Once in a while, you may suffer from severe tooth problems that cause a lot of pain and discomfort. Consequently, you might be unable to continue with life generally until you seek proper medical attention. These dental issues arise because of long underlying factors. These causes are mostly complications of diseases or conditions that, if treated earlier, would not have caused the experienced pain. Therefore, once your dentist examines you, he or she may recommend an emergency tooth extraction. Most people immediately become apprehensive once they learn that they could undergo a tooth extraction procedure.

However, you do not have to worry about how painful and scary the extraction is. At  La Puente Emergency Dentist, we consist of highly skilled dentists who ensure that we treat the patient’s conditions with the utmost care. We endeavor to provide quality services in emergency tooth extraction to help alleviate the discomfort and pain caused by your current dental state. Moreover, our dentists are available to provide aftercare tips you can use once the emergency tooth extraction procedure is done.

What is Emergency Tooth Extraction?

The process of extracting a tooth under an emergency involves the removal of the tooth from the jaw bone socket, where it rests in position. The process is also known as exodontia. The removal of the tooth includes the entire root structure that is deeply embedded in the jaw bone. Therefore, the extraction process is complex and requires a highly skilled dentist to do the job, to avoid any complications.

Typically, emergency tooth extractions are prescribed to a patient when the tooth is in a terrible condition that may affect adjacent teeth or gums if not removed. Moreover, the extraction procedure is applicable where all other methods of treating the tooth fail or relapse, taking the patient back to the starting point. Once you make a consultation visit to the dentist, you may need to undergo the procedure either immediately or within a short timeframe. Thus, it is advisable to prepare yourself mentally and financially for a possible emergency tooth extraction. The possibilities are even more profound if you experience severe pain because it could be an indication of an adverse dental condition.

Reasons for Undergoing Emergency Tooth Extraction

From a personal assessment, you may conclude that you do not require any extraction, especially if you are not suffering from severe pain. However, your dentist may detect a defect in your teeth, jaw bone, or gums that warrant the recommendation of an extraction. Moreover, some medical procedures will affect your general body immunity and put your teeth at risk of infections and complications. These procedures may also require the dentist to prescribe a tooth extraction. Some of the reasons for an emergency tooth extraction are:

  1. To Enable Orthodontic Treatment

Orthodontic treatment involves the installation of braces on your teeth to help them be more aligned and stay in the required position. The leading causes of orthodontic treatment are overbites, underbites, and crossbites. They are caused by overcrowding of teeth in the mouth, among other varying factors. If your teeth are misaligned because they are too congested in the mouth, the dentist will recommend an emergency extraction that aims to create space for the braces to work. The wires and brackets of the braces create a push or pull force that eventually fills the spaces left by the extracted tooth. Ultimately, your teeth become well-aligned in the dental cavity. Additionally, tooth extraction to pave the way for orthodontic treatment may warrant the emergency extraction of temporary teeth that have not yet shed, to prevent the growth of the permanent teeth in misplaced positions later.

  1. To Remove Teeth With Severe Damage

Some teeth may suffer damage that is caused by various diseases. One of them is tooth decay, which attacks the nerves and the entire crown of the tooth. Once microbes gain access to the tooth from a cavity hole and invade the sensitive nerves, you will experience excruciating pain, because of the affected nerve fibers. By the time the disease-causing organisms reach the nerve cells, it means that the state of the tooth may be unsalvageable. In such a case, the only available option could be tooth extraction.

Similarly, when you suffer periodontal diseases that affect the gum, the root of the tooth may face damage from the bacteria that invade such gums. Due to the internal exposure, the sensitive parts of the tooth like the dentine are damaged. The damages are often beyond any possible repair. Consequently, tooth extraction is necessary to prevent the germs from attacking any more teeth in the cavity.

Severe damage may also arise from corrosion of the enamel because of consuming too many chemicals found in junk food. Drinking too much soda may also reduce the quality of your crown significantly, and expose the dentine and nerve fibers to disease-causing microbes. Consequently, you could suffer from severe infections that become complicated over time.

Lastly, your teeth may become damaged because of injury from an accident or physical violence. The most common type of damage is the breaking of teeth, brought about by the high impact of the accident. For your dentist to perform an emergency extraction procedure on you, your tooth should be broken beyond repair. The effect of such damage is often severe, such that a crown or denture cannot sit firmly on the broken tooth. Thus, extraction is necessary to enable the process of installation of dental implants and new crowns to follow.

  1. To Remove Dental Abscess

A patient who suffers from a dental abscess will usually have pus accumulated around the tooth cavity and inside the tooth structure. Abscess arises from infections in the tooth. The disease results in pus accumulation inside the tooth because of the dead blood cells that are destroyed while fighting the disease-causing bacteria. Therefore, the condition of dental abscess could be excruciating and uncomfortable for a patient, especially when he or she is chewing.

