It can be a terrifying thing to hear your dentist say that he or she has to remove one or more of your teeth completely. It leaves you feeling self-conscious, and worried about how you will chew, eat, talk, and look. You should know that an extraction is the last resort for any dentist since the goal of dentistry is to preserve the teeth you have and prevent tooth loss, decay, and/or gum disease. Thankfully Dr. Tim Wachuta of Gentle Smiles of Colorado knows how important it is to many patients to keep an attractive and functional set of teeth.
Extractions Made as Painless as Possible
Extractions are major oral surgery. Most dentists who also have a license as an oral surgeon will put you under anesthesia. It used to be full and general anesthesia, but things have changed to allow for "twilight anesthesia". This allows the surgeon to monitor you and your facial reactions during the procedure without you being fully awake or fully asleep. Some people will still fall asleep during twilight anesthesia, but it is generally a very light sleep.
Then the surgeon will freeze up your mouth on the side where the tooth or teeth extraction will occur. A drilling and fracturing process takes place on molars, whereas other teeth are generally just pulled. (Because molars are much larger and often have deeper roots, the surgeon has to approach molar removal differently.)
Dissolvable sutures may be used when necessary, but usually, the surgeon will just pack the areas with wads of sterile surgical gauze and surgical cotton. You may be instructed to swap out the gauze and cotton every hour or a couple of hours until the bleeding subsides. Pain medication and antibiotics are prescribed to help with the healing and prevent infection, respectively.
Addressing Spaces and Gaps in Your Mouth After Extraction
Many Denver cosmetic dentists have treated patients with gaps in their mouths. The gaps may be the result of tooth loss from accidents, but patients who have had extractions are counted as part of this patient base too. The Denver cosmetic dentists work with patients on many different restorative options, including bridges, partials, full dentures, and implants.
For bridges, partials, and full dentures, your dentist will have to wait until your mouth heals from the extraction surgery. The gaps in your smile have to be fitted and measured over healed gums. As for implants, that may be a little bit different depending on who is doing the procedure.
You can discuss all of these additional options with Dr. Tim Wachuta when you begin planning and preparing for your tooth extraction appointment. He will advise you on which option may be best for you and how you may have the chosen additional procedures completed. It may be possible to have things like an implant done at the same time as the tooth extraction, but it is decided on a case-by-case basis.