At Dame Street Dental, we understand that having a tooth removed can be a cause of great concern for many patients. Our skilled clinical team will always explore and advise you of every possible avenue to preserve your natural teeth, utilising tried and tested procedures to save seriously infected or decayed teeth such as Root Canal Treatment, or using beautiful, completely lifelike Dental Crowns to build up and restore badly broken-down teeth – all performed with only the latest in modern dental tools, materials and techniques.
However, when all other options to retain your original tooth have been exhausted, a tooth extraction may become inevitable. If the damage to your tooth is too severe or its chance of surviving after a preservation treatment is too low, our expert team will be able to quickly and skilfully extract the tooth, relieving any pain you are experiencing, and all this only once they have fully gone through all options with you, including a clear future plan for replacing your missing tooth post-extraction, and put any worries you have completely to rest.
A strong dental anaesthetic will be used to ensure you are completely numb before any treatment begins so that your procedure is as comfortable and pain free as possible. For especially nervous patients we do also provide at Dame Street Dental for your treatment to be carried out under Dental Sedation. This form of conscious sedative ensures that you will be entirely relaxed throughout the procedure, the time will pass by almost unnoticed, and you will have little to no memory of the treatment you have just undergone. Even patients who thought they could never sit in a dental chair again can finally get back to enjoying life pain-free, as they can have the treatment they need carried out without anxiety or stress.
Your dentist will only recommend proceeding with an extraction of your tooth in situations where it is fully necessary, and the natural tooth cannot be salvaged, such as:
Whether you book a consultation with Dame Street Dental due to a dental emergency (for example accidental injury or trauma to your teeth), because you are concerned about new or persistent tooth pain or sensitivity, or if your appointment is for a routine dental check-up – your dentist will carry out a comprehensive dental exam and investigate the root of your problem and assess what damage has occurred. This stage will involve your dentist taking X-rays to assess your teeth and bone levels, allowing them to accurately determine the complexity of your case and options for extraction.
Dental extraction is not always often viewed as a last resort for patients, and our highly experienced team always treat it as such, however in some cases of severe damage, fracture or infection of a tooth, extraction is the only option. This initial consultation is your opportunity to have any questions or concerns you have addressed – your dentist will always discuss with you any alternative to tooth extraction if it is possible in your case (such as Root Canal Treatment) in addition to the options for replacing the spaces in your smile you may have after extraction – Dental Implants, Bridges and Dentures are all successful and unobtrusive methods to replace a singular or multiple missing teeth. If you are a nervous patient or are hesitant of undergoing dental procedures, please discuss this with your dentist at this time, as at our clinic we do also offer for any of our treatments to be undertaken under Dental Sedation, allowing even surgical procedures to take place in total comfort and relaxation.
After assessing your situation, needs and preferences with you, your dentist will prepare a detailed treatment plan for both your extraction procedure and follow-up tooth replacement treatments, which will include an accurate estimated time of completion for each stage and a breakdown of all costs involved. You will then be scheduled in for the extraction procedure itself, which can often be accommodated in emergency cases on the same day as your initial consultation if desired, dependant on availability and your unique situation.
If your X-Rays revealed a more complex root system of your tooth, for example, or in many cases involving wisdom tooth extraction where the tooth is more likely to be partially buried under the gumline, you will require a surgical tooth extraction, and these appointments are scheduled at Dame Street Dental with our dental surgery specialists.
Using a highly effective local anaesthetic your dentist will numb the area so that the entire procedure will be completely pain-free. The most you will feel is some gentle pushing as your tooth is removed.
If your tooth anatomy is more complex and the extraction predicted to be a more difficult case, or in most instances of impacted wisdom teeth, you will need to undergo a surgical extraction. In this case, your dentist will at this stage make a small incision into your gum to expose more of your tooth. You may also experience some vibration during a surgical extraction, in addition to the sensation of pressure.
In more complex cases, your tooth will be divided into smaller sections and each will be removed one at a time. Again, you will not feel any pain during this procedure due to the anaesthetic, and the sensation will be similar to having a filling. If you are having a surgical extraction of a tooth, this process can take approximately 30 minutes.
Once your tooth has been fully removed, some dissolvable stitches and a soft packing will be placed to maximise healing of your gum.
Following the completion of the extraction procedure, your dentist will explain fully all aftercare and recovery instructions to you, as well as letting you know when you should schedule your next appointment with the clinic for any tooth replacement and restoration procedures you have discussed with them.
It is common to experience some discomfort for a few days after extraction, however this usually lasts for 2 to 3 days only, and can be effectively managed with over-the-counter painkillers. The numbness caused by the anaesthetic used during your procedure will wear off after 4 hours or so, however if you have opted to receive this treatment under dental IV sedation, you will be required to have a responsible adult of your choice escort you from the clinic following your appointment, and to rest at home under their care for the 24 hours after treatment, to allow the sedative to completely leave your system.
Depending on the health and quality of your jawbone, determined by dental X-ray at your initial assessment, it may be possible to proceed with certain restorative procedures sooner, however on average your dentist will usually recommend a period of healing of at least 3 months for the extraction site and bone to fully recover, before beginning the discussed next phase of your treatment – dental implants, bridges and dentures are all effectively used to replace a single or multiple missing teeth and address the functional and aesthetic issues which are associated with tooth loss.