At some point in your life, you may have to have a tooth removed. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions and concerns that people may have when dealing with a tooth extraction.

What is a tooth extraction?
A tooth extraction is a procedure that completely removes your tooth from it’s socket in your jawbone.

What are reasons why I may need a tooth extraction?
There are a number of reasons why a tooth may need to be extracted. In most cases, if the tooth is damaged or broken, we may be able to repair it with procedures such as crowns, root canals and fillings. In other cases however, the damage may be beyond repair and a tooth extraction will be required. If the teeth are coming in improperly, an extraction may be necessary to make room in the mouth for the other teeth. People that get braces to straighten severely crooked teeth may need an extraction to make room for teeth that will be shifted into the correct place by their braces.

Some medical treatments, such as cancer treatments or people that will be receiving organ transplants, may also require extractions of teeth that are damaged prior to medical treatment.

Finally, a very common tooth extraction procedure is the removal of wisdom teeth, which commonly become impacted because of lack of space in the mouth.

How is a tooth extraction performed?
There are two common procedures for removing teeth. With a simple extraction, the tooth is able to be removed using dental forceps. Generally, a local anesthetic is used to numb the area, and the dentist will use the forceps to loosen and extract the tooth. In other cases, a surgical extraction may be required. For a surgical extraction, the tooth needs to be surgically cut out of the mouth by way of an incision. The tooth may need to be cut into pieces to be removed. For most surgical extractions, you will not only be given local anesthesia, but may be sedated as well.