Tooth extraction

Healing happens in stages instead of at a single point. The clot forms in the first day, the soft tissue closes over the following weeks, and the underlying bone continues remodelling for months afterwards. Simple extractions generally settle faster than surgical ones, and lower molars tend to be more uncomfortable than upper front teeth. Because the ridge keeps changing shape after the gum has closed, the timing of any replacement is a clinical judgment, not a fixed date.

A dry socket occurs when the blood clot that should fill the socket is lost or breaks down, leaving bone exposed. The pattern is characteristic: pain that improves initially and then increases around day two or three, often with a bad taste or odour. It is treatable: the socket is cleaned and a dressing placed. The main modifiable risk factors are smoking and disturbing the clot by rinsing, spitting or using a straw in the first 24 hours.

Both are legitimate, and the right answer depends on which tooth it is, what the bite looks like, what the neighboring teeth are doing and what your priorities are. Leaving a space can allow drifting, bite changes and cleaning difficulty over time, but that is not inevitable for every tooth. The important point is that this decision belongs before the extraction, because socket preservation and immediate implant placement are only options at the moment of removal.

The extraction is performed under local anesthetic, so you should feel pressure and movement instead of pain during it, and sedation is available where anxiety or complexity make it appropriate. Discomfort afterwards is expected and is managed with the practice's specific instructions. The pattern that matters is direction: pain that steadily reduces is normal, whereas pain that increases after the second day should be reported.

It depends on the extraction and on what your work involves. A simple extraction of a front tooth is very different from a surgical removal of a lower molar with sutures and swelling. Sedation requires someone to take you home and rules out driving and work for the rest of that day. Heavy physical work tends to be discouraged initially because exertion can disturb the clot. Ask for a realistic answer for your specific case before you book.

The ridge changes shape after a tooth is removed, most rapidly in the early months, because bone that supported the root is no longer loaded. Socket preservation places graft material into the socket to limit that change, which matters mainly if an implant or a well-shaped bridge pontic is planned for that site. It is not needed for every extraction. If it is proposed, ask what specifically it is preserving the site for.

Usually yes, but it changes the planning, and it is essential that the practice knows exactly what you take and at what dose. Advice on whether medication is adjusted comes from the prescribing doctor instead of being decided unilaterally at the dental practice, and stopping anticoagulant medication carries its own risks. Local measures to control bleeding are routine. What causes problems is not the medication itself but the practice not knowing about it.

Soft food that needs little chewing, kept away from the extraction site, and nothing very hot on the first day. Avoiding straws matters because suction can dislodge the clot. Practices generally advise against alcohol and smoking during early healing. Staying hydrated and eating properly supports healing, so the aim is to modify texture, not to skip meals. Follow the specific written instructions you were given over general advice.

Saving a natural tooth keeps the root in the bone and avoids the replacement question entirely, which is usually preferable where the tooth has a reasonable prognosis. Extraction is quicker and cheaper on the day but starts a separate, often larger, chain of treatment. The decision turns on whether the tooth is restorable, how much support it has, and what the realistic outlook is. If a tooth is being removed and you are not sure why, a second opinion with the radiographs is reasonable.

This is a clinical judgment based on the teeth involved, the difficulty of each, your medical history, whether sedation is used and how the healing will be managed. Multiple extractions are sometimes done in one visit, particularly when an immediate denture is being fitted. The trade-off is a larger recovery against fewer appointments. If several are planned together, ask how the healing will be managed and what appliance, if any, you will leave with.

A simple extraction removes a tooth that is visible above the gum and can be loosened and lifted out without cutting tissue. A surgical extraction involves raising the gum and, where necessary, removing a small amount of bone or sectioning the tooth: used for broken-down, curved-rooted or impacted teeth. Surgical extractions generally involve more swelling and a longer recovery, and the distinction should be explained before the appointment, not discovered during it.

Often yes: extraction is frequently how an infection is actually resolved when the tooth itself is the source and cannot be saved. The practice may prescribe antibiotics beforehand in specific situations, particularly with spreading swelling, but antibiotics are not a substitute for removing the source. Severe swelling affecting swallowing or breathing is a medical urgency instead of a routine extraction, and should be treated as such.