If you’re due to have a tooth extracted soon, you’ll likely find yourself wondering about what the surgery entails. It’s perfectly reasonable to ask “How do dentists remove teeth?” before having an extraction carried out.
As a premier dental negligence firm in the UK, we believe it’s important to educate yourself about any dental procedures before undergoing treatment. This advanced knowledge about your surgery should also help you to understand whether or not your dentist has acted negligently when performing the procedure if you encounter issues.
If something goes wrong during dental surgery and you believe it’s due to dental negligence on behalf of your dentist, we may be able to open a compensation claim for you.
Just get in touch or complete our online claim form to find out more.
Tooth Extraction Procedures: The Pre-Surgery Steps
So, how exactly do dentists remove teeth? It’s slightly more complicated than just pulling the tooth out, with both pre-surgery and aftercare steps that need to be followed.
The first stage is to have an initial consultation with your dentist or oral surgeon to discuss your surgery. Your dentist should discuss your overall health and the entire extraction procedure with you in advance, ensuring they get voluntary informed consent from you for the treatment.his includes going through any possible risks and side effects, as well as alternative treatment methods that may be preferable. It’s important to address any concerns you have before your surgery, giving you both comfort and confidence.
You should also follow any pre-surgery advice your dentist gives you. After some dental surgeries, you may be unable to drive afterwards (due to the sedative provided), meaning that transport home should also be arranged with someone you trust. You should also inform your dentist of your previous medical history and any medication you’re on, as this may affect your sedation arrangements.
How Do Dentists Remove Teeth? A Step-by-Step Guide
The tooth extraction process usually takes between 30 minutes and an hour, covering the following stages:
- First, your dentist will apply local anaesthesia to the area surrounding the tooth that will be extracted. They’ll usually wait for a few minutes before the surgery starts to ensure it’s working.
- Next, your dentist will widen the tooth socket and gently loosen the tooth, before removing it completely. Your dentist may need to place a stitch in the socket to allow it to heal, although this stage isn’t always necessary.
- Your dentist will then place a clean gauze in your mouth, which you’ll need to bite down on to stop the bleeding. You should start to develop blood clots as part of this stage – blood clots are essential for the healing process, so you should try and avoid dislodging them where possible.
If your gum starts to bleed after the procedure, you should repeat the final step yourself by biting down on gauze to stem the bleeding. If the bleeding continues or gets worse, we would recommend consulting with your dentist immediately, as extreme bleeding can lead to further tooth extraction complications further down the line.
The Aftercare Process
After any dental procedure, your dentist should advise you on the correct aftercare steps to take.
It’s recommended that you follow these post-operative guidelines after your tooth extraction treatment:
- Do not rinse your mouth out for 24 hours after your surgery. After this period, you should rinse your mouth out with a saltwater rinse or antimicrobial mouthwash three times a day. You should continue doing this for five days.
- You can take pain relievers as pain relief afterwards – your dentist should advise you on the best ones to take.
- A soft food diet may be recommended, including foods such as mashed potatoes, yoghurts and smoothies. As your gum heals, you can gradually start to resume eating solid, hard foods. However, you should avoid spicy food items for around a week, as spicy food may irritate your mouth further.
- You should not drink alcohol for the rest of the day, following your surgery. Instead, you should consume plenty of water to ensure you stay hydrated throughout the healing process.
- If you are a smoker, smoking cessation is recommended for five days after treatment
- Your dentist will likely give you a physical activity restriction, as you should also not do any heavy lifting or exercise for the rest of the day
However, if in doubt, you should speak to your dentist to ensure you get the right aftercare advice after your surgery. It’s normal to feel some pain and discomfort following dental work, but this should disappear after a few days. If the pain doesn’t go away or if it starts to get worse, you should always contact your dentist for an assessment.
What Are the Main Reasons for Tooth Extraction?
