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An emergency tooth extraction is a common dental procedure that involves extracting a tooth from its socket. Both the crown and the tooth roots are removed.
Fully erupted teeth are generally removed through a process called simple extraction, which includes utilizing specialized devices to lift or pull the damaged tooth from its socket.
Teeth that have not yet erupted are surgically removed, often with the patient under IV anesthesia. If required, the extracted tooth can later be restored with a dental implant or bridge.
The video below shows four teeth being extracted from a patient who is under sedation. The tooth extraction process was performed in our Dallas Implant Center Location.
Tooth extraction is generally performed as a last option when teeth are too critically damaged to be preserved. There are four main reasons why you might need to have a tooth extraction.
Tooth decay is the erosion of the tooth by acids discharged from oral bacteria. Decay starts as a tiny cavity. If you choose to have the cavity filled at this early stage, the tooth decay usually stops developing, enabling you to keep your tooth in your mouth.
Nevertheless, if you do not recognize and treat a cavity soon after it develops, the decay can quickly grow more extensive. Depending on the tooth’s stage of decay, there might not be enough healthy teeth remaining to sustain a filling or dental crown. In this instance, to relieve pain and prevent the cavity from spreading to neighboring teeth, your dentist may advise having an emergency tooth extraction.
Chipped teeth that are slightly cracked or damaged in an accident can usually be repaired with dental bonding or a crown. However, if the chip or crack reaches into the tooth pulp, the innermost part of the tooth, the dentist may not be able to fix the tooth. Emergency tooth extraction may be the best option.
There are times your dentist may attempt to restore a badly damaged tooth. Still, infection or decay will set in afterward, making tooth extraction inevitable.
A dental abscess is an infection in the tooth root and the gum tissue surrounding it. Often, dentists can preserve an abscessed tooth. Similarly, dentists can save many teeth by performing a root canal, a procedure in which the infected material is removed from within your tooth roots.
However, the most stubborn abscesses can cause widespread damage to the tooth roots, making it ill-advised to leave the tooth in the jaw. To prevent infection from spreading into your jaw bone, emergency tooth extraction may be your best choice.
Having crowded or severely misaligned teeth is another reason to have emergency dental extractions. Some people have jawbone structures that aren’t big enough to support all of their teeth. In this situation, a dentist may extract one or multiple teeth before transferring the patient to an orthodontist for braces. This is usually done during a person’s teen years.
To prevent crowding, many people also prefer emergency wisdom tooth extraction. Often the jawbone is not big enough to support the wisdom teeth. Upon erupting, at an angle, wisdom teeth impact the jaw bone and need to be extracted surgically.
Patients often fear having emergency dental extractions. Still, modern anesthetic methods make the procedure much more comfortable than you may assume. There are two kinds of tooth extractions. Simple tooth extraction is performed when a tooth erupts through the gums. A surgical extraction is performed when a tooth requires removal but has not yet erupted.
A simple-tooth extraction begins with the dentist injecting a local anesthetic into your gums. As a result, the gum tissues surrounding the tooth being removed will go numb. Patients with anxiety should ask their dentist about oral sedatives. Your dentist may have you inhale laughing gas or even prescribe an oral sedative for you to take before your procedure.
Once your gums are numb, the dentist will use a dental tool called an elevator which lifts the tooth up, revealing the ligament holding it in place. Then, they may sway the tooth back and forth to make more room in the socket. Next, they will use forceps, which look like tweezers, to pull the tooth from the socket. Finally, your dentist may apply a few stitches to the socket to close and speed up clotting.
You are usually permitted to drive home once the bleeding has slowed. If you were given an oral sedative, you would need to have a friend drive you home.
If you need a surgical extraction, the oral surgeon may provide an IV anesthetic, so you are unconscious during the procedure. They will then begin to cut away the bone and connective tissue holding the tooth in place. Moreover, your tooth may need to be broken into chunks and removed one piece at a time. When awake, your cheeks will be packed with gauze to absorb the blood.
Your dentist will most likely prescribe you pain medicine to help with any pain in the days following your emergency wisdom tooth extraction. You should only eat soft foods for a few days. After that, as you heal and can chew comfortably again, you can slowly start introducing harder and chewier foods into your diet. For most patients, the healing process after tooth extraction can take one or two weeks. Subsequently, they can resume eating their regular diet.
To encourage the extraction site to heal correctly, you may be advised to rinse your mouth with saltwater throughout the day. Salt helps to kill bacteria, and it also reduces inflammation and pain in the extraction site. Clean your teeth, as usual, after your emergency dental extractions. Be gentle with the area surrounding the empty socket.
To relieve pain, you can hold a cold compress against your cheek or sip chilled water throughout the day. When sleeping, make sure to elevate your head to diminish inflammation and pain.
Do not drink with straws or smoke anything during the healing process. These activities create suction that can dislodge the blood clot that forms in the empty tooth socket. If the clot is dislodged, you will experience discomfort.
If an emergency tooth extraction process is performed to address crowding issues, replacing the extracted tooth will not be necessary. However, if your tooth was removed due to decay or other oral issues, your dentist may want to discuss a tooth replacement option.
Dental implants are the preferred tooth replacement option for most patients. They consist of a titanium metal screw that is surgically implanted in the jaw to replace the tooth root. In addition, a porcelain crown replaces the visible portion of your tooth.
Implants help prevent the bone around the empty tooth socket from deteriorating because they place pressure on this bone as a natural tooth would. Once you heal from implant surgery, the implanted tooth will look and function just like a natural tooth.
If you are not a candidate for dental implants, your dentist may recommend replacing the missing tooth with a dental bridge. This restoration replaces only the visible crown portion of your tooth. It is fixed to the teeth on either side of the extraction site with dental cement.
Simple tooth extraction is an affordable dental treatment, usually costing between $75 and $300. Surgical tooth extraction under anesthesia may cost significantly more, depending on the degree to which it impacts the tooth. Nowadays, dental insurance usually covers emergency tooth extraction costs. However, you may have to pay out-of-pocket for sedatives or IV anesthesia.
If you have a decayed or infected tooth or need your wisdom teeth extracted, use our “Dentist Near Me” zip search tool and schedule your appointment for affordable emergency dental extractions. Removing a badly decayed or damaged tooth is sometimes the safest option for your overall health.
Any dental problem that needs immediate treatment, from stopping bleeding to alleviating severe pain or saving a tooth, is considered a dental emergency. Even severe infections that can be life-threatening, heed to pay attention to as a dental emergency.
The most difficult teeth to extract are impacted wisdom teeth that do not erupt properly. The higher the impact, the more difficult it will be to extract such wisdom teeth.
Yes, of course!! In fact, popular periodontists like Dr. Kumar offers same-day extraction procedures at their dental office. Wherein you will get your tooth removed and have a new tooth implanted on the same day. To do so, dentists take 3D images of your mouth and use cutting-edge technological instruments to build your custom-fitting tooth in the office.
When you are willing to extract your wisdom tooth that is not creating any difficulty or dental issue, removal of such a wisdom tooth would not be considered a dental emergency. But if you have one or more impacted wisdom teeth, they are causing severe pain or discomfort to you. You need to visit your dentist or oral surgeon to get an emergency wisdom tooth removal.
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