Tooth Extractions in Oak Harbor, WA

Why Tooth Extractions are Performed

Ideally, your teeth would remain healthy throughout your lifetime. Unfortunately, routine wear, cavities, cracks, and other emergencies can put your teeth at risk. 

At Whidbey Dental Associates, we do everything we can to preserve your natural teeth. But sometimes, your tooth must be removed for the sake of your overall health. When a tooth becomes more harmful than helpful, extraction can save you from more pain.

Wisdom Tooth Extraction

While your wisdom teeth may seem to be healthy teeth, they can become impacted or grow incorrectly. These issues can cause greater problems in your overall oral health, so they’re often removed. If left in your mouth, they may lead to crowding, tooth decay, and gum disease.

Emergency Tooth Extractions

If your tooth has been damaged or severely infected, there may be no other option than removal. In the case of an accident or intense pain, call our office at (360) 675-6404 and we can offer our emergency dental care services.

Tooth Extraction Aftercare

After your tooth extraction, caring for your oral hygiene is of the utmost importance. If you don’t take care of your mouth properly after the procedure, you may develop some serious complications.

When you return home after your extraction, leave the initial gauze pad in place for a couple of hours and apply an ice bag to the area for 10 minutes at a time to help reduce swelling. Leaving the ice on for too long can result in tissue damage.

For the initial 24 hours, you should rest and avoid rinsing, spitting, or using a straw. If you smoke, you should also avoid smoking for this first day.

Most people are able to return home for recovery and return to their daily routines the next day. You may experience some discomfort, but over-the-counter pain relievers often help.

Tooth Extraction Complications

Though some discomfort and swelling after a tooth extraction are normal, the following complications may be cause for concern:

• Infections

If your swelling or pain hasn’t reduced after a couple of days, it’s possible you’ve developed an infection. In this case, contact our office as soon as possible for treatment.

• Dry Socket

Dry socket, or alveolitis, is a condition that can result from the blood clot in the socket being lost. This blood clot aids the socket in recovering from the extraction, preventing infections from getting into your body.

Using a straw, spitting, and rinsing your mouth are all ways that you can dislodge the socket. Smokers are also more likely to develop dry socket.

• Nerve Injury

Though unlikely, sometimes nerve injury can occur during an extraction. If you feel a tingling sensation and numbness in your tongue, lips, chin, or gums, you may have nerve damage.