How does dental extraction work?

February 16, 2009 by  
Filed under Dental Care, Tooth

Extracting a tooth is the easiest way to get relief from a painful tooth. In case your dentist feels there is no possibility of saving your tooth, then extraction would be the last resort. Depending on the gravity of the problem, and the extent of infection, your dentist would decide the course of extraction, be it simple or a complicated one.

How does simple extraction work?

These are the commonest of extractions resorted to by most of the dentists worldwide. In this type of extraction, the dentist would loosen the gums around the tooth and just pull it out with forceps. He would need to loosen the tooth by moving it from side to side. This way the ligament is loosened and the tooth comes out without much of a botheration.

This type of tooth pulling does not take much time. The dentist would inject anesthesia around the area of the tooth which needs to be extracted. You would experience a lack of sensation in that area and within minutes the job is done. Once the process is through, the dentist would place disinfectant gauze, you would need to hold it place on the extracted area and then you are free to go.

How does a complex extraction work?

It is not always possible to just pull out a tooth when it is damaged, broken or fractured. The dentist would first have to ascertain the extent of damage. In case the tooth is totally infected or broken or there is absolutely no place for the dentist to hold the forceps to extract the tooth, he needs to go in for a complex extraction. The dentist would have to pull out the tooth which has gone much below the gum line. He would have to first make an incision around the infected tooth, so that the tooth bone is exposed. Once he is able to grab the tooth with the help of forceps, he can just pull it out. Sometimes, it could also so happen that the tooth is fixed and deep rooted in the bone.

This type of extraction is common among individuals who have impacted teeth or who suffer from severe decayed tooth. The decay has entered the bone. Once the dentist is through with the cutting of the tooth, he has to sew the flap back. Antibiotics are effective I healing both the flap of the skin and the socket. One also needs to keep that portion clean as advised by the dentist.

Dental extractions are common incidences nowadays. But it is advised that one goes in for an oral surgeon to tackle these problems, since it is their field of expertise. Time is the greatest healer. But with enough care and oral hygiene, you would feel much better.