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As children, your teeth falling off was an experience that was either painful or a lot of fun. Painful for obvious reasons and fun because there was always a surprise gift planted by the ‘tooth fairy’ you looked forward to.

Either way, you obviously didn’t think you’d be revisiting those days ever again. But, tooth extraction is more common among adults than you would imagine. Decay, damage, and trauma are some of the more common reasons you might need it. Other reasons include:

• A crowded mouth: Sometimes, when your teeth are too big, your dentist may have trouble with procedures like orthodontia, which is done to properly align the teeth. At other times, lack of room in the mouth prevents a team from erupting through the gum. In this case, too, the tooth is extracted.
• Periodontal disease: When infection of the bone and tissue surrounding a tooth causes it to become loose, dentists recommend extracting it.
• Infection: Sometimes, dental decay / damage spreads to the center of the tooth. This area is known as the pulp and it is home to the blood vessels and nerves of the tooth. When the infection becomes too severe and threatens to spread to surrounding areas, you need something more than root canal therapy. Therefore, the tooth is extracted.

So, what happens when you go for a dental extraction? To begin with, your dentist will administer a local anesthetic to the area from where the tooth has to be extracted. Sometimes, a general anesthetic is needed, if more than one tooth has to be removed.

The tooth is accessed by cutting away the surrounding gum and bone tissue. Using forceps, the tooth is loosened and removed without impacting the jaw bone or the ligament that keeps it in place. After the tooth is removed, a small blood clot forms in the socket. Sometimes, a few (self-dissolving) stitches might be placed to stop the bleeding; but, usually, gauze is all that is needed to take care of this.

On rare occasions, the blood clot breaks loose of the socket, leading to a condition known as dry socket, where the bone is exposed. This can be quite a painful condition and will need a sedative dressing for a few days, or until a new clot is formed.

As a procedure, dental extractions are fairly safe and uncomplicated. However, it is a medical procedure and you might be prescribed antibiotics by your dentist. Keeping that in mind, you must tell him about any supplements and medications you are on. Also, discuss your complete medical history with him, if you suffer from any one of these conditions:

• damaged heart valves
• impaired immune system
• congenital heart defect
• artificial joints
• history of bacterial endocarditis
• liver disease (cirrhosis)

The recovery period following a tooth extraction is only a few days. To speed up the healing process, keep the following tips in mind.

• Do not have anything hot until the anesthetic wears off.
• Have the painkillers / antiobiotics as prescribed by your oral surgeon.
• To relieve swelling and pain, apply a cold pack to the affected area.
• Avoid smoking, drinking or chewing tobacco after the procedure
• Do not rinse your mouth for at least 24 hours. This can damage the blood clot and delay healing of the socket. After that, though, you can gently rinse your mouth with salt water. This reduces pain and swelling.
• Avoid physical activity after the surgery since this can cause more bleeding. When resting, do not lie down flat. Use pillows to prop up your head.

As long as you follow the instructions of your dentist, you will get through the post-surgery phase just fine and be back in shape in no time at all.