Tooth extraction

Tooth extraction – this phrase sounds so frightening that many people bravely endure any pain, self-medicating by applying products of completely exotic appearance and properties to the sore spot. However, the hour X comes when you have to surrender to an experienced dentist. Despite all the effective advertising appeals, tooth extraction remains a problem for many of us. However, this is not just a misconception, but also a dangerous belief, because a sick tooth begins to provoke inflammatory processes in nearby tissues, then you have to remove not one tooth, but, at a minimum, treat all the others.

Tooth extraction is a procedure that has its own rather ancient history. Exodontia – this is the correct name for this “terrible” procedure – was known to our ancestors. True, in ancient times, tooth extraction was done in truly barbaric ways, moreover, there were even some types of medieval torture, during which absolutely healthy teeth were pulled out of unfortunate prisoners. Perhaps our fear has genetic roots in those times, otherwise how can we explain the stubborn reluctance to go to the dentist, given that everyone today knows about modern methods, when tooth extraction is painless. Dentistry of the 21st century is considered “tooth-preserving” and low-traumatic, so developed are dental technologies, methods and equipment. Of course, exodontia remains a rather complicated procedure, because, as a rule, the tooth is inflamed, crumbled, just like its root. Tooth extraction in modern clinics is carried out in extreme cases, when all methods to save it have been tried, but measures to save it do not give results. Also, tooth extraction may be necessary to correct malocclusion. Such orthodontic procedures are reasonable and necessary.

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When is tooth extraction indicated?

Tooth extraction should be performed in the following cases:

• more than half of all exodontic surgeries are due to infection of the soft tissues around the diseased tooth or advanced caries;
• when it is an insurmountable obstacle that prevents the growth of adjacent teeth;
• inflammatory diseases of the gums of infectious or bacterial etiology;
• it breaks, collapses due to mechanical trauma;
• bite correction;
• The wisdom tooth interferes with the growth of neighboring teeth or grows into the gum.

Tooth extraction is performed using two methods: a complex, surgical method and a simple, less painful and faster method.

A simple method - good visualization, tooth extraction is performed under local anesthesia. The dentist uses special instruments that expand the jaw. The tooth is usually loosened to loosen the alveolar tissue and bone, dental pliers are placed on it, the tooth is grasped and pulled out.

A complex method (surgical mini-operation) is indicated in cases where it is difficult to reach the tooth with conventional instruments. Surgery is also necessary to remove teeth that stick out in the form of small fragments above the gum, or for teeth that have grown into the gum. In this case, excision of the jaw bone or dissection of nearby soft tissues is often performed. Sometimes the tooth has to be broken into components and removed in portions, in parts.

Tooth extraction: consequences and therapeutic measures

As a rule, immediately after the extraction, you need to sit for a while near the doctor's office and wait until the bleeding stops completely, so as not to cope with it alone at home. An antiseptic gauze swab is placed between the place where the tooth was extracted and the opposite jaw, which should be bitten to create pressure to stop the bleeding. Then, rinsing the wound is prescribed, which can be done at home. Oral care is mandatory, as well as a fasting period after the extraction. The exact time is determined by the doctor depending on the severity of the operation. Often, broad-spectrum antibiotics are prescribed to prevent wound infection. They must be taken for at least five days. In no case should you touch the damaged area yourself, try to touch the wound or open it. A follow-up examination and a visit to the doctor are also mandatory. If the pain becomes severe after the extraction, you can take an analgesic, it is better if the dentist prescribes it in advance. You should not take citramon and all aspirin-containing drugs, as acetylsalicylic acid will thin the blood and prevent it from clotting quickly in the wound. Body temperature may rise, in which case you should take an NSAID - a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (ibuprofen, diclofenac). You should not worry about swelling of the cheek on the side where the tooth was removed. This is a completely normal, transient inflammatory phenomenon. In case of wound suppuration, you should visit your doctor again, an additional course of antibiotics or a visit to the clinic for specialized antiseptic irrigation may be needed.

Complications after tooth extraction

Tooth extraction will not be painful, and may not even happen at all if you schedule a preventive dental examination in advance. It is believed that a regular visit to the dentist should be the norm, and not a reason for losing teeth. Medieval horrors are a thing of the past, modern dentistry is competent, professional doctors, high-tech diagnostic equipment, a lot of painkillers and methods that allow tooth extraction to be performed quickly and painlessly.