While Dr. Shahid will do everything possible to save your natural teeth, sometimes severely damaged, decayed, or broken teeth cannot be repaired and need extraction.

Patients may require tooth extractions for other reasons as well. For instance, impacted wisdom teeth, baby teeth that don’t fall out, or tooth infections that prevent joint replacement or organ transplantation surgery. Another potential reason for extraction involves orthodontics. If you have severely crowded teeth, it may be necessary to create more space to straighten your teeth properly.

There are two types of extractions—simple and complex.

Simple extractions remove erupted teeth. This procedure is relatively simple and often only requires local anesthetics to the affected areas. You may feel a lot of pressure during tooth removal, but you should not experience pain. If you do feel pain, simply let us know so we can administer more numbing medicine.

For patients with concerns about pain or anxiety, we also offer nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and oral sedation. If you opt for oral sedation, you will need someone to drive you home.

If a tooth is impacted, however, which means it has not erupted, this requires a more involved surgical procedure. This type of extraction requires an incision and sutures. Sedation options are available to keep you comfortable and relaxed.

Dr. Shahid offers PRP or PRF treatment after extraction to help with healing and pain.

After extraction, you may experience bleeding, swelling, and pain. We will give you all the instructions and, if needed, prescriptions for pain and antibiotics. Dr. Shahid will also provide you with her personal cell phone number in case you have questions or concerns.

Since dental implants are placed in your jawbone, successful implantation requires sufficient bone tissue. For patients who do not have enough bone tissue to support a dental implant, Dr. Shahid offers bone graft treatment. This most often occurs in patients who have been missing a tooth or teeth for a significant amount of time.

Bone graft surgery is a procedure that uses transplanted bone to replace lost jawbone tissue and to restore proper facial contour. Depending on your circumstances and desires, Dr. Shahid may use donated bone material you can buy from a tissue bank, or she may harvest the graft from you.

For enhanced tissue regeneration and healing, Dr. Shahid can add PRP or PRF after surgery.

Plasma is the liquid part of blood containing water and proteins. Blood also contains stem cells, red and white blood cells, and platelets, which make your blood clot and play a role in healing. The process for Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) involves drawing your blood and spinning it in a special centrifuge machine to separate the plasma and platelets from the rest of your blood. The result is plasma that is rich in platelets.

First discovered in the 1970s, PRP was initially used as a transfusion product to help patients with low platelet counts. However, it was soon found that it offers many other medical benefits as well, including enhanced healing, reduced pain, and tissue regeneration from trauma or surgery.

More recent advances have developed Platelet Rich Fibrin (PRF) as a potentially more superior alternative to PRP.

While PRP and PRF work similarly, and both require us to draw blood, PRF requires less blood. And unlike PRP, it is collected in a blood tube that does not contain an anticoagulant to keep the blood from clotting. This allows the natural fibrinogen in the blood to begin the early stages of clot formation and provides for a release of growth factors, enhancing the healing process even more.

Moreover, when PRF is placed in the centrifuge, it is spun at a lower speed. This lower speed causes less trauma and separation of the parts of the blood. The result is plasma that has not only a higher concentration of platelets, but it also contains some white blood cells and stem cells.

Interested in learning more about advanced post-op healing with PRP and PRF? One of our knowledgeable team members would love to answer your questions.

If you require oral surgery for impacted wisdom teeth, need a tooth replaced with a dental implant, or need a bone graft, call to schedule your consultation today!