Tooth Extraction
A standard tooth extraction is a pretty basic procedure, the standard steps are:
- Your dentist diagnoses the problem and determines that extraction is the best option. This may be through visual diagnosis with tests (cold sensitivity, tenderness to tapping) or through visual and radiographic examination.
- An injection or two is given to numb the area, the number of injections and the site of the injection depends on the tooth to be taken out. The image below shows the three regions supplied by the superior alveolar nerve - posterior, middle and anterior:
The picture below shows the three nerves commonly "numbed" for lower extractions, the lingual, inferior alveolar and the buccal nerves:
- The tooth is then loosened by an instrument called an elevator and then extracted by a forcep:
Surgical Extractions
Things start getting exciting when a complicated extraction is needed. Here either there is not enough tooth for your dentist to grab hold off or the tooth is firmly lodged into bone because of curly or crooked roots. I would have liked to get pictures of an actually operation online but because of cross-infection problems taking pictures in the middle of a surgical is pretty hard to do.
The steps involved are:
- Steps 1 and 2 above, then a cut is made to peel the gum away from the bone supporting the tooth.
- The bone is then removed using a slow speed round bur (drill) and this frees up the stubborn tooth. The tooth is then removed through the space made in bone. The teeth most commonly extracted by this method are molars.
- Sutures (stitches) are then used to close the wound left by removing bone and tooth. These are usually taken out about 4-5 days after the extraction. Sometimes your dentist may use dissolvable sutures that will fall out by themselves. Most dentists prefer to see you to remove the sutures so that they can ascertain that everything is as it should be.