If you’ve been told you need a tooth extraction — or fear that you might — you may feel apprehensive. Let’s take a look at what to expect so that you can feel at ease about your treatment. In our practice, we prioritize your comfort. If you’re anxious about having your tooth removed, please know that Dr. Susan M. Dennis offers sedation so that you can approach your appointment in peaceful relaxation.
Sedation Options for Tooth Extraction
We offer two forms of sedation to help you experience a sense of calm during your procedure. Nitrous oxide, breathed in through a mask over your nose, produces a calming effect that helps many patients ease into the extraction. A benefit of this type of sedative medicine is that it doesn’t have lingering effects, allowing you to drive yourself home from your appointment.
Conscious sedation produces stronger results and is a wonderful aid for patients with significant dental anxiety. This sedative medication is taken by pill before your scheduled appointment time to bring you into a carefree, relaxed state in which you also maintain complete ability to respond. Keep in mind that these sedative effects will not wear off right away, so you’ll need someone to drive you home from your appointment. For more information on our sedation options, visit our Sedation Dentist page.
Our Post-Procedural Care
After your extraction is complete, we’ll apply gauze to the affected area and instruct you to keep pressure on it by continuing to bite down on the gauze. We’ll have you remain seated in this position until a blood clot has formed, which could take ten minutes or more, depending on the type of extraction you’ve had done. Once this is complete, we’ll send you home with instructions for caring for your extraction site.
Home Care
Do:
- Rest. Avoid any exertion for the first couple of hours following the procedure.
- Manage your pain. Take over-the-counter pain relievers as needed. Prescription pain medication may be offered.
- Expect some bleeding. Blood-tinged saliva is normal for the first day.
- Watch for thick bleeding with dark red blood clots. If this occurs, apply more pressure by biting on gauze for 45 minutes. Repeat once if needed. If bleeding persists past two 45-minute periods, call us or go to the emergency room.
Don’t:
- Don’t suck or spit. This will tend to provoke bleeding.
- Don’t engage in strenuous activity for the first couple of hours.
Surgical Extraction: Special Instructions
In some cases, it may necessary to create an incision and maybe remove some bone in order to extract the tooth. We call this a surgical extraction. If you have a surgical extraction, you’ll need to take extra post-operative care, as follows:
Pain & Swelling
You’re more likely to need a prescription for a pain reliever.
There may be some swelling If so, expect swelling for the first two days. If it goes on longer, let us know, as this may signal an infection. To minimize normal swelling, try applying cold compresses to your face during the day for the first couple of days and propping your head up with an extra pillow at night. After two days, the swelling should begin to go down and heat can accelerate that process.
Rest
You may need to avoid strenuous activity for the first full day.
Brushing & Rinsing
It’s important that you keep the incision area clean. You can swish with a warm salt water solution: half a teaspoon of salt mixed with one cup of water. After a day, begin gently brushing the area. It’s important to keep it clean, but be gentle enough so you don’t tear the tissue that is sutured.
Eating
The day of your surgical extraction, eat only soft or liquid foods such as smoothies, yogurt, applesauce, or pudding. The next day, you may experiment with bringing back in some other foods, but only if you feel up to it. Take your time; as your pain lessens and your ability to move your mouth improves, you’ll gradually feel like you can return to your normal diet.
Restoring Your Extracted Tooth
Unless the tooth you’ve had removed was a wisdom tooth, you’ll surely be eager to get it replaced after the extraction site has healed. The wonderful news is that we can restore it so that no one will ever be able to tell it’s not your own natural tooth! For the most natural look and feel, we’ll place a dental implant, a porcelain crown securely anchored to your jaw. To help prepare for later placing an implant, we may graft some bone into the extraction site. In some cases, the implant fixture can be placed the same day the tooth is extracted.
Another beautiful way to restore your missing tooth is with a porcelain or zirconia bridge. To learn more, visit our pages on dental implants and zirconia bridges.
We’re Here to Help
If you need a tooth extracted or restored, we’d love to help you. To schedule an appointment, simply call our office or request an appointment online.