Dental Extractions - Corpus Christi Dentistry

As a professional Corpus Christi Dentist office, Gonzalez Family Dentistry can diagnose and treat any extractions that may be necessary. If you are experiencing oral pain please reach out to us as soon as you can. The sooner you get it diagnosed and treated, the better chances you have of avoiding long term damage to your gums and teeth.

Gonzalez Family Dentistry is also a Corpus Christi Dentist who can treat dental patients for a variety of other preventative and corrective dental issues such as routine exams and cleaning, impacted teeth, braces and invisalign advice and steps to take, fillings, veeners, extractions and dentures. Please fill out our form on the bottom of the page here.

Dental Extractions (Pulling Teeth)

In some patients that present issues with their teeth, such as dental infections, dental trauma, crowded mouth, or that have to be submitted to surgical procedures regarding their dental arches, the dental extraction is the best treatment alternative to solve these issues.

Basically, a dental extraction, also known as exodontia or oral surgery, is the complete removal of a tooth from its socket in the bone. To do this, the dentist or oral surgeon will have to perform an incision in the gums and maxillar, or mandibular, bone tissue in order to create direct access to the tooth in question (1).

This procedure is pretty common and does not produce any type of complications if the necessary preventive measures are taking into consideration before, during, and after the treatment.

Main causes of dental extractions?

When a dental piece is damaged or involved in a situation that compromises the health status of the oral cavity and there is no possible way of treating it through restorative dental procedures, this piece needs to be extracted. Most common reasons for exodontia include:

· Risk of infections. In some patients where the immune system is compromised, such as in elderly people, patients going through chemotherapy or transplant therapy, the risk of infection in a particular dental piece can be reason enough for its extraction.

· Infections. If the tooth damage extends to the pulp, the inner portion of the tooth that contains nerves and blood vessels, this can create an entrance for bacteria located in the mouth. Depending on the patient’s immune sate, this could lead to infection, which can inflame and generate symptomatology until necrosis and dental death appear. In some cases, the infection is battled with antibiotics or root canal therapy, but if it is more severe, extraction may be mandatory.

· Crowded mouth. There are cases in which patients do not have enough space in their dental arches for their teeth. This is especially seen in patients with multi-numerary teeth or with their wisdom teeth trapped under the gums. Some other times, for dentists to prepare the mouth for orthodontia, it is necessary to remove some teeth to correctly align the rest (2, 3).

Types of dental extractions.

Depending on the existing cause, the dentist will recommend the type of extraction to be performed, which can be:

· Simple dental extraction. It is performed in teeth that can be seen peeking out of the gums. First, the dental piece is loosened by using an instrument called elevator and then is extracted from the bone with the use of some forceps. This procedure is recommended in those cases where the tooth is affected by dental erosion, trauma or lack of space between the teeth. In some cases where the teeth are very loose, the need for local anesthesia is not necessary, but in some other cases where a little bit more pressure is needed to pull out the dental piece, anesthesia is mandatory.

· Surgical dental extraction. When a tooth has not come out of the gums, is fractured beneath the gums, needs to be extracted in several pieces or in cases where forceps cannot be used to separate it from the bone, a surgical extraction needs to be performed. It is also used in more complicated cases, such as in teeth with curved or tangled roots, with too much bone around it or when the tooth’s roots are too long. The procedure requires the use of local anesthesia in order to do an incision in the gum or bone. The incision is then sutured, taking into account the pre and post-operatory needed measures (1).

What is recommended to do before the dental extraction?

· In some cases, the dentist will recommend the administration of antibiotics days before the procedure to lower any risk of infection.

· Is better to not consume alcoholic beverages days prior to the treatment to avoid complications.

· In the case of smokers, it is recommended to eliminate or reduce smoking to a minimum to make the mouth as clean as possible for the procedure (1).

What is recommended to do after the dental extraction?

· Just as before, after the extraction, the consumption of antibiotics could be continued for several days to avoid local infections.

· The dentist will prescribe anti-inflammatory medicine to avoid the patient some local discomfort.

· A soft diet is necessary to follow during the first post-extraction days, avoiding any hard or sticky food. Small pieces of foods have to be avoided due to its capacity of insertion in the extraction spots and produce an infection. In addition, hot foods and beverages need to be avoided at least for the first week after treatment.

· During the next few days after the intervention, it is recommended to perform mouthwashes with warm water and salt or hydrogen peroxide after each meal to avoid any alimentary rest or existing pathogen between the teeth. In other cases, mouthwashes with chlorhexidine are prescribed for a better oral hygiene (1, 2, 4).

Risks and complications that can appear with a dental extraction?

If all the correct measures are taken before and after realizing the exodontia, no complication should appear. However, in certain cases, some problems could appear, including:

· Local infections that can affect surrounding areas.

· Damage to the dental nerve.

· Fractures caused by the instruments or implants used during the intervention.

· The blood clot of the dental cavity falls days after the extraction.

· Damage to other teeth or oral structures.

· Pain in the site of the injection.

· Inflammation and bruising in the treated region.

· Pain that lasts an abnormal amount of time after the procedure.

· Allergic reactions to some medication used.

· Wounds slow to heal.

· Alterations in the bite (1, 2).

You can set up an initial appointment or find out more information if you are having issues or if you and your family would like to have a new family dentist. Our contact information can be found here. We cannot wait to hear from you. Have a great day.

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