I'm Nervous About My Tooth Extraction: What Can I Expect?
Jul 10, 2025
If you need to have a tooth pulled (extracted), it’s normal to have some trepidation. But thanks to advancements in dental technology and practice, there’s nothing to worry about when it comes to tooth extractions.
When you rely on an outstanding dental specialist like Laura Llanos, DMD, you receive top-quality dental services in a warm and welcoming environment. At Llanos Dental Group, every effort is made to help you remain calm and comfortable throughout your visit. Here’s what you need to know about the process of tooth extractions.
There are many reasons why you might need to have one or more teeth pulled. Technically, extractions are a form of oral surgery. Understanding the reason for your tooth extraction can make it easier to avoid stress as the visit nears.
In many cases, having a tooth pulled is a necessary step in orthodontic treatment. If you’re getting ready to start wearing braces, we may determine that you need to have a tooth pulled to create space for your alignment treatment.
Even if you aren’t getting braces, it’s common to have a healthy tooth extracted to make room in your smile and bite. Crowded teeth are more difficult to keep clean, and they can create misalignment that places undue strain on surrounding teeth. Having one or more teeth pulled can give your remaining teeth room to shift into enhanced alignment.
Tooth extraction might also be the best treatment option for badly decayed teeth. While modern dentistry can do wonders to save your natural teeth, there are cases in which decay has advanced to a stage when saving your tooth is no longer an option.
If you’ve sustained a significant crack or fracture in your tooth, extraction might be necessary. After a certain point, damaged tooth tissue, even when healthy, cannot be saved through dental treatments and must be removed to avoid a risk of infection.
Some people have teeth extracted in preparation for dental implants or dentures. No matter why you’re coming in for a tooth extraction, you can always expect to be treated with care and compassion.
Before beginning the extraction, Dr. Llanos will inject a special numbing medication to keep you comfortable throughout the procedure. This injection might be done on your gum tissue or palate.
Most people find the injection to be easily tolerated. You may feel a slight pinch or stinging sensation as the needle enters, but there is no significant pain. If you are especially sensitive or worried about the injection, let Dr. Llanos know. She can apply a dab of topical numbing medication to lessen the sensation of the shot.
Once you are numb, Dr. Llanos begins working on loosening the tooth from the underlying bone tissue. This is a highly individualized process. For some, the tooth/bone connection has already weakened, and removing the tooth is a simple and straightforward process.
In other cases, the tooth is securely fused to the jaw bone, requiring significantly more effort to remove the tooth. While you might feel some pressure during the removal process, there is no pain because of the numbing medication.
If a tooth is impacted, or trapped beneath the gum tissue, Dr. Llanos may need to create one or more small incisions to gain access to the tooth or get a sufficient grip on your tooth tissue. Here again, there’s no pain involved.
It’s also possible that Dr. Llanos has to divide your tooth into smaller pieces to facilitate removal. If this is part of the process, you won’t feel a thing during the extraction.
In most cases, there is no need to suture your gums after tooth extraction. If suturing is necessary, it doesn’t take long and is done while your numbing medication is still working.
After your extraction, Dr. Llanos will explain how to take care of the extraction site. You’ll need to be extra careful about eating and drinking for a couple of days, and you’ll need to adjust your dental hygiene routines to protect the site where your tooth was extracted.
Be sure to follow all of the instructions Dr. Llanos provides. If you’re prescribed antibiotics, take them exactly as advised and complete the entire course. It’s normal to feel soreness after the numbing medication wears off, but over-the-counter pain medication is usually all that’s needed to ease discomfort.
If you experience any signs of infection, reach out to Llanos Dental Group right away. Your extraction site should heal quickly, with no significant pain or other problems.
If you’re ready to book an extraction visit or simply want to come in for a routine dental exam and professional cleaning, the team at Llanos Dental Group is here to help. Reach out to the office by phone during normal business hours, or spend a few moments on the online booking page to find a time that fits into your schedule.