Top Things to Know Before Having a Tooth Extraction

It’s a very common procedure, having a tooth extracted. And if you keep a few simple things in mind, you can help ensure that this common procedure doesn’t get impacted by some uncommon issue. Find out what you should know ahead of your tooth extraction.

You Might Need Antibiotics

If you’re prone to severe infections, you’ll want to make sure your dentist knows about this before your extraction. Your dentist will almost certainly ask about this. But just in case this point somehow gets lost in the discussion, make sure your dentist knows.

The reason an extraction is a risk for spreading infection is because the extraction site, while it heals, is a wide-open on-ramp to your bloodstream.

Most people prone to infection can still have teeth extracted with no problem. The key is taking the right antibiotics ahead of the procedure.

You Won’t Feel Anything

We’re far removed from the days of downing a bit of liquor and squeezing an armrest while having a tooth pulled. These days, a quick injection of a local anesthetic to the extraction site is all you need to get through the procedure with minimal discomfort, if any.

By the time the anesthesia wears off, your tooth extraction procedure will be long over. And while you may need a simple over-the-counter painkiller to keep the swelling and tenderness down over the next day or two, you won’t need anything more than the local anesthetic during the procedure. If you’d rather have general anesthesia to sleep during the procedure, consider alternatives and sedation options for managing anxiety at the dentist’s office.

You Have Options for Managing Anxiety

Even people who understand their fears are a bit irrational, often there’s no helping that feeling. But if your dentist offers sedation options, there are ways to keep your mind from racing and to feel less anxious about your procedure.

Find Out More About Getting a Tooth Extraction in Omaha

Talk to a local dentist about what you expect from getting a tooth extraction in Omaha. Click here to schedule a consultation.

Common Reasons for a Tooth Extraction

common reasons for a tooth extraction

From nightmares of loose teeth to real world nerve pain ringing the root of a tooth, there are many things that might make you wonder if you’ll need to have a tooth extracted. Take at look at some of the more common reasons people need to have one or more of their teeth removed and find out what you can do to avoid having to have some of yours pulled.

Gum Disease and Tooth Decay

Roughly half the U.S. population suffers from gum disease to some degree and most of us (90 percent) have had at least one cavity in our lifetime. One in four of us has at least on untreated cavity.

There isn’t one reason that can explain why so many people have gum disease and untreated cavities. But there’s only one result if the problem goes untreated: tooth decay.

Left untreated long enough, gum disease fosters tooth decay. And once a tooth has decayed past a certain point, it become necessary to extract the tooth – otherwise, the decaying tooth will only incubate bacteria and spread the disease to other teeth.

Injury

You don’t have to be an athlete participating in a contact sport to suffer trauma to your teeth. From car accidents to simply not paying attention to where you’re walking, it’s not hard to imagine ways a bit of blunt force trauma can send you to a dentist for a tooth extraction.

Overcrowding

Often the cause for wisdom teeth removal, overcrowding is yet another common cause for tooth extractions. If there isn’t enough room for wisdom teeth to emerge and join the rest of the teeth in your mouth, your dentist will recommend that your wisdom teeth be extracted.

You may not need any wisdom teeth extracted or you may not need them all removed. It all depends on whether each individual wisdom tooth has space to emerge without disrupting the alignment of established teeth.

Find Out More

Concerned you may need to have a tooth extracted? Whatever the reason, you can get definitive answers about tooth extractions in Omaha by talking with a local dentist.

Contact us to schedule a consultation with a dentist renown for tooth extractions in Omaha.