There are many benefits to tooth extraction, with this form of surgery used to treat many types of dental health conditions. Removing a tooth can help to reduce harmful bacteria in your mouth that can damage your teeth and gums, giving you a greater chance of optimal oral health. You may also find that tooth extraction can ease your dental pain – particularly if the tooth was broken or severely infected.
Common reasons for tooth extraction surgeries include:
- Advanced gum disease – Advanced gum disease can be painful for patients – particularly if they have bone loss surrounding the affected teeth. Extracting your teeth could prevent the disease from progressing further, enabling greater recovery over time. When combined with bone grafting treatments, tooth extraction can help to repair the jawbone and reduce the risk of future bone loss.
- Impacted teeth and overcrowding – If your teeth are misaligned or overcrowded in your mouth, tooth extraction can prevent further issues from occurring. One particular example of this is with your wisdom teeth – as they develop later in life, your wisdom teeth can become impacted, which may cause harm to adjacent teeth. Whilst wisdom teeth extractions are only completed when medically necessary, they can prevent further damage.
- Severe tooth decay and infection – Another factor that can lead to your teeth being extracted is severe tooth decay and infection, two conditions that are often (but not always) linked. Extraction can often limit the spread of infection. Infection and decay can enter the root canal and spread to your neighbouring teeth if not treated effectively, so tooth extraction can be an important tool in these situations,
- Injury and trauma – Facial trauma and injury can cause extreme damage to your teeth. In some cases, it may not be possible to completely repair your mouth after trauma, in which case tooth extraction may be required. Fractured root tips in your jawbone can also lead to an increased risk of infection, showing another key reason why extraction surgery may be necessary.
However, your exact situation may be slightly different from those laid out above. If you have any of these conditions and you’d like to find out what your treatment options are, we recommend speaking to a dental professional for more advice.
What Are the Risks and Complications Associated with Tooth Extractions?
Tooth extraction is a fairly routine dental operation, so it’s unlikely that anything will go wrong. However, there are still some risks and complications associated with this type of surgery. For example, if the correct aftercare advice is not followed, you may experience delayed healing or excessive bleeding from the extraction site, showing why it’s so important to follow the advice given by your dental specialist.
Blood clot formation is a crucial part of the healing process, so you must try not to break the blood clot forming at the extraction site – not only will this delay healing, but it can also lead to a painful condition known as dry socket. You should also be aware of extraction site infections, in which bacteria enter an open wound. Gently washing your mouth with salt water and antibacterial mouthwash should help to prevent post-surgical infections, but it’s not always possible.
Excessive bleeding can be another possible risk after tooth extraction – if this happens to you, biting down forcefully on gauze pads can help to form a blood clot, which should prevent the bleeding. However, if bleeding persists from the site and a blood clot does not form, you should contact your dentist immediately to resolve the issue.
In some rare cases, your surrounding teeth can be damaged, although this is unlikely if your dentist is skilled at their craft. Impacted teeth can create considerable tooth extraction complications that can lead to your tooth fracturing during treatment.
If this happens, your dentist should immediately stop the procedure and carry out an x-ray on the remaining roots. If your dentist fails to do this or leaves a tooth fragment inside the socket unknowingly, this could be classed as dental negligence. This is one of the main reasons why wisdom tooth extractions are comparatively rare when compared to the rest of your teeth, as there is a considerable risk of your impacted tooth fracturing in the process.
Other forms of dental negligence that can occur during a tooth extraction include nerve injuries and wrong tooth extraction – you can find out more about the dental negligence claims process here.
Dental Negligence During a Tooth Extraction
We hope that after reading through this page, you have a better answer to the question of ‘How do dentists remove teeth?’ You should now be well-equipped with all the knowledge you need to attend your tooth extraction surgery, able to pinpoint whether or not your dentist has acted negligently during the procedure.
If you’d like to pursue a dental injury claim for a failed tooth extraction, our team of expert dental solicitors will likely be able to help you. After working for many years in the dental negligence claims industry, we aim to help you with your legal case as much as possible.To start your claim, please request a callback from our team.