After enduring a visit to the dentist to get a tooth pulled, you might wonder—as the novocaine starts to wear off—what happens to teeth after they’re extracted?
The extraction process
The first stage of a dental extraction is known as “grappling” and involves stopping the moving of the tooth through the jaw, which is generally done by a dentist or anesthesiologist. The dentist or anesthesiologist will often also make a small incision in the gums next to the tooth and insert a small instrument that releases a small amount of numbing medication, which in turn numbs the area around the tooth so it can be pulled. The tooth is eventually extracted using either a procedure known as root planing or a surgical technique called crossbite extraction. The extraction ends with the dentist either filing down the tooth, placing a temporary crown in place, or simply drilling the root of the tooth out of the gum in order to make room for the new tooth to be placed in its place.
What happens to teeth after they’re pulled?
The first step after a tooth is pulled is to prepare the tooth socket to accept a new tooth. In most cases, that means gently breaking down any dried-up blood vessels inside the socket with a needle, then gently inflating the socket with a syringe. Then, once the socket is ready, a dentist will replace the missing tooth with an inserted spacer. The spacer is made of porous material such as medical tubing or wax. It serves two purposes: To hold the new tooth in place, and to prevent the dead tooth from grinding down on the lower jawbone and a patient’s tongue. Once the spacer is in place, the dentist will remove the dead tooth. There are a number of different ways in which dentists make this process go smoothly and quickly.
How dental professionals dispose of teeth
The disposal of unneeded or unneeded dental work is not typically done in dentists’ offices, as there isn’t a uniform process. According to the American Dental Association (ADA), dentists are not licensed to cremate or dispose of teeth. However, this doesn’t stop some dentists from providing this service to patients (and visitors) in the privacy of their offices, provided the following guidelines are followed: Tell patients what they can do with the tooth, the type of service the tooth needs and the location of the office in which to take it. Make sure patients know how the office will dispose of the teeth so that they can call the office directly if needed.