There could be a considerable number of reasons why a person would have to undergo a tooth extraction. Given that it’s only done when necessary, the recovery period could be an issue for most.
Fortunately, if you’d like to find a reliable dentist to guide you in every step of the process, then there are a significant number of clinics that offer advanced dental care in Ocala.
Who needs this procedure?
Contrary to popular beliefs, there are many reasons why a hygienist would suggest a tooth retraction which could be any of the following:
- There’s vast cavity damage that’s beyond repair
- The tooth can’t fall out naturally or is blocking the space for an incoming adult tooth
- There’s no room to insert dental implants, dentures, or other orthodontic treatment
- It’s too painful, have been infected, or stuck
- There’s an appearance of advanced gum diseases, making it likely that the bones are weakened and needs additional support.
What to expect
If you’re someone who most dentists recommend you to undergo tooth extraction, there are a couple of things you could expect once you decide to push through.
Keep in mind that this procedure has two types: the first one is a simple retraction, while the other is a surgical process. Whichever option the dentist took on your behalf, you could look forward to receiving a local anesthesia injection before the practice.
This ensures that the area the oral surgeon or dentist would work on is numb to guarantee that the patient wouldn’t have to endure the pain throughout the process. If necessary, your doctor might have to use stronger general anesthesia for your comfort, says this dentist in Avon Lake.
If the cause of the issue is an impacted tooth, your dentist will start by cutting away the gum, and bone tissues around the tooth’s area, then use the forceps to lightly pull the tooth back and forth to loosen its nerve from the ligaments as well as jawbones.
When it’s challenging to remove, the dentist could resort to pulling it out in pieces. As the tooth had been extracted, it’s expected that a blood clot would soon follow in the socket. Your hygienist would minimize this by applying a gauze pad and request you to bite down on it until the bleeding had stopped.
Later on, the dentist would finish the procedure by placing a few self-dissolving stitches to close the wound on the gum edges.
In an instance where a blood clot in the socket site breaks loose, leading it to expose its bones, a sedative dress would be placed over the area for a couple of days to prevent it from forming new clots.
How long is the recovery?
There’s no standard answer to this question since the recovery period depends on various factors, including your dental health history, location and size of the extracted tooth, the patient’s compliance to the dictated aftercare practices.
Suppose that you’ve taken the road of a simple extraction, meaning that the extraction was done after the tooth had already erupted within the mouth; your recovery would probably be brief.
In general, dentists would instruct you to free yourself from stress for about 48 to 72 hours once the treatment had been accomplished to allow the wound to heal from clots. If the patient was diligent in following this, they should typically return to doing their accustomed physical activities since the soft tissue would fully recover within 3-4 weeks.
On the other hand, if your dentist recommended you receive a surgical extraction, it may take much longer to recover.
At this point, your oral surgeon would suggest you take at least three days of rest and limit your physical activities to about a week or so before being able to function as normal.
This means that you might need to extend your time off of work, especially if it’s a physically demanding position. Both parties should have discussed this beforehand so you could inform your employer about the situation.
It can’t be helped that you might have some reservations. But owing to the advancement in modern technologies, tooth extraction processes are relatively easy, quick, and painless.
By following the aftercare methods your dentist has given you, you’ll be sure to have a speedy recovery!
