A tooth extraction can be very scary, and especially so for a person who hasn’t lost a tooth yet. Here’s a step-by-step account of what happens when you go through a dental extraction:

Step One: The dental check-up.

The first thing which Central Dental does is to do a visual check-up of your teeth. Dr. Stewart or his associates will isolate the tooth which they feel must be extracted and size up the need for such a procedure. You will be offered a number of options to rebuild the tooth such as veneers and crowns, and Central Dental will only suggest dental extraction as a last resort.

In the case wherein the tooth cannot be seen from your mouth, Central Dental might order a dental x-ray. A dental x-ray will show all of the structures in your mouth including those submerged underneath your gums. Dr. Stewart will then be able to size up how complicated the procedure would be.

Step Two: The pre-procedure preparation.

Before extracting any tooth, Central Dental will prescribe you with antibiotics in order to decrease your risk for infections. This is especially so when you’re going to undergo a surgical extraction, a kind of dental extraction wherein the dentist has to make an incision in your gums in order to get to the tooth.

Step Three: Anaesthesia and sedation.

Even the simplest dental extractions require local anaesthesia. Central Dental will numb up the gums nearest to the tooth in question in preparation for the injection of the local anaesthesia. If you have dental anxiety, Dr. Stewart may also choose to sedate you. Sedatives can be orally administered, inhaled or delivered via IV line. Should you decide to be sedated, you should make prior arrangements to have someone pick you up since you will be very groggy and unfit to drive yourself home.

Step Four: The actual procedure.

In the case of a simple extraction, Dr. Stewart will use special pliers or forceps to grasp the tooth, and then rock it back and forth in order to loosen it from its socket and remove it. Elevators may also be used in order to create a wedge between the tooth and the gums surrounding it. With pressure building up on the tooth, the socket will expand and this will enable the tooth to separate itself from the socket and the ligament which is keeping the tooth in place.

Tooth extractions are always a last resort. But if it must be done, Central Dental in Little Rock, Jacksonville, and Conway, AR are the trusted dentists for you.

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