Dental implants can make a smile look fabulous – I know I have them. However, if you are just thinking about getting them, you may have a lot of questions. You may be wondering how smoking affects implants, whether or not wine will stain them, if they can be whitened or other concerns. I also know from experience that it can be intimidating to ask some of these questions to your dentist. In my dental implant blog, I am going to answer the questions that can be hard to ask. I hope you find the info you need in this blog and that it guides you to the right decision about dental implants. Thanks for reading!
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The Steps To Having A Tooth Extracted, And Why It Isn't As Bad As It Seems
Isobel Berry
Most people are already intimidated by having a dentist appointment. The thought of having a tooth extracted is that much scarier. The good news is that with the use of medications and new advances in dentistry, pulling a tooth is not as gruesome or painful as it sounds. There are steps that a dentist takes to make it a more pleasurable experience for the patient.
First, the dentist numbs the tooth
To ensure that the patient doesn't experience too much discomfort, the first step the dentist will take is to numb the tooth with anesthesia. They use a syringe to inject the tooth and the bone around the tooth to make sure you don't feel any pain. The shot itself may cause some pain, but once it is numb the hard part is over.
To extract the tooth
The tooth is held in place in the socket by a ligament. To remove the tooth, the dentist must widen the socket to get the tooth out. Once the ligament is stretched and expanded, the tooth will come loose and it can be taken out. The way that they loosen the socket is by moving the tooth back and forth to expand the space around it. Although it may feel a little unnerving, there is no pain involved in the expansion process.
The dentist will then use specific tools
Once the ligament is expanded, the dentist has specific tools that make extraction go quickly and smoothly. The tools used work by applying pressure to the tooth and grabbing it. The dentist will either use what is called "elevators" or extraction forceps. The elevator is usually the first tool. It helps to expand the socket holding the tooth further and to separate the tooth from the ligament holding it in place. By rocking it back and forth, it "lifts" the tooth up and out. Sometimes just the one tool is enough. Other times the forceps must be used.
Using the forceps
The forceps are shaped much like pliers and work much in the same way. They are designed to latch onto the tooth and lift it away from the socket. There are some teeth that are more stubborn than others and will need more force. That is why, although the tooth extraction process is the same, there may be different steps involved depending on the tooth and person.
Although scary to think about, great care and concern are taken when extracting a tooth. Now that you know the process of having a tooth removed by a dentist, it should be much less stressful.
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