Medicover Dental Clinic - Tooth extraction

A surgical tooth extraction is required when a simple plier is not enough to remove the tooth.

In case of severe gum disease or tooth decay, tooth extraction may become unavoidable.

The dentist will check the crown, roots, and fillings if they do not cause the problem before removing the tooth.

In what cases is tooth removal needed?

extensive decay, unsalvageable teeth
loose or heavily damaged tooth (due to an accident or tooth decay)
painful wisdom tooth
losing baby teeth late as they blocking the growth of permanent teeth
surgical intervention
genetic causes
unnecessary tooth to orthodontic
radiotherapy to the area of head and neck -in the field of radiation teeth may be extracted
receiving cancer drugs – they can lead to infected teeth as weakening the immune system
bone grafting

Tooth extraction is a routine intervention. There are some cases where the tooth can be removed with a simple tooth removal, and in other cases, oral surgery is needed.

Simple tooth removal can be considered when there is a suitable part of the tooth above the gum. The dentist pulls it with the help of pliers in local anesthesia.

When is surgical tooth extraction needed?

In the following cases, this more complex intervention, the surgical tooth removal may be necessary:

in case of an extensive tooth decay, when tooth could easily break
if the tooth root is heavily twisted or too branched in the gum
in case of an impacted tooth and if the root is still in the gum (broken tooth)

In this case, the oral surgeon cuts the gum at the affected area, so can access the broken or stuck tooth and perform tooth removal.

A special case of tooth removal: the wisdom tooth

On the two sides of our lower and upper jaws, the last tooth is the wisdom tooth. In some cases, it develops and hides, but the phenomenon is not uncommon that the tooth can not break out, just stays in the jaw.

In this case, we can talk about an impacted wisdom tooth removal which can be removed by oral surgery, with special tools. The oral surgery procedure is performed in local anesthesia and most of the teeth are removed in several parts, if necessary, we can access the lower parts by “scraping” some of the jaw bone.

It may be an unpleasant procedure, as the patient should keep the mouth open for a longer period of time and the pain or swelling after surgery may last for days.

However, in most cases, oral surgery is unavoidable as local inflammation, fever, jaw closure may occur.

Angular impacted wisdom teeth

it cannot break from the gum and the soft tissues, its crown is laying towards the roots of the adjacent tooth
in extreme cases, it may even break the root of the adjacent tooth

Partial Eruption

the wisdom tooth can only partially break out from the gum, its crown “fouls” under the crown of the adjacent tooth
there is a very high risk of unnoticed caries of the adjacent tooth root

Horizontal impacted wisdom teeth

the wisdom tooth cannot break from the gum because the crown of the wisdom tooth leans horizontally on the adjacent tooth root
in this case, it is almost certain, that it can only be removed in pieces

Vertical impacted wisdom teeth

the tooth cannot break from the gum because it is embedded vertically under the crown of the adjacent tooth
in such cases, the oral surgeons remove the adjacent tooth before the wisdom teeth

After the intervention

Our professional oral surgeons will give you instructions regarding the healing period. As tooth removal is also a kind of surgery there are some aspects that our patients should consider. After the tooth extraction for a few days, our patients can feel mild pain. To avoid this our professional team suggest painkillers for a given period of time. The first pill should be taken before the local anesthesia ceases. Surgical tooth extraction usually causes more pain than a simple tooth removal. Thus it depends on the complexity and the difficulty of the tooth removing. There is no reason to worry as the pain disappears in a few days.

As in case of all surgical procedure swelling can also occur, to reduce it we recommend using an ice pack on the face for 20 minutes. It is also recommended to eat cool and soft foods for a few days after the tooth removal. Moreover, do not smoke for 72 hours after the surgery as it can cause bleeding in the treated area.

Are there any risks regarding the treatment?

There is a small risk, which occurs in 3-4% of tooth extraction: the dry socket. In case of a blood clot doesn’t form in the hole or it breaks off or breaks down too early. If it happens, the underlying bone is exposed to air and food. It can be painful, usually begins to cause pain on the third day after the tooth extraction. It can be recognized as it causes bad taste not to mention the pain.

The dry socket could occur in bigger chance in case of impacted tooth removal or difficult surgical extraction. There is a bigger chance also when the patient is a smoker or taking birth control pills. It should be treated with medicines, so in case you feel these symptoms, contact your dentist!

Other potential risks

Infections can also occur when the patient’s immune system is not that strong for any reason.
In case of problematic tooth extraction, tooth root could in the jaw remain, our dentists usually remove the root to prevent infection
A hole in the sinus during removal of a molar. A small hole will usually heal itself in a few weeks. If not, more surgical procedure may be required.
Soreness in the jaw can occur because of the injections or keeping your mouth open during the treatment, which was unusual for the muscles.

However, we wanted to mention these risks, our professionalized team works with the highest EU standards and has many years of experiences facing many rare cases and solving them succesfully.

When should I call my dentist?

We recommend calling your dentist if:

The swelling gets worse in a few days
Having fever or redness
Having trouble with swallowing
Having uncontrolled bleeding in the treated area
Your tongue, chin or lip feels numb more than 3-4 hours after the invention
The extraction site becomes very painful as it may be a sign of a developed a dry socket.

In case of an infection, the dentist usually will prescribe antibiotics.

To minimize the risks, our medical team applies the highest health regulations in the EU, not to mention the fact that our dentists, with many years of experience under their belt, have already encountered and resolved various rare cases.

Tooth extraction