A tooth extraction is performed for a wide variety of reasons. The most common reason is decay (caries) so deep into the tooth that it is impossible to save.
Other reasons for extraction of teeth:
Surgical extractions involve the removal of teeth that cannot be easily accessed, either because they have broken under the gum line or because they have not erupted fully. This is often the case with wisdom teeth in the lower jaw. Surgical extractions normally require an incision, which means that the soft tissue around the tooth which is to be surgically removed has to be raised. Typically, a small amount of bone has to be removed around the impacted wisdom tooth. Should the wisdom tooth lay more or less horizontally, the crown portion of the tooth might have to be removed as one piece or be split into a number of pieces – to be able to access and remove the remaining part of the tooth. Most often a surgical extraction is done under local anesthetic or local anesthetic in combination with conscious sedation.
After the tooth has been removed, you may need stitches/sutures. Some stitches dissolve over time, and some have to be removed normally after a week to ten days. You will also be asked to gently bite down on cotton gauze placed over the wound to help stop bleeding.
You could also be asked to gently bite down on cotton gauze placed in the surgical area if there is any bleeding.
In most cases, the recovery period after an uncomplicated tooth extraction lasts only a few days up to five to six days. The most important issue after an extraction is to preserve the formed blood clot.
Once a tooth has been extracted, a blood clot normally forms in the socket, usually within an hour. It is not uncommon that slight bleeding can be noticed up to 24 hours after the extraction. The wound over the dental socket takes about a week to heal. Thereafter, the socket will gradually fill in with gum tissue and bone over a period of about one to two months. Before bone has fully filled out the extraction site (alveol), it can at least take another six months.