How Long Does It Take For an Oral Surgeon to Extract a Tooth?
Dental extractions have to be among the most dreaded dental procedures. Ask anyone you know; they probably would do anything to skip out on the procedure altogether. However, this procedure might sometimes be the only way to protect your smile from further dental health complications.
Our dentist in Tampa may recommend a tooth extraction if patients have severe tooth decay, overcrowding, impacted wisdom teeth, and dental infections. In other cases, a dental extraction will be performed as part of an orthodontic treatment plan to ensure enough room for the teeth to shift to the desired positions.
Whatever the reason, extractions are performed when the affected teeth cannot be saved through any other dental procedure. Rest assured that an extraction is a necessary dental procedure; unlike what most people think, it is performed to alleviate pain and restore a patient’s oral health.
How Long Does the Procedure Take?
One of the leading questions most patients who have to undergo a dental extraction ask is how long the oral surgery in Tampa will take.
An oral surgeon performs an extraction under anesthesia to guarantee you will be comfortable and experience no pain or discomfort during the procedure. A dental extraction will ideally take about 30 minutes to 90 minutes depending on several factors, such as:
- The Position of the Affected Tooth
The proximity of the affected tooth will influence the duration of the procedure. Suppose the tooth is positioned close to the adjacent teeth. In that case, the oral surgeon will have to take longer because they must keenly work on extracting the affected tooth without interfering with the closely positioned adjacent teeth.
- The Complexity of the Extraction Being Performed
Two types of dental extractions can be performed. A simple extraction deals with the extraction of teeth that are visible above the gum line, and a surgical extraction involves the removal of teeth hidden beneath the gum line or broken off.
Our pediatric oral surgeon near you also performs a surgical extraction to extract impacted wisdom teeth. The more complex surgical extractions will take longer to execute, usually about 45 to 90 minutes, compared to the simple extractions, which can take about 30 minutes. A surgical extraction may take longer because the oral surgeon may be forced to cut through both the gum tissue and bone to gain access to the affected tooth and extract it.
- The Structural Integrity and Condition of the Affected Tooth, Which Is Being Extracted
A severely decayed tooth may be harder to extract than a structurally sound tooth. A decayed or damaged tooth may be structurally not sound; this means that during the procedure, it might keep breaking off in sections making the procedure more complex.
A structurally sound tooth will come out as a unit, guaranteeing that the procedure will take our dentist in Tampa a shorter time to perform.
- The Tooth Being Extracted
The tooth extraction type will also greatly influence how long the dental surgery will take. For instance, molars that are the back teeth are larger, have three roots, and may take longer to extract than a canine with a single root.
The larger a tooth is, the more difficult its extraction will be, making the procedure longer than with a smaller tooth.
Tips to Guarantee a Smooth Recovery After Your Extraction
After undergoing your oral surgery in Tampa, our dentist will give you certain guidelines you should follow to guarantee that your recovery process will be smooth and complication free. These guidelines may include the following;
- Take any medication that has been prescribed as directed.
- Only take out the gauze placed on the extraction site three to four hours after the extraction unless it has been soaked. This will ensure that the site gets a chance to form a clot that stops the bleeding and initiates the healing process.
- Steer clear of any strenuous activity for at least two days to keep the clot in place.
- Apply an ice pack to reduce facial inflammation and bruising.
- Ensure your mouth stays clean by practicing proper oral hygiene and rinsing your mouth using a warm saline solution. This ensures that the chances of getting an infection at the site will be drastically reduced.
- Get plenty of rest and ensure your head is elevated whenever you are lying down.
Contact us today at New Tampa Smiles for your dental extraction procedure.