Tooth extraction and minor surgery may be necessary to correct dental problems, including tooth decay, damage, and overall oral health. Dentists prefer to save a natural tooth and only recommend extraction and surgery if restoration of the natural tooth is not possible.
Tooth extraction
Tooth extraction is a minor surgery where a dentist or oral surgeon removes a tooth from its socket. It is a quick outpatient procedure your dentist performs after injecting you with local anesthesia.
If a tooth is broken, not on the surface, or is a wisdom tooth, your dentist will recommend a more complicated surgical extraction procedure. During a surgical extraction, your dentist will also remove gum tissue, bone tissue that are infected and broken pieces of teeth.
Reasons For Tooth Extraction
Your dentist may recommend a tooth extraction for many reasons, including;
- Tooth decay
- Fractured tooth
- The tooth infection
- Teeth crowding in preparation for braces
- Preparation for prosthesis
- Severe gum disease
- A painful wisdom tooth
- A baby tooth that does not fall on time.
- A patient going through chemotherapy or organ transplant and has compromised teeth
What to Expect During a Tooth Extraction
First, a dentist will inject a local anesthetic into the affected tooth and surrounding gum
Then they will loosen the tooth gently and pull it from the socket.
The dentist will then clean the socket and apply a stitch to assist with healing.
They will then apply a piece of gauze to the extraction site to prevent excessive bleeding.
Your dentist will then prescribe antibiotics and pain relief medicine.
Recovery from a tooth extraction is short. It takes about 48 to 72 hours.
Minor Oral surgery
Minor oral surgery is a surgical treatment for oral problems involving teeth, gums, jaws, and soft tissues of the oral cavity. They are outpatient procedures your dentist or oral surgeon performs;
- Treating dental diseases in cases where restorative treatment is impossible.
- Correcting some oral conditions
- Give you a perfect smile for aesthetic purposes
Types of Minor Oral Surgeries
Your dentist may use many types of oral surgery to treat disease or for aesthetic purposes. They include:
Root canal
It is common oral surgery that involves removing the soft center of the tooth, made up of nerves and blood vessels. Your dentist will recommend this procedure if there is damage to the delicate part of the tooth, resulting from tooth decay, cracked tooth, or injury to the tooth.
A root canal helps to clear infections and inflammation.
Your dentist will inject the gum surrounding the problematic tooth with a local anesthetic during a root canal.
Then they will make a small opening to expose the area with damage and remove it.
It is followed by cleaning your tooth canals, coating the area with an antibiotic to avoid infection, and sealing the area with a sealer paste.
Finally, the dentist will close the opening on top of the tooth to prevent damage to the canals.
Dental implants
A dental implant replaces a missing tooth-root or a tooth-root with damage. It is an outpatient procedure, though it takes a more extended period to complete.
A dental implant is a titanium device that a dental surgeon inserts into your jawbone to act as an artificial root and support dental crowns.
The procedure begins with your dentist assessing the jaw bone for damage. If there is damage, the dental surgeon will do jaw bone grafting and give it time to heal before inserting the dental implant.
After inserting the implant, they will give it time to fuse with the jaw bone before putting in an abutment that holds the crown.
Wisdom Tooth Extraction
Wisdom teeth are a set of four teeth that grow at the back of your gums in your teenage years and early twenties.
Sometimes wisdom teeth refuse to come out, come out partially, or come out at a wrong angle due to lack of space, since they come out last when all other teeth have come out. As a result, they can cause pain and infection, necessitating their removal.
Your dentist will create an incision before extracting the wisdom tooth, and they may have to remove the tooth in pieces. Recovery from a wisdom tooth extraction can take up to one week.
Cosmetic Dental Surgeries
These include procedures that aim at transforming your smile and improving your confidence. They include procedures like;
- Dental crowns and veneers
- Cosmetic teeth bonding
Conclusion
If you have a tooth giving you sleepless nights or want to improve your smile, contact us for a consultation. Our dentists will assess your problem and provide you with the best solution.
Visit our website to learn more about tooth extractions and other minor dental surgery.
