How Do We Extract A Tooth?

Your Dallas, TX, dentist strives to help our patients enjoy optimal oral health, preserving natural teeth and preventing serious concerns from even developing. But what if a tooth does need to be removed? If we need to perform an extraction to improve smile health, we always take steps to ensure the procedure is quick, comfortable, and successful. Let’s look at how we extract a tooth!

Why Do We Need a Tooth Removed?

We may need to extract a tooth that suffers from severe infection, one that has essentially killed a tooth and threatens to spread to surrounding ones or move into the jawbone itself. We also recommend removal should a tooth suffer severe damage or become loose due to gum disease. If you have severe misalignment, in some cases taking a tooth out makes room to properly reposition the others and improve smile function and beauty. However, the most common reason is to prevent the complications of wisdom tooth eruption. For people in their late teens and early 20s, up to four additional teeth could erupt. When this happens misalignment, painful partial eruption, infection, and damaged teeth could develop as a result. By removing them prior to eruption, we prevent these issues from occurring and harming your oral health!

Ensuring You Remain Comfortable

We have the experience and skills to perform these procedures quickly and send you on your way. Prior to the procedure, we will administer a local anesthetic around the extraction site, and also offer dental sedation, such as nitrous oxide or oral sedation. The patient enters a calm and relaxed state, with little to no memory of the procedure afterward. This is very helpful for people suffering from dental anxiety, which could make undergoing even minor procedures a difficult prospect. If you have anxiety, but need treatment, be sure to let us know. We can sit down with to discuss treatment options and sedation benefits.

The Extraction Process and Recovery

For wisdom teeth, we open the gums above them to gain access to the tooth. For others, we simply remove them gently with forceps. We then suture the extraction site and a friend or family member can take you home, as the effects of the sedation will take time to wear off. For the first day or two, avoid strenuous activity and be sure not to prod the extraction site with your tongue. The first day you should eat only soft foods and take special care when brushing and flossing. During a follow-up visit, we will monitor the healing process and remove your sutures.

Do You Have Questions About Oral Surgery?

We would like to help you enjoy optimal oral health and avoid the onset of serious concerns. For more information on oral surgery and restorative dental care, schedule an appointment by calling Gentle Smiles in Dallas, TX, today at 972-329-7645 (972-329-SMILE).