Dental Root which will be left behind when the tooth is extracted. The black circular area is decay which has weakened the tooth. There is also a retained root on the left which has been left behind during a previous extraction.
Extraction of Roots of Teeth.
Roots of teeth are left in your gums either because the tooth itself has rotted away or because the root broke during an extraction.
It is a normal and accepted practice for dentists to leave small fragments of roots in the bone during the extraction of teeth. These root fragments if small will rarely cause any problems and it is difficult to justify the pain, bruising, swelling and bone destruction that the extraction of these root fragments will cause. Larger root fragments may also be left behind and for the most part will not cause symptoms. However any fragment of a tooth left behind may at some point become infected which can result in pain, which may be severe and swelling as a result of infection. At this point these root fragments will need to be removed.
Many dentist are happy to remove roots themselves, some roots will be more difficult to remove and your dentist will refer you to a specialist for these extractions. An Oral Surgeon will be able to remove these roots with greater skill which will result in a faster, less traumatic extraction which means less pain, bruising and swelling after the extraction and fewer post extraction complications.
The removal of roots is a very simple procedure for an Oral Surgeon and not one that should worry you. However if you are anxious light sedation is an ideal method of coping with any dental extraction.
Normally simply pressing down beside the root will force it to the surface, this is called “Elevation” and will result in minimal post extraction pain or swelling.
roots of a tooth in the lower jaw. The black circle on one root is an abscess
Roots of teeth buried deeper in the bone will have to surgically cut out of the jaw bone. This involves pealing back the gum and removing some bone to allow access to the root. Several sutures will be needed to hold the gum back in place, these sutures will dissolve. Some pain and swelling should be expected for several days after a tooth or root is surgically removed. You will require painkillers for several days, you may also require antibiotics and these will be prescribed. The procedure should normally last less than ten minutes.
The pain and swelling should be at their maximum the following morning and should resolve over 4 to 5 days.
As with all extractions the socket should be kept clean for several days by gargling or rinsing Warm Salty Water (a tea spoon of table salt in a glass of warm water) after meals and by rinsing with Corsodyl Mouth Wash morning and night for a week.