Bone grafting is a recommended option if you plan to replace an extracted tooth with an implant. After a dental extraction, the bone naturally begins to resorb (melt away). The resulting bone loss can limit your choices for replacing the missing tooth. Grafting at the time of extraction has the highest success with regards to preserving the bone. Grafting can also be completed after extraction, although it often is more difficult to achieve the desired results. After placement of a graft, we allow 3-6 months of healing. During this time, the grafted bone fuses with your existing bone to create an optimal foundation for an implant. Grafting is performed with either your own bone, sterilized bone from another person/animal, or bone substitutes.

There are many crucial rules you must follow in order for us to perform the surgery. Please be sure to review all the pre-operative instructions as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Woodmansee or his staff.

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To make your surgery day go smoothly please ensure you read the Pre-Operative Instruction information. Your surgery day will consist of Dr. Woodmansee reviewing your medical history, expectations, and post-operative instructions. Patients are usually in the office around 90 minutes. At the time of extraction, the doctor will need to numb your tooth, jawbone, and gums that surround the area with an anesthetic. During the extraction process you will feel a lot of pressure, but shouldn’t experience discomfort. The pressure is from the process of firmly rocking the tooth in order to widen the socket for removal. For teeth that are severely broken down, a small amount of bone may need to be removed around the tooth. This may be followed by placement of a suture in the area of extraction.

Please ensure you take the time to review the post-operative instructions below to have the smoothest recovery. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Woodmansee.

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Common risks associated with any surgical procedure include swelling, bruising, pain, and bleeding. In addition to the above risks, the following are uncommon but possible risks associated with dental extractions:

• Infection: Any infection should be taken seriously and reported to your surgeon, who will appropriately treat the problem. Signs of infection include fever, abnormal swelling and pain, salty or prolonged bad taste and pus formation.
• Damage to adjacent teeth: Damage to other teeth close to the ones being removed. Often this damage occurs on teeth that have large fillings.
• Nerve Damage: Numbness, pain, or changed feelings in the teeth, gums, lip, chin and/or tongue (including possible loss of taste). This is because the tooth roots can be very close to these nerves, which means they can be injured or damaged. Usually the numbness or pain goes away, but in some cases, it may need more treatment or may be permanent.
• Joint Pain: Jaw joint (TMJ) soreness, tenderness, pain, or locking, which can be temporary or permanent.
• Root Fragments: Sometimes tooth roots may be left in to avoid harming important structures such as nerves or a sinus (a hollow place above your upper back teeth). This rarely presents long-term problems.
• Sinus Complications: The roots of the upper back teeth are often close to the sinus and sometimes a piece of root can get into the sinus. An opening may occur from the sinus into the mouth that may need more treatment.