Extractions and oral surgery

Although permanent teeth are meant to last a lifetime sometimes they have to be extracted as a last resort due to :

• Tooth severely decayed
• Trauma to the tooth
• Infection
• Risk of infection
• Gum disease
• Impacted wisdom teeth

There are 2 types of extraction:

1. Simple extraction
In a simple extraction, the tooth is loosened with an instrument called an elevator after which an instrument called forceps is used to remove the tooth.

2. Surgical extraction
A surgical extraction is a more complex procedure. It is used if a tooth may have broken off at the gum line or has not come into the mouth yet. A small incision is made into your gum. Sometimes it’s necessary to remove some of the bone around the tooth or to cut the tooth in half in order to extract it.

Procedure
Most simple extractions can be carried out using just an injection (a local anesthetic).However if you are nervous you may also want to receive drugs to help you relax or you may choose to have anesthesia through a vein (intravenous sedation). For a surgical extraction,again, you can have this done under local anesthetic, or choose to have intravenous sedation as well.

Follow-up and care
After the extraction a gauze pad will be placed on the area and you will asked to maintain form pressure on it. We will change this dressing intermittently depending on the bleeding .We will make sure you have stopped bleeding before we let you go.

You will be given written instructions on how to care for the extraction site .We will also give a packet of gauze to take home if you start bleeding again. Some people get very anxious by the amount of blood, most the times it is small amount of blood mixed with large amount of saliva which can make it look more dramatic.

We will give you detailed instructions on what to do and what to expect after your surgery .You can expect some discomfort after even simple extractions. Usually it is mild. Research has shown that taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like Ibuprofen can greatly decrease pain after a tooth extraction. Surgical extractions can be slighltly more painful.

If you continue to bleed heavily after an hour or so contact us during practice hours or NHS 24 helpline at 08454 24 24 24. Our practice plan patients can contact us out of hours at the number provided. There will be charge for patients who are not on the plan.