Tooth Extraction

What is a tooth extraction?

A tooth extraction is the removal of a tooth from your mouth. It’s usually better for the health of your smile to keep as much of its natural structure intact as possible, but there are some situations where a tooth can cause more problems than it’s worth. In those situations, Dr. Gottam might recommend extracting it from your smile for the sake of your oral health.

Why would I need a tooth extraction?

The most common reason people need a tooth extraction is to remove a wisdom tooth. Wisdom teeth are your third set of molars that typically emerge in late teens or early adulthood.

Wisdom teeth were essential for our early ancestors, who needed the extra chewing surface to chew uncooked meat in their diets properly. Modern cooking technology has made our third molars mostly unnecessary.

Many people don’t have enough room in the mouth for their wisdom teeth, leaving them to become impacted or stuck in their gums or jawbone. Impacted wisdom teeth can cause a variety of oral health problems, including crowding to infection, so it’s usually best for Dr. Gottam to extract them.

Dr. Gottam might also recommend extraction a tooth in the following cases:

• Severe fracture or fractured tooth root
• Malpositioned teeth
• Orthodontic correction
• Infection or abscess that hasn’t responded to root canal therapy
• Advanced periodontal disease
• Severe decay

Whatever the cause, Dr. Gottam only extracts a tooth if doing so will make your smile healthier.

What happens during a tooth extraction?

First, Dr. Gottam takes an X-ray of your smile to get a better sense of the shape and position of the tooth and its surrounding bone. Next, she numbs your tooth and the surrounding tissue with a local anesthetic and, if you request it, administers IV sedation to keep you more calm and relaxed during the procedure.

Once you’re anesthetized and sedated, Dr. Gottam uses a unique tool to loosen your tooth from its socket. When it’s sufficiently loose, she removes it entirely and gives you a piece of gauze on which to bite down. The gauze helps to stop any bleeding after the procedure. In some cases, she might use sutures to close the hole.

Does a tooth extraction hurt?

Dr. Gottam uses a local anesthetic so that you don’t feel anything during the  extraction, but you might experience some pain after the procedure. You can ease any discomfort by taking pain medication and applying ice packs to your face for 15 minutes at a time. You should feel back to normal sometime between three days and two weeks following your extraction.

If you have a tooth that needs to be extracted, don’t delay. Schedule your visit with NRH Family Dentistry today by calling the office or booking online.