The most common reason for extraction is tooth damage due to breakage or decay.

There are additional reasons for tooth extraction:

Severe tooth decay or infection

Severe gum diseases

Teeth in the fracture line

In preparation for orthodontic treatment (braces)

Teeth of poor appearance

Extractions are categorized as simple or surgical:

Simple Extraction

It is performed on tooth that is visible in the mouth, usually under local anesthetic, and requires only the use of instrument to elevate and grasp the visible position of the teeth. Surgical Extraction It involves the removal of teeth that cannot be easily accessed, either because they have broken under the gum line or because they have not erupted fully. Surgical extractions almost always require an incision. In a surgical extraction, the specialist will elevate the soft tissues covering the tooth and bone and may also remove some of the overlying jawbone tissue with a drill. Frequently, the tooth may split into multiple pieces to facilitate its removal.

After extraction, patients should take a rest for a day, don’t exercise for 12-24 hours, it is normal for the area to be tender for the first few days, a gauze pad will be placed on the extraction area. Patients should try and keep firm pressure on it and change the gauze every 30-45 minutes depending on the amount of bleeding.

Warning: some patients are freaked out by the amount of blood. Relax – a small amount of blood is mixed with a larger amount of saliva, which can make it look a lot more dramatic it is! Some slight bleeding for the first day or so is normal. Patients should not rinse for the first 24 hours, after this initial period, patient can gently rinse with warm salt water. Patients should slick to a liquid or soft food diet for the first day or two. On the day of surgery, apply ice-pack for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the swelling will decrease.

Things not to do after Extractions:

Try not to smoke for as long as possible, smoking can affect the healing process, and also the sucking motion could dislodge the blood clot.

Avoid alcohol for 24 hours, as it could delay the healing process.

The healing process:

It usually takes gum tissue about 3-4 weeks to heal. The bone can take up to 6 months to heal completely. It varies from person to person and also depending upon how easy or difficult the tooth removal was. Patients may feel the sharp edge of the socket with tongue, little bit of bone may make their way to the surface and work their way out. This is perfectly normal and harmless. If a small bit of bone is annoying and patients don’t want to wait, they can always get the bite bone out by coming back to the clinic.

Wisdom Tooth:

To remove the wisdom tooth, our Surgeon will open up the gum tissue over the tooth and take out any bone that is covering the tooth. Surgeon will separate the tissue connecting the tooth and then remove the tooth. Sometimes tooth will also be cut into smaller pieces to make it easier to remove.

Wisdom tooth removal usually is effective in preventing: