• Damage– Tooth that is severely damaged due to decay, periodontitis or trauma and can no longer be repaired through restorative procedures would need to be pulled out. Damaged teeth can bring unbearable pain, infection and discomfort if not removed.
  • Infection, Periodontal or Gum Disease– Severe peri-apical and periodontal problems can cause infection in the gums, tissues and bones that support and surround the teeth. To prevent worsening of the infection, tooth removal is usually recommended.
  • Risk of systematic infection– Patients whose immune system has been compromised (such as cancer and organ transplant patients) may need to go through tooth extraction for certain teeth to prevent the risk of infection.
  • Orthodontic treatment– In case that the orthodontic treatment plan requires extraction of a particular tooth, that tooth needs to be removed to give space for re-alignment of the other teeth.

Tooth extraction procedure at Udental Clinic

Step 1: Clinical evaluation and blood test investigation

  • Examine, X-ray taking to investigate the condition of the tooth which needs extraction.
  • Blood test – the blood test is mandatory in tooth extraction and minor surgery. With blood test result, doctor can evaluate the systematic health of the patient to ensure that tooth extraction/ minor surgery will be done with the best safety.

Step 2: Antiseptic and Anesthesia

  • The related face and tooth region will be applied with antiseptic solution to kill bacteria in the extraction area.
  • Anesthetic injection to give numbness on the related tooth, gum and bone tissue region.

Step 3: Extraction of the tooth / Minor surgery

  • Tooth extraction – the tooth is normally firmly encased in the socket, and held in place by ligament. To remove the tooth, the doctor enlarges the socket then separates the tooth from the ligament, then out of the socket.
  • Minor surgery – in case of removing impacted tooth, the doctor will do gum incision at the tooth region to expose the alveolar bone around the tooth, then cut a little bone to expose the tooth crown if needed. The procedure of taking the tooth out of the socket is similar to procedure of tooth extraction.

Step 4: Closing the space vacated by the tooth

Removing your tooth will leave the socket open. These are the steps that the doctor will do for the socket after removal of the tooth:

  • Remove all infected or pathologic tissue as well as any tooth fragment or loose bone by scraping and rinsing the walls of the socket.
  • Round off any sharp bone edges and evaluate the socket for any sinus complications (in case it’s the upper back tooth).
  • Put gauze to stop bleeding in the socket.
  • Stitch up the extraction site.

Step 5: Controlling bleeding, minimizing swelling, prescription and instruction:

  • The doctor or nurse places a folded gauze over the site of tooth extraction and asks you to bite down on it to create firm pressure, which will control bleeding. Although uncontrolled bleeding seems not to happen due to in-advanced blood test, you still should bite and hold the gauze as required to make sure that bleeding can be controlled well.
  • The doctor will give prescription and instruction of wound care after extraction.

At Udental Clinic, the extraction or minor surgery procedure is done thoroughly and gently as much as possible, so the recovery process after procedure is very fast and simple.

To ensure that the wound will be best healed, please follow these instructions:

  • Bite gently but firmly on the gauze pad that the doctor places on your mouth to let a clot form in the tooth socket.
  • Follow prescription strictly.
  • At least 24 hours after procedure: No strong sport, no forceful mouth wash or spitting, no rinsing with salt water, no strong saliva splitting, no smoking.
  • Good dental hygiene as doctor’s instruction.
  • Re-examine after 1 week, removal of sutures.

Tooth extraction cases were made at Udental Clinic