When a tooth has to come out
Decay or infection that has gone too far to repair, a tooth broken below the gum, crowding ahead of orthodontic work, or a wisdom tooth that has come through at an angle and cannot be kept clean. Where a tooth can still be saved, it is.
Simple and surgical
A tooth that is fully through the gum is loosened and lifted out, which takes less time than most people expect. A tooth that is broken down or still under the gum needs a small incision first. Both are done here under local anesthetic.
Afterwards
A clot forms in the socket, and that clot is what heals the site, so the aftercare is mostly about protecting it. No rinsing, no smoking and no straws for the first day. You will be given written instructions before you leave.
Replacing the tooth
A gap does not have to stay a gap. An implant, a bridge or a denture can each fill it, and the right time to start depends on how the socket heals. It is worth talking through before the extraction rather than after it.
