Will this need splitting in half to extract ?

[Sezzyj]

Hi Will this be hard to extract ? Will it need to be split ? I’m already terrified and have recently had a very painful abscess which burst and have I just finished my antibiotics for.

Thanks for any replies

 

[Gordon]

Hard to tell from an x-ray.

Don't get too worked up about "splitting" a tooth though, as far as the patient is concerned the feeling is almost exactly the same as for a filling, it's not like we use a hammer and chisel to do it!

 

[Sezzyj]

@Gordon thanks so much for replying. I have never even had a filling so I’m completely new to any dental work. It just sounds so so scary splitting a tooth in half. The root has had an infection for a few months so I’m worried they won’t be able to numb it and then split it whilst it’s not numb.

 

[Gordon]

Long term chronic infections like this don't usually cause any problems with local, it's the nasty acute ones that can be awkward, but not ALL of them, just a small proportion.

That's an upper molar, so one of the easiest teeth in your mouth to get numb.

What it feels like is something squirting a lot of cold water in the direction of the tooth, along a kind of high pitched whining noise, you'll feel the cold water a bit and a sort of odd vibration, there will be a bit of pushing after this, we don't actually pull teeth out, we push them out of place.

 

[Sezzyj]

@Gordon thank you so much for that reply. Is so helpful as I have no idea what to expect. The dentist has given me some diazepam to take so I’m hoping it will relax me enough to get it done. Really appreciate your time thank you

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Hi. I usually split in these situations, it is so much easier for the patient as well as for the dentist. The best time to have a tooth extracted is after finishing a course of antibiotics.

 

[Sezzyj]

@Dr. Daniel thanks so much. I was worried that splitting it would be more painful whilst it was being done. Like they may hit a nerve whilst cutting it. I have no experience with dental procedures so I’m totally terrified

 

[Dr. Daniel]

There is no risk for that.

 

[Sezzyj]

@Dr. Daniel thank you. So there’s no need to be any more scared then if they were just goin to extract it whole ?

 

[Gordon]

No. The nerve in the tooth is already very dead, so there's zero risk of hitting a nerve (a live one at least!)