Tooth Extraction

Tooth Extractions

Tooth extractions are common procedures performed by our team here at American Smile in London. If you have had an accident or infection has developed and you have advanced gum disease, pulling a tooth may be your only option. Choosing American Smile vastly reduces the chances of developing a further infection of the tooth and the surrounding area.

A tooth extraction procedure involves gently removing a tooth from its socket in your jaw bone. While extracting a tooth is rare, there are various situations that can lead to an emergency procedure like this, such as:

  • Wisdom teeth infection
  • Untreated tooth decay
  • Development (to make room for permanent teeth to grow correctly)
  • Other infections
Tooth Extractions London

Types of tooth extraction that we perform at American Smile, Chelsea

Prior to the actual tooth extraction procedure, the dentist may take the X-rays of your teeth. During the procedure itself, you may also opt to have a sedation. At American Smile we can offer various options, including local anaesthetic and inhalation sedation. It is highly recommended to have some form of sedation if you need impacted wisdom teeth removed, or if you have dental anxiety.

The three types of extractions you may experience include:

  • Simple Extraction. This is the most common form of tooth extraction. During this procedure, we use a special tool to loosen the tooth before using forceps to remove the tooth completely. We can offer you a temporary tooth to replace the extracted one until you can have it more permanently replaced. Once the extraction site is recovered you may consider replacing the tooth, perhaps with an implant, bridge or denture.
  • Surgical extraction. This kind of tooth extraction involves the process of creating an incision in your gum and removing the bone around your tooth, or cutting the tooth in half, then extracting it. Surgery often requires stitches to sew up the incision.
  • Wisdom teeth extraction. Wisdom teeth are most commonly extracted just before, or immediately after, they come in, which usually happens between the ages of 17 and 20. The need for wisdom teeth removal is usually because they have a tendency to become decayed and cause a lot of pain in your mouth. Impacted wisdom teeth don’t break through your gums and can lead to the development of a cyst or infection. All four wisdom teeth are usually taken out during the same visit.

Reasons for tooth extractions

Although there are a variety of reasons for needing a tooth extraction, at American Smile dental clinic we can recommend the safest and healthiest resolutions to treat your teeth.

  1. Tooth decay
    This is the most common reason for tooth removal. There are a few stages of tooth decay. At first, tooth decay affects the enamel of the tooth. Then, when it wears through the enamel, the dentin - an inner portion of the tooth - begins to deteriorate. Finally, when the tooth decay penetrates to the centre of the tooth to reach the pulp, it results in a root canal infection. The longer you go without treatment, the more extensive the infection and tooth destruction can become. If the tooth can’t be saved due to the severity of the decay, the dentist may recommend an extraction.
  2. Gum disease
    Gum disease can also lead to a tooth needing an extraction, as it can severely damage or loosen teeth so they cannot be saved. When left untreated, gum disease is just as destructive as tooth decay as the later stages of gum disease cause the degeneration of all structures that support the teeth, including the gum tissue, ligaments and bone. As those structures break down, the teeth become looser. Ultimately gum disease will cause the teeth to fall out on their own or the teeth may require extraction, along with gum disease and tooth replacement treatment.
  3. Overcrowded teeth
    We may recommend a tooth extraction if there’s a need to make more room in your mouth prior to getting braces.
    For example, if your teeth are severely overcrowded, the orthodontist may recommend the removal of permanent teeth. This creates more space for the remaining teeth to be pulled into alignment so they all sit flush with one another.
  4. Impacted teeth
    An impacted tooth is a tooth that has been blocked from breaking through the gum for some reason. It may not erupt beyond the gum line, or erupts only partially. There are various causes of tooth impaction, including overcrowding; a tooth that comes in at an odd angle; or a tooth that comes in at the ‘wrong’ place. It is common for wisdom teeth to be impacted because the jaw is not large enough to accommodate these teeth. At American Smile, our dentists can perform tooth extraction, and wisdom teeth removal can be performed on impacted teeth.
  5. Tooth breakage
    When a tooth is broken or mildly decayed, your dentist may be able to do some general dentistry procedures, such as fill a cavity, perform a root canal or provide you with a crown instead of pulling it. But if the tooth breaks near the gum line, there may not be enough of the visible tooth structure to perform a tooth restoration. In these cases we may suggest removing the tooth entirely.

