Worried about your dental extraction? A step by step guide to the process from Northern Beaches Dental

It is rarely a fun day at your dental surgery when, in the middle of a check-up, you are told you need to have a tooth extracted.

Commonly performed on severely decayed teeth, or those that have been broken beyond repair through impact, dental extractions are relatively straightforward procedures. Typically conducted in a separate consultation to the check-up, extractions may seem intimidating, but do ultimately improve your oral health. But, like most things in life, the more you know about the procedure, the easier it will be to get through it without issue!

While our team at Northern Beaches Dental in Mackay will try to preserve every tooth in your mouth, if you need an extraction, our dentist in Mackay will make it as stress-free and uneventful as possible. Our team performs extractions every day and, while there may be a bit of pressure during your extraction, it will be a painless and simple procedure to experience.

What can you expect when our dentist in Mackay extracts one of your teeth? Read on to learn more about the basic procedure.

Numbing

Before our dentist in Mackay even attempts to remove anything, they will first administer a numbing injection to the tooth.

This injection may feel cold as it is applied, but don’t worry, that is completely normal and the numbing effects should become apparent in around 3 minutes. Depending on the location, our team may inject the tooth and the surrounding area a few times.

Extraction

Depending on whether the tooth you are having extracted is either visible or below the gum line, your extraction may be simple or a bit more surgical. Either way, our team at Northern Beaches Dental in Mackay is well prepared and will make it as straightforward and prompt as possible.

Simple

During a simple extraction, our team will numb your tooth and use a device known as an elevator to loosen your tooth and remove it. This is typical when you need a tooth removed for a brace fitting or have a tooth that has decayed after a crown has fallen off.

Surgical

If your tooth has decayed below the gum line or your gum has grown over it, our team will need a few more tools to remove it successfully.

We may use local and intravenous anaesthetic, to ensure that you will not feel anything and will typically begin the extraction with some incisions into the gum. During a surgical extraction, we may need to remove some areas of gum in your mouth while using a device resembling a corkscrew to pull the root of the tooth out. This extraction will usually be followed with dissolvable stitches and the whole procedure will have gone smoothly!

Aftercare

Most extractions do not require any extensive aftercare, but for 24 hours post-extraction, avoid eating hard foods, hot or cold beverages and take painkillers if you need to, such as paracetamol.

If you are concerned about the level of discomfort you are in a few days after the extraction, come and see our team for a check-up.

DISCLAIMER

All dental treatments carry potential risks. Contact your local dental team for more information about the procedures mentioned in this article.