Tooth Extractions in Grove City, OH

Our dentists at Grove City Smiles go to great lengths to keep your teeth in top health and save your smile. Unfortunately, teeth cannot always be saved. 

The good news is that our team of dentists in Grove City have the training, experience, and state-of-the-art tools that make tooth removal easier and more comfortable than ever before. We also offer a wide variety of restorative services, such as crowns, bridges, implants, and dentures, to fill in the gap a tooth extraction leaves behind. 

Reasons You Might Need Grove City Tooth Extractions

In some cases, advanced tooth decay, tooth trauma, and severe gum disease can cause so much damage that the tooth must be removed to prevent further problems. At other times, a dentist may recommend removing one or more teeth to make room for other teeth or for dental work. Our dental team may suggest tooth extractions if you have any of the following: 

• Damaged tooth – trauma to your face may chip, crack, or damage a tooth so severely that it cannot be repaired
• A crowded gum line – this condition, known as dental crowding, occurs when there is not enough space in the jaw to accommodate the teeth, which results in teeth coming in crooked or failing to come in at all; removing teeth and orthodontic treatment creates enough space for the remaining teeth to break through the gum line in a straight, properly aligned smile
• Tooth decay – cavities, also known as dental caries, can lead to tooth decay that cannot be treated; left in place, the infection that caused cavities and tooth decay can spread to other teeth or even to other parts of your body 
• Abscessed tooth – a tooth abscess is a type of bacterial infection that causes a pocket of pus that develops as the result of an untreated cavity, injury, or old dental work; dentists can treat abscessed teeth with a root canal, but if the tooth is too far gone, you may need to have the tooth removed to prevent the infection from spreading
• Wisdom teeth – these teeth usually come in between the ages of 17 and 25, when a person’s jaw has already stopped growing; wisdom teeth can cause overcrowding, become decayed or even become impacted, or trapped, in your gums or jaw bone

Grove City Dentist Discusses Tooth Extractions

Dentists describe tooth extractions as either simple or surgical, depending on the type of tooth being removed, the specific location of the tooth within the mouth and gum line, and the extent of damage or decay.

Simple tooth extraction

A dentist begins a simple tooth extraction by administering a local anesthetic that numbs the treatment area inside the patient’s mouth. You may feel pressure during a tooth extraction, but you should not experience any pain. 

Next, your dentist loosens the tooth with a tool known as a dental elevator, or luxator. The dentist inserts the elevator between the tooth to be removed and the adjacent tooth, and then rocks the tool gently back and forth in the socket to break any connective tissue holding the tooth in. Your dental professional then uses forceps to remove the tooth. 

The next steps are very important – we then remove infected or inflamed tissue from the socket before stitching up the empty holes. This helps ensure that your gum and jaw bone heal properly. 

Surgical extraction

Dentists recommend surgical extractions for impacted wisdom teeth or other cases in which the tooth did not come through the gum properly. 

Instead of using dental elevators and forceps to remove the tooth, our dentist will make an incision in the gum to expose more of the tooth and the roots that hold the tooth in your jaw. If it is a large tooth, our dentist may break it into smaller pieces before removal to minimize the size of the incision. 

Tooth Extraction Recovery

The healing process is the same for a simple extraction as it is for a surgical extraction. After removing the tooth, our doctor will place a piece of gauze over the empty socket and ask you to bite down on it. This stops the bleeding and helps your body form a blood clot in the newly-vacated socket. This blood clot, which develops over the course of several days, serves as a protective layer that covers the underlying jaw bone and nerve endings. It is essential to develop this blood clot and leave it in place until you are fully healed, usually within 7 to 10 days.

We will send you home with specific instructions on how to care for the extraction site, and provide a list of what you should or should not eat or drink while you are healing. 

Foods to eat include:

• Soft foods and liquids
• Cool foods, such as pudding, yogurt, gelatin, apple sauce and ice cream
• Lukewarm (not hot) mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, and broth-based soups
• Advance to regular food as tolerated

Foods to avoid include:

• Chips, nuts, popcorn or other hard, crunchy, chewy, or brittle foods
• Chewy cuts of meat
• Hot foods, which can increase blood flow to the wound to dislodge the clot
• Alcohol – avoid for at least two days after surgery, as it may interact with other medications to delay healing

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Do I have to replace an extracted tooth?

In most cases, you will need to replace an extracted tooth. The loss of a tooth can cause significant changes inside your mouth. A tooth extraction leaves behind a gap into which neighboring teeth can drift, creating a crooked smile and misaligned bite. Gaps can also lead to bigger dental problems down the road, including gum disease, infection, and deterioration of your jaw bone. Leaving an empty spot in your jaw can also change the shape of your mouth and face.

Replacing an extracted tooth helps preserve the natural structure and shape of your mouth and face so that your smile looks and functions as it should. 

How much does a tooth extraction cost?

Tooth extraction cost depends on a variety of factors, including the severity of the condition leading to tooth extraction, the type of extraction, and the number of teeth being removed. A surgical extraction usually costs more than a simple extraction, for example.

Most dental insurance plans cover part or all of the cost of an extraction. If you do not have insurance, Grove City Smiles can help you determine what your payment options are. 

For more information about tooth extractions, consult with your compassionate dental professionals at Grove City Smiles. We offer wisdom tooth extraction and other types of tooth extractions and dentures to fit almost every need.

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