Removing teeth

There are a number of ways for us to test if our anaesthetic has been completely effective and we aim not to progress with the procedure until we can be sure that will be completely pain free.

As the use of implants to replace teeth has become more and more popular, extraction techniques have changes. It’s now very important to retain intact as much of the bone that surrounds the tooth as possible. For this reason, most teeth with multiple roots are divided into separate pieces before they’re removed. While this involves the use of a dental drill, and takes considerably more time and skill, it does reduce the force required for removal and usually causes less pain and swelling after the procedure. Of course, there will be no pain through this sectioning procedure.

During the extraction you should feel pressure but never pain. If you feel pain that can be described as sharp or pinching, then you should tell us straight away. Applying more anaesthetic will not take away the sensation of pressure.
We actually loosen the tooth by stretching the bone that surrounds it. Again, in an attempt to save as much healthy bone as possible, a pushing tool is used for much of the procedure rather than the pulling forceps you might imagine we’d use.

There’s no hiding the fact that removing a tooth is a fairly physical process. Afterall there’s two fairly solid substances involved – tooth and bone. So snapping or breaking noises are completely normal during the procedure. This is generally the breaking of the membrane that attaches the tooth to the bone. But it can also be the tooth root fracturing, or even a minor bone break.

After the tooth is removed, we take a careful look inside the socket. If any residual infected material remains, we carefully remove it and wash out the area. This will help you heal much more quickly and with less chance of complications afterwards.

Not always applied but if the procedure was not simple and required a surgical approach where the gum is reflected out of the way, then stitches will be required.

The most common way that we stop the bleeding in the socket is by applying pressure to the area with a rolled-up piece of sterile gauze. This is left in place for 30 minutes after your tooth is removed.

Antibiotics are prescribed to first settle the infection and painkillers are used to manage the pain in the short term.
Once the infection is settled (usually at the end of the course of antibiotics) the tooth is removed. This is carried out either in our practice with an effective local anaesthetic, or by referral to our excellent oral surgeon for removal under general anaesthetic or sedation.

If decay is left for long enough, it will advance towards the middle of the tooth, finally reaching the central nerves and blood vessels (dental pulp). Once there’s an infection in this space, there’s only two treatment alternatives – remove the infected pulp (Root Canal Treatment) or remove the tooth all together.

To reliably restore, you need a certain amount of sound structure above the gumline so your rebuild gets a good grip on to the tooth. If this doesn’t exist, sometimes you may develop enough tooth to hold on to with a procedure called crown lengthening.

If your mouth is crowded, you may need teeth removed before completing a straightening procedure Wisdom teeth are most often removed because of crowding – the jaw just isn’t long enough to allow the tooth to completely move into its correct position. So part, or all of the tooth remains submerged and this can result in infection, pain and swelling in the area.

Sometimes baby teeth don’t fall out when they’re meant to and complicate the permanent successors arrival.

Sometimes the field of radiation applied in the head and neck region can involve some teeth. If these teeth are in any way compromised (particularly by gum disease)