Simple and Complex Dental Extractions ...

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Just What Do You Know About Dental Extractions ?

Dental extractions are probably among the easiest methods to get relief from an aching tooth ( or teeth :-) ). A dental extraction involves extracting a tooth that is either painful or infected. If the pulp has died or if the tooth is severely infected, tooth extraction may be the only choice. Depending on the condition of the tooth, the dentist may do either a complex extraction or a simple extraction.

Simple dental extractions

Simple dental extractions are the most common. During this procedure, the dentist loosens the gums surrounding the socket and extracts the tooth. The dentist will use forceps to grasp and then break it free from the sockets by moving it from side to side.

A thin and soft piece of tissue, also known as the "periodontal ligament" holds the teeth to the bone. This is used by the dentist to remove the tooth from its socket. By rocking the tooth from one side to another, the socket gets enlarged and also breaks the ligament that holds the tooth.
Simple extractions, also known as pulling, don’t take long to complete. The dentist will numb you before he starts, so you won’t feel anything. Depending on the tooth, pulling it will normally take just a few minutes after you have been numbed with local anesthesia. Once completed, the dentist will place gauze in your mouth to bite on and you will be free to go.

Complex dental extractions

Not all teeth can be easily pulled. At times a tooth may be broken off or be so decayed that the dentist may have nothing to grasp above the gum line. In such cases, the dentist may need to perform a fairly complicated extraction which involves getting the tooth out below the gum line, as he will not be able to use the more common method of rocking and pulling.

Complex dental extractions usually requires the dentist make an incision in the gums in the neighborhood of the tooth and raise the flap he cut to expose the bone underneath. Once this is done, there may be just enough of the tooth showing for the dentist to grab and extract it using the pulling method. In some cases however, the tooth may be embedded inside the bone, implying that the dentist may be unable to pull it out.

In such cases when the teeth are embedded in the bone, the dentist may usually need to chip the bone away using a drill and get to the tooth. This, also known as cutting the tooth out, happens to be a fairly common method with teeth that are either severely decayed or impacted. Once this process is complete, that is the dentist has drilled or cut his way to the infected or decayed tooth and extracted it, he will sew the flap of skin back - the flap that he initially cut to get to the infected tooth. This will usually heal very well with time provided that proper care is taken.

Such dental extractions are fairly common, and may even happen on a daily basis for many dentists. And since oral surgeons are the ones who do only dental extractions and nothing else, they may be the best suited amongst dentists for extractions. All categories of dental extractions, even the simplest ones, will take some time to heal. And as long as proper care is provided to the extraction site, usual pitfalls like dry sockets and others may be avoided.