Tooth Extractions

The last option, not the first

Saving your natural teeth is the priority in this office. An extraction happens when a tooth cannot be restored — when decay or fracture has gone too far, when infection cannot be resolved any other way, or when removing it is what protects the rest of your mouth and your health.

Wisdom teeth are their own category: they are frequently removed not because they are damaged but because there is no room for them, and impaction causes pain, crowding and infection.

What to expect

The area is thoroughly numbed. A simple extraction — a tooth fully visible above the gum line — is generally quick, and you will feel firm pressure rather than pain. A surgical extraction, for a tooth that is broken at the gum line or impacted, takes longer and involves a small incision.

You will go home with clear aftercare instructions, and someone who will answer the phone if you have a question that evening.

Healing well

• Bite gently on the gauze to let a clot form — that clot is what heals the socket.
• Do not smoke, and do not drink through a straw for several days. Suction can dislodge the clot and cause a dry socket, which is genuinely painful and entirely avoidable.
• Stick to soft foods at first and chew on the other side.
• Keep the rest of your mouth clean; rinse gently with warm salt water after the first day.
• Some swelling and discomfort is normal. Increasing pain after day three is not — call us.

What comes next

A gap is not a good place to stop. The teeth around it drift, the opposing tooth over-erupts, and the bone in the space begins to resorb. Before we take a tooth out, we will talk about what goes back in: a dental implant, a fixed bridge, or a partial denture.