Although there are several procedures to drain and clean the area of the tooth affected by the abscess, sometimes the condition is too advanced. For example, where the pus accumulates deep into the root of the tooth, the only option may be to extract the entire tooth. An emergency tooth extraction, in this case, would help the dentist to avoid extremely invasive drilling that does not guarantee complete draining of the pus.

  1. To Remove Teeth That Do Not Have Significant Functions

It is not uncommon for an adult human being to fail to use an entire set of teeth in the mouth. If the dentist observes that some of the teeth in your dental structure have little to no function, he or she may recommend an emergency tooth extraction. The requirement is essential, especially when some of the functioning teeth are adversely affected because of the lack of space to work when chewing. Some patients also report cases where non-functioning teeth are a cause of their discomfort since they cause friction in the inner lips of the mouth. The frictional force may even cause recurring wounds inside the mouth.

Moreover, non-functioning teeth could be the milk teeth that did not shed when they were supposed to. A patient does not have to have a misaligned dental structure. A dentist can order for the emergency extraction of such teeth, even if they have a proper alignment. The primary reason that they have no function in the mouth will warrant their removal. Wisdom teeth that are buried deep inside the gum are also non-functional, especially if they take too long to sprout out of the gum base and reach the surface. A simple OPG X-ray will reveal if there are any wisdom teeth inside the gum that will not have many functions, even if they grow to the surface. The dentist may, therefore, prescribe an emergency tooth extraction.

  1. To Ease the Process of Chemotherapy

Cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy are exposed to very high levels of radiation to help kill the cancerous cells. Despite the useful process, the extreme levels of exposure usually weaken the overall immune system of such a patient. A weakened immune system affects the entire body, including the mouth. Therefore, the cancer patient is exposed to higher risks of tooth infections that may cause severe complications later on. Also, the medication prescribed to patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment can adversely affect the patient’s immunity and equally expose him or her to severe tooth infections. As a solution, your medical doctor may refer you to a dentist to perform the emergency tooth extraction procedure.

  1. To Enable a Successful Organ Transplant Procedure

Before undergoing a major organ transplant surgery, your medical doctor may prescribe immunosuppressive medication. Such medicine has common effects that tend to lower your immunity. Thus, similar to the situation created in chemotherapy treatment, your teeth are exposed to infections because your body does not have enough antibodies to ward them off. Once a dentist is put in charge of handling your case, he or she will choose the tooth most affected by decay or gum disease and extract it. The aim of removing the tooth is to prevent the spreading of bacteria or pus containing the bacteria to other healthy teeth. The extraction also ensures that there is no need for antibodies to die off fighting preventable tooth conditions.

  1. To Reduce Risk of Radiation Therapy

Exposure to radiation therapy, especially around the head and neck area, will also weaken the general jaw bone structure and expose it to possible infections. Radiation invades specific cells and kills them, leading to weakened gum and tooth structure. Patients who undergo such therapy are advised to consult their dentists on the possibilities of emergency tooth extractions. The extraction will prevent them from avoidable infections that may become even more complicated if left unattended. Teeth may also face other complications like sensitivity that causes discomfort and mild pain to the patient. Although the susceptibility does not require a tooth extraction, it can worsen the condition of teeth that already face severe conditions like dental caries. Consequently, the removal of the tooth becomes necessary.

Types of Emergency Extractions

Depending on where the tooth to be extracted is, your dentist may use either of the two types of procedures to perform the emergency extraction. They are:

  1. Simple Extraction

This type of extraction is quite straightforward to execute, mainly because the tooth is visible and has grown up to the gum base surface. A simple emergency extraction involves pulling the identified tooth out of its gum bone socket and covering the exposed area until bleeding stops. To alleviate the pain, your dentist will use local anesthesia to block the nerve endings from the reception of any pain signals.

Therefore, the procedure will be painless for you, making it easier for the dentist to focus on exercising extreme care in carrying out emergency extraction. However, some patients may still be restless and anxious about the process they are about to undergo. The dentist can prescribe sedative doses to calm such patients down in such cases. The importance of remaining calm and still as the dentist works is because the dentist requires high levels of accuracy and skill to grasp the tooth and carefully pull it out. Sedation, therefore, plays an essential role in ensuring that the process is successful.

  1. Surgical Extraction

Emergency tooth extraction by surgery applies where the tooth is removed inside the gums or the jawbone. It is a more invasive procedure because the dentist has to open up the gum tissue to access the tooth and extract it. The main reason for surgical extraction is to remove teeth that have not completely grown into the gum surface. Moreover, if tooth damage causes it to break at an irregular angle, the only way to extract it may be to remove it from the gum base surgically. The surgery aims to reach the deep gum tissue and remove the roots from where they are embedded.

Surgical extraction can advance to instances where an entire jaw bone section is cut out and removed if the roots are too rigid to pull out. Consequently, a patient’s dental soft tissue has to be reconnected by stitches that hold the gum in a position to close the wound. Moreover, you could undergo sectioning of the tooth as a substitute for the extraction of the entire section of the bone. Tooth sectioning involves breaking off the tooth into smaller pieces that the dentist can extract.

