Surgical tooth extraction

[Mira]

Hi

I have a wisdom tooth that keeps causing pain every few months and I have to take antibiotics to stop the pain. I have been to see my dentist and he says that the tooth is going to be complex and is going to be a surgical tooth extraction. I am not sure what that means. I thought that all tooth extractions need surgery. Whats different about my tooth?

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Thank you for your post.

Some tooth extractions require the gum to be cut back and a gum flap raised in order for the dentist to have access to the tooth. If the tooth is buried within bone, some bone may also have to be removed to have access to the tooth. The gum flap is usually replaced back to where it should be with sutures once the tooth has been removed. This process is called a surgical tooth extraction.

The whole area is usually numbed with Local anaesthetic so there should be no pain involved during the procedure. However once the effect of anaesthesia is gone, there can be some pain, bleeding and swelling for a few days. You may need to use pain killers to combat the after-pain.