Oral diseases pose a significant health burden and affect people throughout their lifespan, causing discomfort, pain, and disfigurement. Nearly 3.5 billion people worldwide suffer from oral diseases. Tooth extraction is done when the tooth is damaged to the extent that no dental treatment can fix it

Oral diseases pose a significant health burden and affect people throughout their lifespan, causing discomfort, pain, and disfigurement. Nearly 3.5 billion people worldwide suffer from oral diseases. Tooth extraction is done when the tooth is damaged to the extent that no dental treatment can fix it, like excessive tooth decay, tooth infection, and crowding. It is a quick outpatient procedure that is performed by a dentist or an oral surgeon.

About the Treatment

1. What is the procedure?

Firstly, the doctor takes an x-ray before extracting the affected tooth. The doctor asks the patient to withhold from smoking a day before the procedure. The dentist gives the patient anesthesia(local) on the day of the appointment to numb the affected tooth and its surrounding area.

There are two types of tooth extraction procedures, depending on the condition of the tooth:

Simple extraction - After the tooth and the surrounding area becomes numb, the dentist uses an elevator(a dental instrument) to detach the tooth. The patient will feel a little pressure and little to no pain.

Surgical extraction- In this procedure, the dentist or the oral surgeon makes a small incision into your gum to remove the bone around your tooth before extracting it. You are most likely to be given both local anesthesia and intravenous anesthesia before the incision is made. After the extraction is completed the dental surgeon closes the site with the help of stitches to encourage proper healing.

2. What are the benefits of tooth extraction?

1. Protection of the Surrounding Teeth: If there is an infection on one tooth, it can spread to the other teeth as well. So a tooth extraction will help you in saving your smile.

2. Protection of Your Comfort: If you are having an infected tooth, which is causing you severe discomfort in your normal daily activities like eating and speaking. Then by having a tooth extraction, the source of your pain will be eliminated.

3. It is your final option: After the failure or unsatisfactory results of all the other treatment options(root canal, filling, or crown), you can resort to tooth extraction to enjoy excellent dental hygiene again.

3. What are the signs and symptoms?

One of the most apparent symptoms which indicate that a tooth should be extracted is dental pain. However, some pain can easily be overcome with over-the-counter painkillers. Tooth extraction might be considered in the following cases:

• The tooth has badly been affected by periodontal disease.

• In the case of severe damage to the tooth, which cannot be restored by a filling or placing a crown.

• There is pressure on the other teeth because of crowding.

• People who want to have braces may need to remove 1-2 teeth to provide space for other teeth to shift in place 

• There is a need for orthodontic treatment, and there will be comfortable therapy with the removal of the teeth.

• When teeth get infected, decayed, or damaged.