Extractions

Every extraction which is carried out in General Practice is done under local anaesthetic. It is now illegal to practice general anaesthesia in practice unless you have extensive resuscitation equipment, a fully trained anaesthetist and fully trained staff with all the back up facilities. Very occasionally we may use a sedation technique with the help of an anaesthetist for those patients who feel they cannot undergo an extraction with just local anaesthetic.

We will first make the tooth completely numb by administering an injection. It is exactly the same injection we would do for a filling except that all sides of the tooth are numbed. When the tooth has has sufficient time to go completely numb we check to make sure it is. Only when we are both agreed that the tooth is frozen will we proceed to take the tooth out.

We do not pull teeth out we actually push them out! So you will experience pushing or pressure. There should be no pain only pressure. Occasionally you may here a cracking sound; this is perfectly normal and it is due to the forces being applied to the tooth. After the tooth has been delivered we will ask you to bit down on a piece of gauze. We will then go through your post operative instructions with you.

For post operative instructions following an extraction please click here