Why Do Teeth Extractions Become Necessary?
When a tooth is affected by severe decay, infection of its pulp, advanced gum disease or injury, tooth removal may become unavoidable. Dental extraction is also necessary if you have an oral infection plus a deficient immune system or the need for an organ transplant. You may even need a healthy tooth pulled if it is crowding your other teeth. After you lose a tooth, the Burns Family Dentistry can help you restore your smile with dentures, dental bridges or implants.

Getting a Tooth Pulled: What Happens?
The following steps occur during a simple dental extraction:

• Before the extraction, your dentist will numb the area using a local anesthetic. Because you are awake during the procedure you may experience pressure during the extraction procedure, but discomfort is minimized because of the numbing.
• To loosen the tooth from its socket and break the fibers holding it in place, we will use a tool called an elevator.
• Once loosened, the tooth can easily be lifted and removed with forceps.
• Some bleeding can be expected. Your dentist will pack the tooth’s empty socket with gauze and tell you to bite down on it

When Is Oral Surgery Required for a Tooth Extraction?
You may be referred to an oral surgeon if you have an impacted wisdom tooth or a tooth that would be difficult to remove using a simple extraction method. Because surgical extractions are performed while you are under general anesthesia, you’ll be unconscious during the procedure.

Understanding the Tooth Extraction Healing Timeline
After dental extraction surgery, healing will occur in stages. Post-surgical swelling and discomfort will go away over the course of a few days. Tooth extraction pain is generally mild unless the blood clot in your tooth socket is accidentally dislodged, and you develop a condition called dry socket, which may cause pain to recur. Dry sockets can be treated with a special dressing that encourages a new clot to form. Healing occurs in stages, with the bulk of the changes taking place in the first few weeks as the gum tissue heals over the extraction site. The bone then remodels over the course of the next few months to fill in the empty space left by your tooth.

Dental Extraction Aftercare Recommendations
The following aftercare recommendations apply to most simple extractions. Care guidelines for surgical extractions and full mouth extractions may differ.  The dentists at Burns Family Dentistry will go through these guidelines with you and will be happy to answer any questions you may have about post extraction care. Our recommendations:

• Don’t smoke.
• For the first 24 hours, don’t drink through a straw as this can cause the blood clot to dislodge
• Follow your dentist’s dietary recommendations
• If swelling occurs, apply ice and contact your dentist
• Don’t forcefully spit or rinse
• Don’t exercise vigorously

Contact The Burns Family Dentistry At (847) 291-0888