Everything That You Need to Know About Tooth Extractions

Everything That You Need to Know About Tooth Extractions

July 1, 2019

Tooth extraction is a dental procedure, which is required when your tooth gets severely injured, decayed, or damaged and there is no scope of repairing or restoring it. Though dentistry tries to save your natural tooth till the time it is possible, sometimes, the damage is beyond repair and extraction is the only option explains the dentist in Elmhurst.

What Are the Reasons That People Have Teeth Extracted?

  • Overcrowding can make it imperative to get one or more tooth extracted to create space for the rest of the teeth to grow properly. During the orthodontic work, a tooth may need to get removed so that the rest of the teeth can be straightened.
  • When the damage or decay is beyond repair the dentist needs to replace the tooth with an implant, bridge, or other device.
  • If the tooth gets chipped or broken to the point where repairing is not possible, extraction is needed.
  • If a wisdom tooth gets impacted, it’s better to extract it than suffer.

Types of Tooth Extractions

  • Simple Extraction

    • The procedure is used when the tooth is visible within the mouth. The procedure is quick and you can leave the dental office immediately after extraction when the bleeding stops. Only dental forceps are required for extraction.

  • Surgical Extraction

    • The procedure is required when the tooth is not visible, such as an impacted tooth. The dentist administers a general anesthetic to ensure a pain free procedure.

Pain Management Options

  • The dentist may prescribe OTC pain medications.
  • You must avoid chewing hard foods near the site of the extraction.
  • Rinse your mouth with a teaspoon of salt dissolved in lukewarm water.
  • Begin to brush and floss your mouth normally after 24 hours of the procedure.
  • In case of severe bleeding or pain, call the dentist and see him immediately.

Healing/Aftercare

When you are recovering, don’t remove the blood clot from the infected area as the blood clot is how the gums heal themselves from where the tooth was. Clean the site of extraction several times a day and avoid chewing from that side for a faster recovery.