Our dental team at Century Dental always strives hard to preserve natural teeth, and their removal is the last option, and we will only suggest this treatment when all other avenues have been exhausted. However, tooth extraction is sometimes inevitable. Except for wisdom teeth removal, missing teeth should always be replaced. Even losing a single tooth can cause dental problems such as shifting teeth, problems with your jaw joints, or with eating comfortably.

When is Tooth Extraction Necessary?
There are various reasons why you might need a tooth removal. These include extensive tooth decay, a severe tooth infection or abscess, and advanced gum disease. Tooth extraction can also be necessary if a tooth has broken off at the gum and where it cannot be restored. Sometimes a tooth can be severely fractured vertically through the tooth root and cannot be restored.

Wisdom teeth can become severely impacted, where they are stuck underneath the gum and cannot erupt or will partially erupt. A partially erupted wisdom tooth can become infected and decayed since the gum partly covering it will more easily trap food and plaque bacteria. If your wisdom teeth have yet to erupt, we can monitor them closely and will recommend their removal if it is clear they will not erupt problem-free.

If we think you need a tooth removed, we will carefully assess it, using digital dental x-rays to examine it closely and to detect any signs of damage or infection in the tooth root. These images also help us to plan its removal as they show the shape and number of tooth roots that must be extracted during the process.

What to Expect During a Tooth Extraction
A tooth extraction will not feel painful as we ensure the affected tooth and surrounding gum are numbed with local anesthesia. Once numb, special dental instruments are used to loosen the tooth from its bony socket. As the tooth is removed, you might feel a little pressure when it loosens from the surrounding bone, which is perfectly normal.

It might be necessary to make small incisions in the gum to remove a tooth that has broken below the gum line. Once the tooth is removed, the empty socket is cleaned, disinfected, and left to heal. Depending on your oral care needs, the socket might be left open, or we could choose to place some stitches.

Immediately after removing the tooth, a blood clot must form quickly in the empty socket to stop the bleeding and begin the healing process. We may ask you to bite down on a gauze pad for up to 30 or 45 minutes to stop the bleeding. If the empty socket is still bleeding after this time, we can replace the gauze bad and will ask you to bite down firmly again. Sometimes we must change the gauze pad several times to stop blood flow completely.

Wisdom teeth removal can be a slightly different process, especially if the wisdom teeth are impacted and stuck in the jawbone. In this case, we must make a small incision in the gum to see the bone covering the impacted tooth. Next, we make a tiny opening in the bone to expose the wisdom tooth. An impacted wisdom tooth is often cut or sectioned into several smaller pieces so that we can remove it through a smaller opening in the jawbone. Once all the wisdom tooth is removed, we can stitch the gum back in place, and the site is left to heal.

Bone Grafting During a Tooth Extraction
Sometimes we will place a bone graft after tooth extraction while the empty socket is still open. Preforming a tooth extraction and bone graft during a single procedure can be useful when preparing the site for dental implants and is called bone socket preservation.

It is a technique that helps preserve the bony socket that originally supported the tooth and helps to ensure there is plenty of strong, healthy bone when we place the dental implant. We might also use this technique when replacing a tooth by other means, such as a tooth-supported dental bridge, as it will help protect the bony ridge underneath the gum and ultimately provide better aesthetics.

Century Medical & Dental Center
827 11th Ave
New York, NY 10019
(212) 369-5566

Working Hours:

Manhattan
Monday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Tuesday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wednesday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thursday: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Friday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sunday: Closed

Payment: cash, check, credit cards.