What is an Tooth Extraction and Who does it?

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Hi my name is Dr. Dionysius David and I am a general dentist. Today we will be discussing the dental procedure Extractions.

What is an Extraction and Who does it?

An extraction describes the process where a tooth is removed from a patients mouth. It may require an incision into the gums and/or drilling into the tooth or its supporting bone during the procedure.

2 types of people perform extractions – General Dentists and Oral Surgeons. What is the difference?

A General Dentist has completed a dental degree at an accredited University. An Oral surgeon is a Specialist who has completed a dental degree but has gone on to complete a hospital residency for an extra 4-7 years and passed their Royal College examination.

Reasons For an Extraction:

  1. Infection

    • If the tooth structure is infected this is known as Caries which is usually referred to as a “Cavity.” If the Caries gets deep and infects the pulp/‘living’ tissue of the tooth then the tooth will require a Tooth Extraction or root canal to resolve the cause of the infection.

    • If the gums and/or supporting tissues get infected and an abscess forms this may result in the tooth needing to be extracted due to a Periodontal/gum issue. The extraction removes the cause of the infection.

  2. Unrestorable– This means your dentist has decided the damage that has occurred to the tooth by infection, such as caries, or by function such as a fracture, prevents it from being restored/ fixed. Reasons for this include

    • Not enough sound tooth structure due to large decay

    • Vertical Fracture

    • Root canal Treatment that cannot be redone

  3. Orthodontics

Risks or postoperative complications:

Any procedure has risks associated with it. After extractions some of these include:
Bleeding, swelling, infection, or damage to structures beside the teeth being removed: Such as adjacent teeth, supporting bone, nerves, and sinuses.

The information in this video is meant to be a summary. If you have any further questions do discuss these with your dentist or talk to us. Call (403)-252-7733 or visit us at 41 Crowfoot Rise NW, in Calgary.

 

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