Does a Tooth Extraction Hurt?

Lakecia Hammond
Zentist
2 min readMar 5, 2018

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Having a tooth extraction is one of the most fearful experiences for a lot of people. Just thinking about the discomfort and pain can make dentist phobia kick into high gear. But the truth is that all of this fear comes from either our imagination or the horror stories others have attested to. So will a tooth extraction hurt?

What will you feel when extracting a tooth?

If everything goes right, you shouldn’t feel any pain but only some discomfort sensations that will easily pass away.

The needle pinch

Luckily, you are going to be sedated to avoid any real pain, butthe dentist will need to inject anesthesia in your gums, so the pinch can be a little bit painful but in a really manageable way and it only will last a second while the anesthesia takes effect. If you only have one tooth extraction, the anesthesia would be local. If you need several teeth to be extracted, the anesthesia would be general causing you to sleep during the process.

Pressure

Most dentists use some back and forth pressure that will assure the tooth is lose enough to extract it without pain. Nevertheless, if the anesthesia is right, you should only feel pressure and not pain. If you do, ask the dentist to check on the anesthesia.

What factors can aggravate the pain with extracting a tooth?

When extracting damaged teeth, there could be an amount of pain depending on the state of the piece that is going to be extracted. Some situations that may require an extra anesthesia to control the pain are:

Damaged tissue: if the process is carried out too quickly, it can damage the gums a little and generate some pain after the procedure is done. Make sure to ask your dentist to do it slowly if you’re afraid of tooth pain. A good dentist will have their system down pact.

Infection: the longer you take to extract an infected tooth, the more painful it will be.

The patient: some patients are simply more sensitive than others or have a lower pain tolerance so the dentist would need to take maximum precautions with these.

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