How Long Does Surgical Extraction Take to Heal?
There are many reasons a patient may need to have a tooth extracted which may include trauma or damage to a tooth, overcrowding, or severe tooth decay. In case of damage or decay, tooth extraction is generally a last resort treatment, reserved for teeth that cannot be otherwise restored. A surgical extraction is performed for teeth that have either broken at the gum line or have not erupted and are impacted below the gum tissue or within the jaw bone. A simple extraction is when the tooth is fully erupted and can be loosened and removed.
Healing Time for Surgical Extraction
The overall healing time for a surgical extraction is typically between 3 and 4 weeks. The overall health of the patient and the complexity of the extraction will have a large impact on the actual healing time. The gum tissue will heal more quickly, within a week or two, while the bone and socket will take longer to fully heal.
It is normal to experience a small amount of swelling and occasional bleeding as well as minor pain, but all of this should begin to subside within a few days. Along with an antibiotic, your doctor may prescribe a pain medication for the first couple of days, but after that, any discomfort should be manageable with over-the-counter medications.
Surgical Extraction: When is It Necessary?
The most common surgical extraction is of the wisdom teeth. Most people do not have enough space to accommodate the extra set of molars and to complicate things even further, the wisdom teeth develop horizontally, so they most often require surgical extraction since they are unable to erupt through the gum tissue. Extraction can also be used in preparation for orthodontic treatment, ensuring sufficient space for the teeth to shift and rotate as needed.
Though it is important for us to keep our natural teeth as long as possible, there may come a time that a tooth is non-restorable with other treatment options and may have to come out. If a tooth has extensive decay or has fractured, extraction may be necessary to prevent the spread of decay to healthy, neighboring teeth. Fractured teeth can sometimes be restored with a crown, but if the break is severe, the best treatment may be to extract the tooth and replace it with a bridge or dental implant.
Tooth extraction may also become necessary in the event that decay reaches the pulp within the tooth, causing infection. The pulp is the innermost tissue where blood flow and nerves are located within each tooth. Infected pulp is often treated with root canal therapy, a highly successful treatment, but on the rare occasion that it is unsuccessful, the tooth may need to be extracted.
If you are advised to have a tooth extracted, it is important to proceed with treatment to avoid further damage. Your overall healing time will greatly depend on the complexity of the procedure and how well you follow your postoperative instructions which will include a diet of soft foods for a week or two while the soft tissue heals. The better you care for your mouth following an extraction, the quicker your surgery site will heal and any risk of infection will be significantly lower. If you want to have the tooth replaced, speak with your dentist to determine what restoration will best suit your needs and lifestyle.