Healthy Mouth Healthy Body
Adults Under 40

Dental Extraction

Normally when all attempts to save the tooth have failed, the last resort is to extract the damaged tooth. Extractions are performed for a wide variety of reasons, including tooth decay that has destroyed enough tooth structure to render the tooth non-restorable. Extractions of impacted or problematic wisdom teeth are routinely performed, as are extractions of some permanent teeth to make space for orthodontic treatment.

Having a tooth out is the same as having an operation and, because of this, you must look after the area to speed healing and to reduce the risk of infection.

Here are some pointers:

  • Discuss all your medical conditions,and medications with your dentist. Specially if you are taking medicines for blood thinning,blood pressure,diabetes.
  • For the first 24 hours, try to avoid eating hot food, don't smoke, don't drink any alcohol and try not to disturb any blood clot which might have formed.
  • Don't rinse your mouth for six hours after extraction.
  • Brush your teeth as normal to keep your mouth as clean as possible.
  • You may feel some small pieces of bone work their way out of the socket - don't worry, this is perfectly normal.Do not touch the area with your tongue or fingers.
  • There may be some swelling and a bit of discomfort in the first two to three days. If you need to, take some ordinary painkillers - aspirin, ibuprofen or paracetamol will be fine.

If you feel pain long after the tooth has been removed, it might be where the blood clot has broken down leaving an empty hole in the gum. This is called a 'dry socket' and will need to be looked at by your dentist. Simply go back and the dentist will pack the wound to ease your discomfort.

Your dentist may have given you some gauze to place onto the area where the tooth has been removed .This is specially sterilized guaze.

  • Roll it into a small firm pad large enough to fit over the gap.Put a clean pad over the gap (from tongue side to cheek side) and bite down on it firmly for 30 minutes.
  • Sit up and gently clear away any blood clots around the gap using the gauze or handkerchief.
  • Do not spit outside for an hour after extraction to avoid dislodging the clot.
  • Hold an ice pack externally at the extraction site to speed up the clotting and reducing swelling,if advised by the dentist.Do this for 30 minutes.
  • Eat soft and cold food for the next 6 hours atleast. Discuss your diet with the dentist prior to extraction.

The IDA recommends that if the bleeding does not stop even after 2-3 hrs post extraction, please contact your dentist immediately.

Dry socket

You probably think having a tooth pulled is not a particularly enjoyable experience. And you no doubt expect to have some discomfort afterward.You can endure it when you need to. But if the pain becomes intense and doesn't go away after a few days, it may be a symptom of a condition called dry socket, or alveolar osteitis.

Only a very small percentage -- about 2% to 5% of people -- develop dry socket after a tooth extraction. In those who have it, though, dry socket can be uncomfortable. Fortunately, it's easily treatable.

The socket is the hole in the bone where the tooth has been removed. After a tooth is pulled, a blood clot forms in the socket to protect the bone and nerves underneath. Sometimes that clot can become dislodged or dissolve a couple of days after the extraction. That leaves the bone and nerve exposed to air, food, fluid, and anything else that enters the mouth. This can lead to infection and severe pain that can last for 5 or 6 days.

Who Is Likely to Get Dry Socket?

Some people may be more likely to get dry socket after having a tooth pulled. That includes people who:

  • Smoke
  • Have poor oral hygiene
  • Have wisdom teeth pulled
  • Have greater-than-usual trauma during the tooth extraction surgery
  • Use birth control pills
  • Have a history of dry socket after having teeth pulled
  • Rinsing and spitting a lot or drinking through a straw after having a tooth extracted also can raise your risk of getting dry socket.

What Are the Symptoms of Dry Socket?

If you look into the site where the tooth was pulled, you'll probably see a dry-looking opening. Instead of a dark blood clot, there will just be whitish bone. The pain typically starts about 2 days after the tooth was pulled. Over time it becomes more severe and can radiate to your ear.

Other symptoms of dry socket include bad breath and an unpleasant smell and taste in your mouth.

How Is Dry Socket Treated?

You can take a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), such as aspirin or ibuprofen, to ease the discomfort. Sometimes these over- the-counter medications aren't enough to relieve the pain. When that's the case, your doctor may prescribe a stronger drug or will anesthetize the area.

Your dentist will clean the tooth socket, removing any debris from the hole, and then fill the socket with a medicated dressing or a special paste to promote healing. You'll probably have to come back to the dentist's office every day for a dressing change until the socket starts to heal and your pain lessens.

Your dentist may prescribe antibiotics to prevent the socket from becoming infected. To care for the dry socket at home, your dentist may recommend that you rinse with salt water or a special mouthwash every day.

Fact and Fiction

1: Removal of upper teeth affects vision and causes problems in the brain.

1: Vision is not affected in any way by undertaking treatment of the upper teeth including its extraction.Also the brain and its function are not at all affected due to extractions.

2: Tooth extracted need not be artificially replaced.

2: A tooth however badly decayed should be tried to be saved. In spite of all efforts if a tooth has to be removed it must be replaced as soon as possible. If this is not done then gradually the teeth adjacent to the gap will start tilting towards this gap leading to food collection, cavities and difficulty in chewing in this region. The opposing tooth also grows down causing similar problems in the opposite arch teeth also. Therefore a lost tooth must be replaced within a maximum of 6 months not only for aesthetic purposes but also to prevent disease conditions in adjacent and opposing teeth and gums.

3: A tooth extraction is very painful.

3: For severe tooth problems, a tooth extraction will need to be performed. Many studies showed that people get highly stressed when going to the dentist. This is because of the idea that it hurts or it will hurt. But actually, dental procedures these days have dramatically revolutionized. The high technology used in many dental clinics has made dental operations and procedures a pleasant experience.