Tooth Extractions

Tooth_ExtractionIn most cases, decay can damage your teeth or break them. When the damage is not severe, your dentist might recommend filling, crowning, or any other dental treatment procedures. But when the damage is irreparable, your dentist might recommend an extraction.

Extractions of teeth are also known as exodontia or exodontics. Tooth extraction is the ejection of a tooth from the dental alveolus in the alveolar bone. Extractions for teeth are merely a standard procedure. Tooth extraction is performed for various reasons but most commonly performed when your tooth has become unrestorable from decay, dental trauma, or periodontal disease. Extraction of the tooth also takes place when associated with a toothache or if an orthodontist recommends extraction to create space while the patient is in orthodontics.

Reasons Leading to Extraction of Teeth

There are various reasons you might need to have a tooth removed. The most common cause is when your teeth are in bad shape from trauma, decay, or periodontal disease. Below are other reasons why you could go for tooth extraction.

  • Infection. When damage or tooth decay extends to the pulp, the part of the tooth that contains blood vessels and nerves, the bacteria can lead to a series of infections. Through root canal therapy (RCT), the damage is reversible. However, if the condition is too severe, that antibiotic or RCT cannot reverse, extraction may be the only alternative that might help stop the infection’s spread.
  • Risk of Infection. When your immune system is in danger, your teeth may be at risk of infection. Another risk of infection is when periodontal or gum disease, have caused loosening of the teeth, it is necessary to consider extraction.

Procedure

A dentist or an oral surgeon can perform a tooth extraction. Initially, your dentist will inject you with a local anesthetic to numb your nerves during the process. The drug will help keep the pain away for a while during the surgery. The anesthetic will numb the area as he extracts the tooth.

If your tooth is broken into pieces, your gum and bone tissue covering the tooth must be cut. Forceps help grasp the tooth gently while rocking it back and forth. This procedure helps loosen the teeth from the jawbone and ligaments that hold it in its place.

Eventually, the tooth will be pulled out, leaving a blood clot in the socket. To help stop the bleeding, your surgeon will pack a gauze pad over the extraction site and ask you to bite it down on it. In other cases, the dentist will place a few stitches, which are self-dissolvent to seal the gum edges over the extraction site. In rare cases, the blood clot breaks up, exposing the bone socket. This painful condition is also known as dry socket. When this happens, a sedative will be placed over the socked for a few days to shield it as a new clot form.

Update Your Dentist About Your Health Condition

Extractions are a very safe procedure. Ensure that your dentist is aware of your full medical conditions and history, the medications and supplements you take, as well as any allergies.

What You Need to Do After Extraction

After an extraction, through the healing process, the chances of bleeding are reduced in the first 24 hours. Epithelial cells cover the blood clot, which generates from the gingival mucosa in the socket margins for about ten days to cover the defect fully. During the recovery period, the following may help reduce the discomfort, risk of infection, and quick recovery.

  • Take any medication prescribed to you by your doctor.
  • Apply an ice pack immediately after the removal to cool down the swelling, 10 minutes at a time within the first 24 hours.
  • Bite firmly on the gauze pad to allow the initial blood clot to form. Before the gauze becomes soaked in blood, make sure you change the gauze pad.
  • Eat soft meals to avoid pressure on the extraction site.
  • Rest for at least 24 hours.
  • Avoid intense activities.
  • Brush and floss your teeth but avoid the point of extraction.