Despite the invasive nature of such procedures to sensitive sections of your dental cavity, you should not worry about the pain felt. You will be under local anesthesia and sedative drugs to calm you down and reduce anxiety as the emergency extraction continues. In the case of younger children, parents have the option of allowing them to face surgery under general sedation and anesthesia, especially if they have any medical conditions.

The Surgery Preparation Process

Before your dentist can prescribe any mode of treatment, he or she has to go through your medical history and analyze any prior conditions that may interfere with the emergency tooth extraction. Pre-checks are also crucial because they help the dentist to be aware of any current medication you are on. By doing this, he or she can then establish what prescriptions to make to you in preparation for the surgery. Moreover, the dentist needs to be aware of any previous reactions to anesthesia and sedatives that you may have had.

After qualifying you for surgery, the dentist requires several X-Ray images that will help determine the accurate position of the tooth to be extracted. It is essential to take these images. Their primary importance is that they give the general location of all teeth, including those that are inside the gums and have not yet grown out. Therefore, the dentist has an accurate picture of the placement of teeth and will act based on valid information.

On or before the day of the operation, you may receive an antibiotic prescription that helps kill any disease-causing microorganisms that can attack the exposed area during surgery. Some patients may react to antibiotic drugs and can inform their dentist so that they may receive appropriate medication. Afterward, moments before the surgery begins, you will be put under local anesthesia and sedation. The most commonly used sedative agent is nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas. It helps calm anxiety as the surgery continues.

Modern extraction has significantly improved the process of surgical removal of teeth because of advanced technology. When a dentist uses new methods of creating incisions, a patient is assured of quicker healing time, less bleeding, and better precision in accessing the tooth. Some of the developments in these extraction procedures include using electrosurgery. This procedure involves the use of heat to make incisions into the gums. Although the use of electrosurgery is highly effective, the smell of burning human flesh can cause discomfort to the patient, especially if he or she is sensitive to such a distinctive smell.

Another modern method of performing surgery is by use of laser cuts that make incisions using laser beams. A dentist has to use surgical precision while directing the beams to the gums to avoid cutting inaccurately and making incisions in the wrong area. Using laser beams enables the procedure to cause less damage to the surrounding areas as well as increasing the precision of tooth extraction. Typically, these modern methods of initiating surgery have some disadvantages to their use. The main problem is that they are not effective in the actual removal of the tooth, only in making incisions. Moreover, they are much more expensive than traditional surgery tools, while they can get the job done just as well as modern instruments. Therefore, most patients opt for the cheaper method.

Does my Insurance Cover an Emergency Tooth Extraction?

Most insurance companies will cover the costs involved in an emergency tooth extraction procedure. Their only condition is that the process should be of medical necessity and not merely a cosmetic correction. Therefore, you are assured of lightened payments. The insurance coverage helps you focus more on the kind of treatment you will receive, rather than worry about the high costs of treatment.

If you do not plan to use dental covers to make a payment, you will require to know the exact cost of emergency tooth extraction treatment. A simple tooth extraction procedure costs anywhere from $130 to $400. The extraction of milk teeth that come out during shedding in children costs $90 to $150. Since surgical procedures are more complicated and require additional preparatory procedures, the prices are a bit higher. Emergency tooth extraction by surgery costs around $180 to $450.

Aftercare For an Emergency Tooth Extraction Procedure

After undergoing the tooth extraction, your gums are prone to swelling and bleeding, which should end in a few hours or days. Your dentist will prescribe medication to alleviate the pain like ibuprofen. Additionally, you can find over the counter painkillers like Tylenol that also work in the same way.

You can also try sleeping while facing upwards. This sleeping position helps to ease the pressure off the jaw, and, therefore, reduce the pain felt during the first few days after tooth extraction.

We discourage rinsing the mouth within a day after undergoing an emergency tooth extraction, as it may expose the wound to disease-causing microbes. Consequently, you may expose yourself to infections and complications that are avoidable.

Try and take soft foods that will not put pressure on the affected area. Too much pressure may tear off stitches that cover the open wound. Eventually, the re-opened wounds are exposed to further bacteria that can lead to infection.

Use warm compresses or ice packs on the open wound to soothe the pain if painkillers are not very useful. They provide a good temperature change that calms the nerve endings around the open wound.

It is helpful to swirl some warm salt water around the open wound. The minerals in the salt are useful for disinfecting the area, warding off bacteria.

Lastly, apply minimal pressure while brushing around the affected area. Avoid cleaning the open wound directly, and exercise extra care around the gums where the wound is located.

Find an Emergency Dentist Near Me

An experience of suffering from severe pain caused by adverse tooth damage is challenging to persevere. We understand the complex procedures that you may need to undergo, and will carefully explain them to you. We will also try to make your overall treatment process as pleasant as we can. To seek an emergency tooth extraction procedure around the La Puente area, contact the La Puente Emergency Dentist at 626-995-1640. Our team is dedicated to providing brilliant and lasting results.