Has your dentist told you that one of your teeth needs to be pulled? If so, you may be curious about how it will be done. Having a tooth pulled is quite common for a wisdom tooth, but can also be required in other situations where a tooth is beyond saving and is better off being removed. Here is what you should know about having a tooth extracted.
The Methods
There are two ways a tooth can be pulled. The first method is known as simple extraction, and it requires that your tooth has not broken and is above your gums. This method does not work for impacted wisdom teeth underneath the gums. The dentist will only need to use local anesthesia so that the tooth being pulled is numb. You can leave immediately after the procedure unless you require general anesthesia to get you through the procedure.
The other type of extraction requires surgery, and is is necessary when you have a damaged tooth or a tooth under your gums. The dentist will cut the gums open so that they can reach the tooth, and stitches are required to seal up the surgical site. A dentist will prefer to use general anesthesia for this procedure so that you are not awake during it.
The Considerations
If your tooth that needs to be removed a wisdom tooth, expect to require surgery to remove those impacted teeth. It is necessary because there is not a big enough portion of the tooth sticking out of the gums to use the tools for simple extractions.
Surgery will also be necessary if the tooth being removed is too big to use the tools for simple extraction. In that situation, your dentist will actually break the tooth into several pieces so that it can be removed. It sounds horrible, but it will actually cause the procedure to be more comfortable for you due to causing minimal damage to the surrounding gums.
The Aftercare
Both dental extraction procedures require similar aftercare. You'll need to place a gauze directly on the extraction site to help stop the bleeding. During the first couple of days, you'll need to avoid hard foods and drinking with a straw. This is because the pressure you use to suck on a straw is known to cause blood clots and dry socket.
The big difference is that surgical extraction requires stitches that will need to be removed, and your dentist will most likely want to check on how the surgical site is healing with a follow up visit.
