When you’ve never had a tooth extraction before, you’re likely to have fears of getting one. The treatment can sound harsh and unpleasant to those who know little about it. All that said, you can rest easy; your Buda dentist is here to explain what a tooth extraction feels like. Having this knowledge will help you feel calmer about the procedure from now on. So, please keep reading and learn the relevant details below!
Context: How a Tooth Extraction Works
Before you learn how tooth extractions feel, you should learn how they work. You’ll then see why they involve the sensations they do.
Today, the average tooth extraction consists of the following:
- Tooth Exposure: The dentist has to see your tooth in order to remove it. In a simple extraction, that sight just requires looking at the tooth’s visible crown. A surgical extraction, meanwhile, will start with a gum incision to reveal the tooth.
- Simple Removal: After they’ve revealed your tooth, the dentist removes it with dental forceps and elevators. This process can also extract bone fragments or spurts sometimes.
- Space Closure: The dentist cleans and stitches the treatment site once the removal is done. In doing so, they reduce the risk of your gums getting infected.
- Bleeding Control: At the end of treatment, the dentist places gauze over the extraction site and has you bite it. This step controls post-treatment bleeding.
Extraction Feels Smooth & Painless
Despite involving force and (occasional) incisions, tooth extraction typically feels smooth and painless. The treatment itself shouldn’t involve discomfort; you’ll just sense a slight pressure.
The dentist will numb your mouth before they cut or pull anything, doing so by applying a topical anesthetic. This step keeps teeth, gums, and other mouth tissues from aching during treatment. In fact, the only thing you’ll sense is the “bite” of the needle from the anesthesia injection. The remainder of your extraction will just involve feelings of pressure or numbness.
Ways to Ease Post-Extraction Pain
Since anesthesia wears off eventually, you’ll feel a bit sore after your extraction. Manage your post-treatment aches by doing the following:
- In the first few days after treatment, only eat soft foods (i.e., soup, yogurt, etc.) You can switch back to solids after the extraction site has sufficiently healed.
- Take prescribed or store-bought pain medication as needed.
- Avoid the extraction site when brushing or flossing for a few days post-treatment.
In the end, you needn’t fear what a tooth extraction feels like. Just go into treatment with the proper confidence that it won’t hurt!
About the Practice
Buda Dental Professionals is based in Buda, TX. Led by Drs. Ashley Strickland and Jason Carlyon, our practice is always eager to make smiles stunning, healthy, and vibrant. We thus offer a comprehensive range of dental treatments, from the preventive and the cosmetic to the restorative and urgent. Whatever is holding your grin back, rest assured – our team can take care of it! For more details or to book a visit, please contact us on our website or by phone at (512)-295-5555.