Extraction procedure at American Smile

Tooth extraction procedure is carried out under local anaesthetic and the treatment time can range from 5 to 45 minutes in total depending on its complexity. We also have an on-site recovery room, where you can take your time and relax after the procedure.

Once the tooth is removed we can offer growth factors derived from your blood to accelerate healing after the extraction. These natural growth factors are placed directly into the location of the removed tooth. They rapidly accelerate healing; reduce post-operative pain and swelling; and aid the formation of new bone. We will also recommend a detailed post-procedure list of actions to control the healing process. When coupled with local application of growth factors, healing time is reduced drastically. Be sure to start by eating only soft, cool foods for a few days after the procedure. You can eat and drink other foods and beverages when you start to feel more comfortable.

At American Smile we offer the maximum in care for our patients who need to undergo a tooth extraction procedure including:

  • Flexible appointments, with Monday and Tuesday specially reserved for same-day appointments.
  • The support of a same-day call from our dentist, Dr. Suraj. He will phone you to give you advice straight away, and talk you through the whole process.
  • The offer of same-day emergency advice to all our patients, which can be sent to you by email.
  • A bespoke approach, tailored to you. There are a number of steps that lead to the tooth extraction procedure itself and every patient we see has different needs - there are often more steps necessary for the removal of wisdom teeth, for example. If you’re concerned about the procedure itself, talk to our American Smile team, based here in Chelsea, who are always on hand to help.

If you have any questions about the tooth extraction procedure at American Smile; you would like more information; or to schedule an appointment with the best tooth extraction dentist in London, Dr. Suraj, please contact our American Smile dental clinic now.

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Questions & Answers

Does a tooth extraction hurt?

Before any tooth extraction, the dentist normally numbs your teeth - meaning you should not feel any pain. Being at the forefront of dentistry, we use The Wand for painless anesthetic administration - please enquire about this at your appointment. 

Full recovery normally takes a couple of days. We can aid this process by using growth factors in the gap left behind by your tooth during the extraction process.

Once you arrive home, we recommend the following to help minimise any discomfort, reduce the risk of infection, and promote a speedy recovery:

  1. Take any pain relief medication that your dentist has recommended or prescribed
  2. Bite down firmly on the gauze pad to help a blood clot form in the socket and reduce bleeding. If the gauze becomes soaked through with blood, change it for a clean one and leave it in place for up to 3 hours.
  3. Apply an ice pack to the affected area right away to keep any swelling down and keep it in place for 10 minutes at a time.
  4. Refrain from rinsing or spitting with force for 24 hours after the extraction, which can dislodge any blood clot that has formed in the socket.
  5. Rest for at least 24 hours afterwards, and avoid any strenuous activity for the next few days.
  6. Do not smoke and avoid drinking through a straw, as this can impact healing.
  7. Rinse your mouth with a mouthwash or warm salt water after 24 hours.
  8. Eat a diet of soft foods such as soup, yoghurt, and scrambled eggs the day after the extraction. You can introduce more solid foods as the extraction site continues to heal.
  9. Laying flat can prolong any bleeding so try to keep your head propped up when lying down.

It’s normal to feel some discomfort and mild pain as the anaesthetic wears off but, if you have severe pain or bleeding more than 4 hours after your tooth has been pulled, then call your dentist for further advice.

Usually, the healing period lasts no more than one to two weeks. To avoid your other teeth shifting and causing bite problems, you might want to discuss replacing the tooth with an implant.

The procedure itself can be completed in anything from 5 minutes in simple cases to 45 minutes for more complex cases. Our surgeon will provide an estimate for the length of your procedure before you start the treatment.

Following a tooth extraction, we recommend that you refrain from heavy physical activity for at least 5 days afterwards. Walking is fine but anything that involves exertion should be avoided.

This is because, when you exercise, blood flow increases around the body and to the mouth which can lead to minor bleeding if the post-extraction blood clot dislodges.

Dry socket is a rare complication which happens after some teeth are removed. It affects only about 1.8% of people but can be common in smokers. Dry socket is where the blood clot does not form fully after a tooth has been removed, so the area is not able to heal fully.

It is easily identifiable by a noticeable dull pain in the area where the tooth was extracted. We help alleviate any impact of dry socket through the local application of growth factors through platelets rich in fibrin. This helps form a stable wound and allows healing to proceed as normal.

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