“How painful is a tooth extraction?”

It can vary. Generally these are well tolerated procedures with minimal pain.

If your tooth is not infected- no throbbing or swelling, this is the time to have your tooth extracted. If your tooth is infected, pain, throbbing, and swelling, our OFFICE places our patients on antibiotics first. We get emergency calls from patients who have gone to the emergency room. These patients were given high doses of a penicillin containing antibiotic and told to take the antibiotic twice a day. These patients may have been given a narcotic pain medication or 600 mg to 800 mg tablets of ibuprofen. Our office uses a broad spectrum antibiotic not in the penicillin group. We get phone calls late at night
with patients crying they can't stand the pain.
Some patients don't follow DIRECTIONS. But with the number of phone calls of patients climbing walls in pain possibly the antibiotic regimen is not working. If patients have to wait an hour to eat or two hours after eating, some patients can't or don't wait. If a patient is hurting
and swelling in most cases the infected area may feel numb but local anesthesia may not work. You touch the tooth and the patient lets you know the tooth hurts. If the patient has a form of diabetes, the infection has to be under control. A tooth extraction doesn't usually hurt while it is being extracted. We tell our patients to take the pain medication before the local anesthesia wears off. This way your pain medication will be working when your anesthesia wears off. Follow your doctor's DIRECTIONS and don't rinse your mouth for 24 hours after the extraction. Some patients get into problems because they don't follow directions. Sometimes it is good to take some one with you. You are having dental surgery.