Dental Surgery
Dental and maxillofacial surgery
It is a specialty that includes several important axes in dental treatments. The most important of them lies in the extraction of teeth and the removal of abscesses and purulent cysts. In addition to treatments for correcting, cutting gums, rotting teeth, dental implants, and many other treatments.
Why are teeth extracted?
Teeth are extracted for several reasons:
- Caries penetrated deeply into the tooth.
- The infection destroys a large part of the tooth or surrounding bone.
- There is not enough space for all the teeth in your mouth.
Many dentists recommend extracting affected teeth that have only partially erupted. Bacteria can enter around the partially protruding tooth and cause an infection, which in turn can spread to the surrounding bone and become very dangerous. Damaged teeth continue to try to pass through the gum tissue even when there is not enough space to contain them. The constant pressure from an attempt to erupt over time will damage the surrounding tooth roots. Extracting the affected tooth often helps prevent infection and damage to the adjacent tooth and bone, and prevents future pain.
How are teeth extracted?
Before a tooth is extracted, the dentist will carefully review your medical history related to your teeth, and take appropriate X-rays
X-rays show the length, shape, location, and bone around the tooth. From this information, your dentist can estimate how difficult the procedure will be and determine if he or she needs to refer you to a specialist known as an oral surgeon.
Before the tooth is extracted, the area around it is numbed. Dentists use a local anesthetic to numb the area in the mouth where the extraction will take place.
In simple extractions, once the desired area is numbed, the tooth is loosened with the help of a tool known as a lifter, and then extracted using dental forceps. The dentist may also smooth and reshape the underlying bone. When the dentist has finished the procedure, he or she may choose to close the extraction site with a stitch.
What can I expect after the extraction?
It is important to keep the procedure site clean and prevent infection immediately after the tooth is extracted. Your dentist will ask you to gently bite down on a piece of dry, sterile gauze, which you should keep in place for 30 to 45 minutes to reduce bleeding until clotting occurs. For the next 24 hours, stop smoking, and don’t rinse your mouth vigorously or brush your teeth near the extraction site.
You should expect to feel some pain and discomfort after the extraction. In some cases, your dentist may recommend a pain reliever or may write it down for you in a prescription. Applying an ice pack to the face for 15 minutes at a time may help. You may also want to limit strenuous activities, avoiding hot drinks or using a straw to drink. The day after the extraction, your dentist may suggest that you begin to gently rinse your mouth with warm salt water (do not swallow this water). Under normal circumstances, pain and discomfort decrease within three days to two weeks. If you have prolonged or severe pain, swelling, bleeding, or fever, contact your dentist immediately.