Tooth Extraction

Are tooth extractions really necessary?

Tooth Extraction

While our polish dentists do everything in their power to conserve the health of your teeth, sometimes a tooth is just so far gone and has fallen so deeply into decay that to completely clean it may not leave much of the tooth left, or perhaps the tooth cannot be entirely cleaned, because the infection is so widespread, or so deep that the entirety of the tooth has been compromised. In these cases, despite our best efforts to keep healthy teeth alive, an extraction may be necessary.

How does a tooth extraction work?

The process is straightforward, and requires only one visit. Surface anesthetic will be applied to the tooth in need of removal, and than it will be removed. You may hear cracking and unpleasant noises during the extraction, this is normal and can be expected, however, you should not feel any sharp pain at all, so if you are feeling pain, that means not all of the nerve has been anaesthetised, and you should tell your dentist to stop and use more anaesthetic. Sometimes your tooth may need to be cut into two or more pieces in order to be taken out, as removal of the tooth in its entirety may mess up the tooth roots that are around it, which may affect the health of your other teeth. Your tooth will be completely extracted, no pieces or parts should be left in, as those parts will become infected over time, which can cause serious problems later on.

Is that really all?

After the straightforward part of the procedure, the more complex one is the aftercare. You will be left with a gap in your teeth and your gums and even your alveolar tissue will be injured from having your tooth pulled out of them. This means you will have an open wound in your mouth for a couple of days. The gums heal very quickly, which is a very happy fact of life, and your wound should close up and heal over in 1 to 2 weeks maximum. The wound should be closed up but not completely healed within 3 days time. Sugary foods and all manner of dairy products, especially fermented dairy products such as yoghurt, cheese, kefir and ayran should be avoided during these three days, and should be kept to a minimum for the entirety of the healing process as well. The jaws may become swollen and chewing may be painful, if this is the case, do not force it, as this may reopen the wound, which will cause a slower healing process.

If you need an extraction, we recommend you call our polish dentistry and we will be happy to book you an appointment with our polish dentist, who can perform this procedure. If there is any chance at all of your tooth being saved, our polish dentists are required to advise you on all other options, as well, but if it has to come out, it has to come out. If the other options would take too long or cost too much money, you can opt for an extraction but we would suggest you do not do it, as once your teeth start to go missing, your alveolar tissue becomes weak and you may experience tooth loss as a result.