What is a Simple Extraction?
Your dentist will always exhaust all possible treatment options before turning to tooth extraction, including treating cavities to the extent possible, placing a crown, or recommending a root canal. But sometimes, when all other approaches have been tried and have not been successful in keeping a tooth healthy and pain-free, your dentist will advise proceeding with one of two main types of dental extraction:
1. Simple extraction is removing teeth that can be seen and are easily accessible.
2. Surgical extraction requires an incision into the connective tissue in your mouth to gain access to the tooth to be removed.
Simple Dental Extraction
For the removal of teeth that are visible in your mouth, your dentist will use simple extraction. Your dentist will administer a local anesthetic to numb the affected area around your tooth and to reduce pain caused by the procedure. The next step involves your dentist using a tool called an elevator to lift and loosen the tooth, and then using forceps to grasp and remove the tooth.
Surgical Dental Extraction
For the removal of teeth that are not easily accessible in your mouth, your dentist will use surgical extraction. A tooth may not be accessible because it has not yet erupted through your gums, or it has fractured below your gum line.
Your dentist will make an incision into the soft connective tissue surrounding your tooth to obtain access for extraction. In some cases, a drill or osteotome—a specialized surgical instrument used to cut, shape, or manipulate bone—may be necessary to remove some portion of the nearby jawbone during the extraction procedure. Also, some cases of surgical dental extraction require that the tooth be fragmented into several pieces so your dentist can remove it.
Pain associated with surgical dental extractions and the fact that it is a more complex procedure requires that your dentist or oral surgeon use a general anesthetic, meaning you will be temporarily unconscious during the surgery.
Comparing Simple and Surgical Extraction
Both types of extraction procedures can include the following complications:
- Osteitis, or dry socket, can be caused by premature loss of the blood clot that occurs following extraction.
- Delayed healing may occur with medications such as bisphosphonates or corticosteroids. Your dentist will instruct you to temporarily cease using any such medications before your extraction.
- Osteoradionecrosis, or secondary bone loss, can occur in patients who have a history of radiation treatment in the head and neck areas.
- Movement of remaining teeth can lead to misalignment, altered bite, and tooth damage. Your dentist will discuss such risks with you before beginning your procedure.
- Occlusion changes, or how your upper and lower teeth come together when you bite, can lead to difficulty when chewing food.
Dentists use both simple and surgical tooth extraction as a method of helping their patients reduce the overall risk of oral health complications, such as infection, pain, and inflammation.
Whenever possible, simple tooth extractions are preferred because they are an easier procedure for a dentist to complete, and because associated risks and adverse effects for patients are typically reduced when compared with surgical tooth extractions. A simple tooth extraction is always carried out if the tooth is accessible. Surgical extraction is the only feasible approach for teeth that are not visible or easily accessible.
Related Article: How Painful is a Simple Extraction?