Upkeeping a proper dental hygiene routine is a crucial step in preventing diseases and teeth loss, and here, at the Hungarian Dental Clinic in Letterkenny, we are more than happy to help you every step of the way. From the first check-ups to see your dental health to coming up with a routine that fits your schedule, lifestyle, and teeth. However, sometimes it becomes inevitable to extract a tooth, and this article will explain everything you need to know about surgical extractions. When to consider getting them done, how you can prevent such a surgery, and everything you would want to know about the procedure itself.
Although having good dental health is determined by multiple factors, including genetics, hygiene, habits, diet, and other diseases and illnesses, our primary aim is always avoiding tooth extractions. Most diseases can be treated if the problem is identified and treated in time, therefore we urge our (soon-to-be-) patients to book an appointment with our dentists as soon as possible. But when tooth extraction becomes inevitable, you might have some questions. In the following, we will list some of the most common questions and a short explanation for all of them, but if you have further concerns, book a consultation at the Hungarian Dental Clinic so that we can give you a detailed, personalized answer.
Is tooth extraction always a surgical procedure?
We differentiate between simple and surgical procedures. Most often than not, extractions do not require an invasive, surgical approach, most teeth can be extracted relatively simply. However, there are some cases when the dentists need to dig deeper. Surgery is needed when the tooth in question is not easily accessible, for example, a wisdom tooth, or it has long, fragile, or curved roots. After an initial check-up examination, your dentist can tell you whether it is necessary to have surgery, or it can be done in the more well-known, more traditional way.
How is a surgical tooth extraction done?
After having identified the tooth that needs to be extracted, your doctor will numb the area and wait for the medication to be effective. Local anaesthesia is applied in most cases, but for complicated procedures, sedation dentistry, or even general anaesthesia can also be considered. It is crucial, therefore, that you let your dentist know about any allergies you might know, especially if you have had reactions to painkillers or anaesthetics before. If so, you can ask your doctor about the possible solutions during the initial consultations. Unless you are in sedation, the numbing medications will not eliminate sensation, only pain. You might feel a slight pinch or discomfort during the procedure.
When the area is numbed, the doctor will make a small incision on your gum to expose the entire tooth and the roots. In order not to cause too much discomfort, or to make it more easily removed, your doctor might section the tooth into two or more parts, and remove them one by one. This way, less force is needed for the extraction, resulting in less discomfort. Then, the doctor will close the incision. The doctor and the nurses will tell you about the aftercare needed (biting on a piece of gauze to stop blood flow, only eating soft food, putting an icepack on your cheek, etc).
How long is a tooth extraction?
Every procedure is different for every patient, the timeframe cannot be generalized. It depends on the overall dental health of the patient, whether the treatment affects one tooth or more. On average, a simple tooth extraction takes between twenty and forty minutes; wisdom teeth removals often fall somewhere between forty-five and ninety minutes.
Hearing the word “surgical” is always scary, and it may be even more intimidating to hear it in the context of dentistry, it is not a complicated, or long procedure. Although pain cannot be completely eliminated, it can be managed, and should not last long after the surgery is done. If you suspect that one of your teeth might need to be extracted, or you have already discussed the possibilities with your dentist, we urge you to book an appointment at the Hungarian Dental Clinic in Letterkenny. It is better to get it done sooner rather than later so that the healing process can begin as soon as possible, and you can regain your painless, confident self.