Tooth Extraction

Overview

An extraction removes a tooth that is too damaged, decayed, or infected to save — or one that is affecting your bite, orthodontic treatment, or denture planning. Before an extraction, the dentist reviews your medical and dental history and examines the affected tooth. An appropriate X-ray may be required to assess the roots, surrounding bone, nearby teeth, and important anatomical structures. The dentist will then determine whether a simple or surgical extraction is necessary.

Who may benefit

• A tooth too decayed, cracked, or infected to save with a filling, crown, or root canal
• An impacted wisdom tooth causing pain, infection, or crowding
• A tooth that's affecting orthodontic treatment, denture, or implant planning

When it may not be suitable

• The tooth can be saved. Root canal treatment, a filling or a crown may keep a tooth that looks beyond help, and the examination establishes which.
• Something needs treating first. Active infection, or a medical condition or medication that affects bleeding and healing, changes how and when an extraction is done.
• Replacement has not been considered. Whether the gap needs an implant, bridge or denture depends on the tooth's position and your bite, and it is easier to plan before the tooth is out than after.

Examination and records normally required

• Your medical and dental history, including medicines — anything affecting bleeding or healing matters here
• An examination of the tooth
• An appropriate X-ray to assess the roots, the surrounding bone, nearby teeth and important anatomical structures
• Tell the clinic before imaging if you are pregnant or think you may be

How Somosot Dental approaches this

• The decision between a simple and a surgical extraction is made from the examination and the X-ray, which is also where the fee comes from.
• Where a wisdom tooth's roots sit close to important anatomy, 3D imaging can show what a flat X-ray cannot. CBCT is available on site at the Bohol branch and is requested only where it is clinically justified.
• The socket is checked, cleaned and closed before you leave, with gauze or with sutures for surgical cases.

Technology at the Bohol branch

• Vatech Pax-i 3D — panoramic (OPG) and cone-beam CT (CBCT) in one unit, on site
• Cephalometric X-ray, on site
• Digital intraoral scanners, so most cases need no impression trays
• In-house dental laboratory
• DJ89 Plus 8K resin 3D printer, for models, surgical guides and provisionals

This equipment is at the Tubigon, Bohol branch. The Cebu branch's facilities list does not include on-site imaging or a laboratory — ask the Cebu branch what your case would need there before assuming a scan can be taken on site.

Treatment stages

Important limitations and risks

• You may still feel pressure or movement during the procedure even though the area is numb.
• Soreness afterwards is normal. Severe or worsening pain is not.
• Healing varies with the tooth, the type of extraction and your general health. No recovery time fits every patient.
• A surgical extraction may require a small opening in the gum for access, and the approach may change based on what is found during the procedure.
• The wisdom-tooth price is a range because impacted teeth differ considerably; the figure for your case comes after the X-ray.

What affects how long it takes

• Whether the extraction is simple or surgical
• The position and root shape of the tooth
• Your general health
• How closely the first 24 hours of aftercare is followed

What affects the price

• Simple or surgical. ₱800–₱1,500 against ₱10,000–₱15,000 for an impacted third molar.
• The X-ray needed to assess it — periapical ₱500, panoramic ₱1,000, CBCT ₱10,000 where it is justified.
• How many teeth are being removed.

Aftercare

• Bite firmly on the gauze for 30–45 minutes after leaving the chair
• No rinsing, spitting, straws, or smoking for the first 24 hours
• Ice pack on the cheek for the first 24 hours to help reduce swelling
• Stick to a soft diet and avoid hot or spicy food for a few days
• Take any prescribed pain medication or antibiotics exactly as directed, finishing the full course
• Contact the clinic if bleeding does not settle, swelling worsens, pain becomes severe, fever develops, or numbness in the lip or chin persists

When to contact the clinic without waiting

• Bleeding that does not settle after biting on gauze
• Swelling that is getting worse
• Pain that becomes severe, particularly a few days after the extraction
• Fever
• Numbness in the lip or chin that persists

Frequently asked questions