If you are wondering how dentists perform dental extractions for your implants, this is the right article.
Understanding Tooth Extraction for Dental Implants
A tooth extraction for dental implants is a surgery procedure where your dentist removes a tooth that cannot be restored just before you get a dental implant.
In this situation, your dentist performs dental implant surgery immediately after your tooth extraction, saving time and preventing bone loss.
Unlike a regular tooth extraction, this procedure is done with the highest precision and less traumatic impact to preserve as much healthy bone as possible to provide natural and superior results.
Your tooth removal procedure is a crucial part of your dental implant placement.
When dental implants are placed after your tooth surgery, they are known as immediate dental implants. These implants are helpful when your dentist wants to preserve your gums and jawbone in specific situations.
Although not everyone is a candidate for immediate implants, tooth extractions are crucial for your prosthesis treatment.
Benefits of Tooth Extraction for Dental Implants
Creating Space for Dental Implants: Tooth extractions are essential to allow space for your new implants while preserving their surrounding healthy tissues.
Additionally, your implants require appropriate spacing and geometry to guarantee high performance and aesthetics.
Removing Damaged or Decayed Teeth: In addition to the prosthetic requirements, extracting damaged or decayed teeth helps you prevent infections, abscesses, and other severe complications.
Also, extractions may lead to a healthier mouth while improving the outcome of your implants and their long-term advantages.
Risks and Considerations
Potential Risks of Tooth Extraction
The most common risks associated with tooth extractions are:
- Infections: These complications usually occur after the procedure and are the result of harmful dietary or lifestyle habits. Eating foods that could enter into your socket can store bacteria that lead to dental infections. Also, smoking can significantly hinder your healing process, putting your treatment at risk.
- Bleeding: post-procedure hemorrhage is one of the most frequent complications of tooth extractions. Although you should expect some blood in your saliva after your surgery, profuse bleeding could indicate that your clot was dislodged, requiring firm pressure with a sterile gauze to create a new one.
- Swelling and pain: discomfort and swelling are frequent complications of dental extractions. Yet, their severity depends on multiple factors, such as the complexity of the surgery, the location of the extracted tooth, and your compliance with your dentist’s post-surgery instructions.
- Dry socket: it is the most severe complication of tooth extractions. It usually involves pain that results from a bacterial infection directly on your jawbone. It is typically caused by dislodged clots due to not complying with your dentist’s port-surgery recommendations.
Following your habits, dietary, and hygiene post-surgery recommendations is essential to guarantee a correct healing process and avoid these complications.
Although all these issues can be addressed in one dental appointment, they can affect your treatment time. Especially when dealing with dental implants.
Factors Affecting Suitability for Tooth Extraction
Your overall health is crucial in every surgical procedure. Some diseases and systemic conditions might impact your compatibility with treatment.
As a result, you might have to wait until these conditions are medically addressed before starting the process.
However, your initial consultation and evaluation are indispensable to understand your needs and establish the appropriate treatment plan before proceeding.
Aftercare Following Tooth Extraction for Dental Implants
Pain Management and Recovery
Usually, your dentist will prescribe medication to prevent pain and infections. Over-the-counter analgesics are the usual choice, but sometimes your dentist may indicate antibiotics too.
You can also counter post-extraction pain and accelerate your recovery by applying a cold compress and keeping your wound clean.
The recovery process typically takes about a week to fully heal. However, if you notice significant swelling, fever, or bleeding that does not stop in the area, contact your dentist as soon as possible.
Oral Hygiene and Care Instructions
The first 24 hours after your surgery, you must follow the following instructions:
- Eat soft or liquid meals to avoid damage to your wound.
- Keep your regular hygiene practices with brushing and flossing, but have care around the wound.
- Maintain relative rest and sleep with an extra pillow.
- Avoid tiny foods like rice and beans that can enter your socket and cause infections.
- Avoid spitting with too much force, as it can dislodge your clot.
- Do not rinse or wash your mouth.
- Do not touch your wound with your fingers or tongue.
- Do not lean over to carry heavy objects.
In some cases, your dentist leaves stitches to facilitate your healing. Avoid pulling them. If your stitch is black-colored, you will have to attend a second appointment in a week to remove them.
How to Prepare and What to Expect
Extraction can be intimidating. However, if you follow your dentist’s recommendations and his instructions during the procedure, you should expect a quick recovery and minimal discomfort during your extraction process.
