November 6, 2021

Broken Tooth Extraction Procedure

The very concept of having to get a broken tooth extracted is enough to send shivers down the spines of many people, but it doesn't necessarily have to be as scary as it at first sounds. The truth is that this is a procedure that will be endured by a number of people in their lifetime, and it is best to understand what you are potentially getting into so the fear doesn't overwhelm you. We want to answer the question "is broken tooth extraction painful?" in an honest way, but we also want to provide you with all of the facts so you can hopefully rest a little easier knowing that this is not going to be the end of the world. We want to show that a painless broken tooth extraction is possible. 

Two Different Types Of Extraction

There are generally thought to be basic types of tooth extraction that can be performed on a patient based on the nature of their situation. The option that is considered to be a painless broken tooth extraction is when the tooth can be seen in the mouth. This situation is easier because it means that the tooth is more easily accessed by the dentist. He or she will use a tool known as an elevator to remove the tooth from your mouth in this instance. You very likely won't feel a thing, and the process can be over in a matter of minutes. 

A more complex type of extraction occurs when the tooth is not visible in the mouth by the naked eye. If the tooth that needs to be removed has not broken through the gum line, then we are looking at a more invasive procedure that will likely take longer. Still, the procedure has been perfected in such a way that most patients report little to no pain associated with this procedure. 

The Procedure 

If the tooth that the dentist has to go after has indeed not broken through the gum line, then the procedure that they must conduct to get to it involves the following: 

  • Numbing The Tooth - An injection of tooth-numbing anesthetic into the bone tissue around your tooth is necessary to allow the procedure to move forward. The patient needs to not feel any of the pain that they would feel if they didn't have the anesthetic available to them. There could be some surrounding teeth pain after tooth extraction that still occurs, but at least the numbing of the tooth allows for the patient to avoid the worst of the pain that would occur if they didn't receive an anesthetic at all. 
  • Extraction From The Socket - The human tooth is generally tied into a socket that it stays firmly connected to at all times. However, the dentist who seeks to extract the tooth needs to remove it from that socket to get their work done. As such, they will enlarge the socket that the tooth is connected to in order to get it separated from that area. 

Many patients report that they don't feel pain at all with this procedure. Some report that they don't even remember it happening at all. They just wake back up and have their problem tooth removed from their body. That is the ideal situation for those who are having problems with a particular tooth. 

It is so important to remember in these circumstances that the best thing that a person can do for themselves is trusting their dentist to get the job done right. It is a little scary to be in the midst of a tooth extraction process, but you have to remember that although it is possible to experience some pain with this procedure, the vast majority of people do not. Modern medicine and a long track record of successful practice has made it easier than ever for dentists to provide their patients with the care that they require for a painless broken tooth extraction.

The risk/reward balance in this situation is important to remember. If you allow your tooth to continue to fester as-is, then you run the serious risk of not only making the situation worse but potentially leading to a lot of additional pain that you had not bargained for as well. In other words, your fears about tooth extraction are valid, but you need to weigh those fears against the real possibility that you could experience a lot more pain if you just let your tooth be ignored. It is your job to take care of these things before they become a bigger issue in your life.