Getting tooth pulled and am very scared! Help!

[Patti]

Hello, I have to get a back tooth (not a wisdom tooth, a bottom molar in the back) pulled and I am very scared! I'm almost 49 and so far have only had 2 fillings done (which I thought were nothing) but now I need a tooth pulled and my anxiety is RAGING.

I believe the fact that it won't hurt, and I'm not afraid of the needles. That doesn't really hurt in my opinion. I'm really not sure what I'm afraid of except for maybe the unknown? People are telling me it's easier and faster than getting a filling. Is that true?

Does anyone know how long it takes to get just one tooth extracted from the time you're numb ? It's not impacted and doesn't hurt now. My dentist told me it would take "like 5 seconds." Is that true? I'm having it done by an oral surgeon because my dentist wants me to have the option of sedation which I don't even think I'll need if the procedure goes that quickly--I think I can handle being scared for 5 seconds or a couple minutes. I didn't get gas when I had fillings.

Any positive feedback would be appreciated and THANK YOU!

[Carys]

Your dentist, I presume, has an xray of the roots of the tooth and knows that it is going to be a simple one to remove. Why it is being removed - why is it not saveable do you know ? Sometimes if teeth are weak from a cavity/cavities then they can break whilst being removed, which makes it slower as then the roots are removed separately. I wonder if your dentist is preparing you for this possibility by bringing in the idea of you possibly wanting sedation? However, as he says ' 5 seconds' then I would presume he doesn't think anything a bit more complicated is likely to happen. It can be astonishingly quick having one tooth removed. My daughter had 4 premolars removed as part of orthodontic work, and the longest time of the appointment was just waiting for the anaesthetic to have fully taken. Then the dentist put something around the tooth and wiggled it in various directions and it popped out in literally less than a minute. I was watching and actually said 'So, is that it ?????' Quicker than a filling - I'll say - no comparison. I had a wisdom tooth removed a couple of months ago and I can recall that you can feel a bit of strange pressure just as it comes out and you can hear it being wiggled in the jaw, but both of those lasted seconds.

[carole]

I had a tooth removed before christmas and it takes longer waiting to get numb than it does to get the tooth out, it is so quick. I imagined my head been shaken and alsorts, but no, my head didn't move and within a minute it was out and mine was broken, so I thought it would be difficult, it was so easy for me. We just lay there and leave the work to them.

You will be fine, you will be back on here, saying you can't believe how easy it was.
Good luck Your dentist is right, he won't tell you wrong information, he wants to help you. If he says something and it is wrong it would break the trust.

[Patti]

Yes, my dentist took x-rays. I am having it removed instead of a root canal and crown. The tooth doesn't even look that bad to be honest! I was shocked that I didn't just need a filling. But yes, she said "5 seconds" when I asked her how long it would take. I hope she's right.

Your dentist, I presume, has an xray of the roots of the tooth and knows that it is going to be a simple one to remove. Why it is being removed - why is it not saveable do you know ? Sometimes if teeth are weak from a cavity/cavities then they can break whilst being removed, which makes it slower as then the roots are removed separately. I wonder if your dentist is preparing you for this possibility by bringing in the idea of you possibly wanting sedation? However, as he says ' 5 seconds' then I would presume he doesn't think anything a bit more complicated is likely to happen. It can be astonishingly quick having one tooth removed. My daughter had 4 premolars removed as part of orthodontic work, and the longest time of the appointment was just waiting for the anaesthetic to have fully taken. Then the dentist put something around the tooth and wiggled it in various directions and it popped out in literally less than a minute. I was watching and actually said 'So, is that it ?????' Quicker than a filling - I'll say - no comparison. I had a wisdom tooth removed a couple of months ago and I can recall that you can feel a bit of strange pressure just as it comes out and you can hear it being wiggled in the jaw, but both of those lasted seconds.

[Carys]

Why are you not going the root canal and crown route ? What has her assessement been of the problem with the tooth ?

[carole]

If you could have a root canal treatment why don't you want that instead of it removing, sorry if I am being too nosy. Don't answer if you don't want, but I would think it would be better to keep the tooth.

[Patti]

The money, mostly. Root canal and crown will cost about $2000. It's in the back anyway. Ans, I have more to do ( another crown for sure for 700 ).

If you could have a root canal treatment why don't you want that instead of it removing, sorry if I am being too nosy. Don't answer if you don't want, but I would think it would be better to keep the tooth.

[Carys]

You could also try doing some searches on this site, for people's experiences with molar extraction ?

[franklinm]

Getting a tooth may be a smidge painful but not really. I had 4 baby teeth pulled to make room for my adult teeth and I felt some pressure but it's not bad and really really quick. When my dentist said I was done I couldn't believe it. It probably takes more time to get numb then it does to actually get it pulled. I had nitrous and it really helped with the tooth extraxtion. Good Luck!

[Patti]

Do you think I even need the laughing gas for this if I am going to take a Xanax ahead of time? I've got no fear of the shots--just the extraction itself. I've had fillings before and was okay with it.