Tooth Extraction: Nature, Medical Indications, Types, and Risk Factors
Tooth extraction is always a serious decision, but not your dentist's whim. In some cases it is even a matter of life and death, but for the majority of patients it is the only way to get rid of pain and discomfort. For those, who happened to find themselves in such situation, we would like to offer a piece of useful information on the tooth extraction issue.
What is Tooth Extraction?
Tooth extraction is the removal of an affected tooth from its socket in the jaw bone. The main tooth extraction tool is forceps, introduced only in the middle of XX century. However, there is a wide variety of this dental procedure types, requiring the use of some additional instruments. Certainly, your dentist always tries to save your tooth. However, there are some medical indications, when you have no choice, but to have your tooth extracted.
What are Medical Indications for Tooth Extraction?
There are a number of dental conditions, when your dentist finds it impossible to save your teeth and suggests you to have one or a few of them extracted. This is usually relevant for the misaligned, crowded, extra, non-functional, cracked, or broken teeth. The dental extraction is also indicated for the teeth, which do not allow the root canal treatment to be performed, or those ones, affected by the advanced periodontal disease or extensive decay (dental caries). In addition, the impacted and misaligned wisdom teeth are also the traditional candidates for the removal. Apart from that, tooth extraction might be required in order to make more room in the patient's oral cavity for some types of orthodontic treatment performance, such as bracing, or putting fixed or movable dentures.
And finally, there are some health conditions and medical drugs, which contribute to the need of the tooth extraction, as they weaken the immune body system and teeth enamel, causing infection to enter the affected tooth. These are cancer and drugs, associated with it, as well as radiation treatment, organ transplantation and uncontrolled diabetes.
What are the Types of Tooth Extraction?
There are two types of tooth extractions: a simple and surgical one. A simple tooth extraction is performed on the externally visible and easily accessible teeth. This type of dental removal can be performed by your local general dentist with no apparent difficulties. The patient gets a local anesthetic injection before his tooth extraction.
A surgical tooth extraction is a much more complicated procedure. It is performed on impacted or broken under the gum line teeth, which cannot be easily accessed. In such cases an oral surgeon makes a gum incision and pulls back the gums, this way providing access the jaw bone or a piece of the tooth to be removed. The surgical extraction is performed under a local anesthesia with the use of some sedative medications to relief the pain and anxiety. This way you will feel just the light pressure, but not the pain during the surgery. Please, note that young children and patients with specific medical or behavioral conditions might need general anesthesia.
What are the Tooth Extraction Risk Factors?
Tooth extraction is usually associated with a number of the risk factors are the following.
A dry socket problem might develop in approximately 3 - 4% of all dental extractions. It occurs when a blood clot fails to form in the tooth hole or the breaks off too early. This leads to the underlying bone exposure to air and food. The pain and bad taste symptom usually manifest themselves on the third day after surgery.
Extensive bleeding and infection might also develop after the tooth extraction. The first is usually successfully prevented by taking coagulation medications during the removal. Apart from that, you are not likely to get an infection, if you have a healthy immune system.
The other tooth extraction risk factors include face and gums swelling, accidental damage to nearby teeth, tooth nerve injury, incomplete extraction hole in the sinus, jaw muscles soreness, fractured jaw, chin, or lower lip.
In order to avoid these complications, take your time to go through the detailed pre-extraction examination, which must include not only your teeth, jaw bone and gums condition evaluation, but also your medical history investigation. Only in such case, the tooth extraction will surely bring you the long-awaited relief!
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