Orange Park dentist, Dentist in Orange Park, FL

Tooth extraction for gum disease

Tooth extraction is done when gum disease has loosened or severely damaged a tooth. In most cases, a dentist can pull (extract) your tooth. However, if the procedure is complicated or risky, an oral or maxillofacial surgeon may do the extraction.

Your dentist or oral surgeon may give you a local anesthetic to numb the area where the tooth will be removed. A stronger, general anesthetic may be used, especially if several of your teeth need to be removed at the same time. A general anesthetic prevents pain in the whole body and will make you groggy or sleep through the procedure.

After removing the tooth, the dentist or surgeon may put in stitches (sutures) and place gauze over the wound to help stop bleeding.

What To Expect After Surgery

Typically, it takes only a few days to recover from a tooth extraction. Be sure to follow the home care instructions that your dentist or oral surgeon gives you. If you have questions about your instructions, call the dentist or surgeon. The following are general suggestions to help speed recovery:

· Take painkillers as prescribed.

· Rinse your mouth gently with warm salt water several times a day to reduce swelling and relieve pain.

· Change gauze pads before they become soaked with blood.

· Relax after surgery. Strenuous physical activity may increase bleeding.

· Eat soft foods, such as gelatin, pudding, or light soup. Gradually add solid foods to your diet as the area heals.

· Do not lie flat. This may prolong bleeding. Prop up your head with pillows.

· Continue to carefully brush your teeth and tongue.

· Apply an ice or cold pack to the outside of your mouth to help relieve pain and swelling.

· Do not use sucking motions, such as when using a straw to drink.

· Do not smoke.

Your dentist will remove your stitches a few days after the surgery or it may dissolve on its own.

Why is it Done?

An extraction is necessary when gum disease has damaged a tooth so badly that there is no other way to prevent the infection from spreading and damaging nearby teeth and bones.

How Well It Works

Removing a tooth prevents gum disease from spreading and damaging nearby teeth and bones.

Risks

Tooth extraction can introduce harmful bacteria into the bloodstream. Gum tissue is also at risk of infection. You may need to take antibiotics before and after surgery if you have a condition that puts you at high risk for developing a severe infection, such as:

• Damaged or man-made heart valves.
• A congenital heart defect.
• An impaired immune system.
• Liver disease (cirrhosis).
• An artificial joint, such as a hip replacement.
• A history of bacterial endocarditic.

After an extraction, a blood clot forms in the tooth socket. The clot protects the bone while the healing process takes place. If that blood clot is dislodged, you may have a dry socket, in which the bone is exposed. Dry sockets may last for several days and may cause severe pain that sometimes includes ear pain.

What To Think About

If you delay having a damaged tooth removed, your gum disease can spread and cause you to lose more teeth.

Your dentist or oral surgeon may recommend that a bridge or implant be installed after extraction.

To promote healing, stop all use of tobacco. It decreases your ability to fight infection of your gums and delays healing. For more information, see the topic Quitting Tobacco Use.

EXTRACTION of WISDOM TEETH

A general anesthetic prevents pain in the whole body and will make you groggy or cause you to sleep through the procedure. Your dentist will probably recommend that you don't eat or drink after midnight on the night before surgery, so you are prepared for the anesthetic.

To remove the wisdom tooth, your dentist will open up the gum tissue over the tooth and take out any bone that is covering the tooth. He or she will separate the tissue connecting the tooth to the bone and then remove the tooth. Sometimes the dentist will cut the tooth into smaller pieces to make it easier to remove.

After the tooth is removed, you may need stitches. Some stitches dissolve over time and some have to be removed after a few days. Your dentist will tell you whether your stitches need to be removed. A folded cotton gauze pad placed over the wound will help stop the bleeding.

What To Expect After Surgery
In most cases, the recovery period lasts only a few days. Take painkillers as prescribed by your dentist or oral surgeon. The following tips will help speed your recovery.

• Bite gently on the gauze pad periodically, and change pads as they become soaked with blood. Call your dentist or oral surgeon if you still have bleeding 24 hours after your surgery.
  While your mouth is numb, be careful not to bite the inside of your cheek or lip, or your tongue.
• Do not lie flat. This may prolong bleeding. Prop up your head with pillows.
• Try using an ice pack on the outside of your cheek for the first 24 hours. You can use moist heat-such as a washcloth soaked in warm water and wrung out-for the following 2 or 3 days.
• Relax after surgery. Physical activity may increase bleeding.
  Eat soft foods, such as gelatin, pudding, or a thin soup. Gradually add solid foods to your diet as healing progresses.
• Do not use a straw for the first few days. Sucking on a straw can loosen the blood clot and delay healing.
• After the first day, gently rinse your mouth with warm salt water several times a day to reduce swelling and relieve pain.
• Do not smoke for at least 24 hours after your surgery. The sucking motion can loosen the clot and delay healing. In addition, smoking decreases the blood supply and can bring germs and contaminants to the surgery area.
  Avoid rubbing the area with your tongue or touching it with your fingers.
• Continue to brush your teeth and tongue carefully.
  Your dentist will remove the stitches after a few days, if needed.

Why Is It Done?
A wisdom tooth is extracted to correct an actual problem or to prevent problems that may come up in the future. When wisdom teeth come in, a number of problems can occur:

Your jaw may not be large enough to accommodate them, and they may become impacted and unable to break through your gums.
Your wisdom teeth may break partway through your gums, causing a flap of gum tissue to grow over them. Food and germs can become trapped under the flap and cause your gums to become red, swollen, and painful. These are signs of infection.
More serious problems can develop from impacted teeth, such as infection, damage to other teeth and bone, or the development of a cyst.
One or more of your wisdom teeth may come in at an awkward angle, with the top of the tooth facing forward, backward, or to either side.

How Well It Works
Wisdom tooth removal usually is effective in preventing:

• Crowding of the back teeth.
• A wisdom tooth becoming stuck in the jaw (impacted) and never breaking through the gums.
• Red, swollen, and painful gums caused by a flap of skin around a wisdom tooth that has only partially come in.
• Gum disease and tooth decay in the wisdom tooth, which may be harder to clean than other teeth, or in the teeth and jaw in the area of the wisdom tooth.