its root prior to extraction.
Once a tooth is extracted, your dentist or oral surgeon will close its socket with dissolvable stitches to help the site heal more quickly and reduce complications, such as dry socket. They may also offer instructions for post-extraction care that will aid healing while mitigating risks like dry socket.
Post-Extraction Care
After the anesthesia wears off, it’s normal to feel some discomfort. Over-the-counter pain medications should provide enough relief. We will provide you with a syringe filled with topical pain gel to apply at least six times each day at the extraction site for added pain reduction and faster healing.
Do not rinse or spit too forcefully as this could dislodge any blood clot that forms in your tooth socket. We advise using warm water mixed with salt as an effective rinsing solution.
Swelling following tooth extractions is normal and will peak 2-3 days post-procedure, however immediate use of ice packs (20 minutes on and 20 minutes off during awake time) in the first 24 hours may help to minimize this phenomenon.
Once the socket has healed, it may be beneficial to replace an extracted tooth with an implant, fixed bridge, or denture in order to avoid shifting and make chewing easier. Furthermore, follow-up appointments should be scheduled so any issues relating to your socket can be promptly addressed.
Pain Relief
Simple tooth extractions typically only require local anesthetic. But for surgical extractions, an oral surgeon will likely give sedation that ranges from mild sedation to general anesthesia and allows you to sleep through the procedure.
After extracting your tooth, they’ll usually break it into smaller sections for easier extraction and clean the site before placing stitches if necessary. They may also give you gauze to bite down on to help control bleeding and ensure a blood clot forms in its place.
Clot formation will begin within 24 hours. At this stage, it is vitally important not to brush at or otherwise disturb the site as this could dislodge and displace the clot leading to painful dry socket. Rest is key as well as only eating liquid or soft foods during this period.
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